The central flaw of the
Nordic bloodbath Viking:
Battle For Asgard is its failure to build a
believable world. This action-adventure takes place in an immersive setting
that nicks references to Norse mythology. But the cultural signifiers are just
gloss: Take away the longboats, and you could be in England; add spiky purple
hair, and you're in Japan. The game's small, weirdly proportioned islands have
no history, no society, and no function but to soak up blood, and the
protagonist's motives don't go much deeper than his scowl. With no reason to
fight, all the killing turns into noise—and even the giant cast-of-dozens
battles are as engaging as watching ants fight over a cracker.
Real drama could have
covered up the gameplay problems, which are legion. While a few special moves
mix up the fights, hacking down hundreds of enemies doesn't take skill or style
so much as persistence. The environments look better than they play; each map
is wide open, yet the game leads you by the nose from goal to goal, except for
the many times when an objective is baffling or completely hidden. And although
you can lead a horde of Vikings into battle, you have almost no control over
how they fight. After a while, even the dragon swooping overhead starts to feel
like what he is: just another prop.
Beyond the game: It's funny how games that
give you so many chances to maim and dismember the enemy never threaten you
with losing so much as a thumb. The risk of having to fight your way out of a
mob shy one arm would make you feel like you had some skin in the game.
Worth
playing for: Sneaking
through an enemy encampment and stabbing soldiers from the shadows is
nerve-wracking, until you realize there's one good path to your goal—and
almost nobody's guarding it.
Frustration sets in when: The mindless action lends
itself to fast bloodshed, yet many of your enemies carry shields which take
several hits to destroy.
Final
judgment: The
biggest slight to Scandinavians since they gave Leif Ericson's day to Columbus.