Viking: Battle For Asgard

10:46am Thursday 22nd May 2008

Publisher: Sega Formats: PS3, Xbox 360 Price: £45 Family friendly? 18+

VIKINGS, bloody combat, giant dragons and scheming Norse gods - surely the gang behind Viking: Battle for Asgard couldn't go wrong? Well, not exactly for, sad to report, this new hack n' slash adventure has one or two problems that rob it of classic status.

The story for one. Viking warrior Skarin is the earthly representative of Freya, daughter of Norse god Odin, who sets him off on a mission to destroy the monsters set free by the daughter of evil Loki. Rather confusingly, she is called Hel, which is neither short for Helen nor hell, although her plan for world domination would appear to involve unleashing the denizens of Hades.

Skarin is nicely modelled and animated but almost entirely devoid of personality. A man of very few words, his interaction with the few other in-game characters is pretty much non-existent. He just wanders from place to place hacking and slashing whatever monsters stand in his way.

And, as Viking is based on the free roaming "open sandbox" concept, Skarin does spend a lot of time trudging about looking for the action.

There are some visual clues to help you on your way. When Skarin enters enemy territory, the skies darken and deep shadows provide valuable cover for any monsters that lay ahead. Conversely, when the sun comes out, you can be pretty sure nothing nasty is about to happen.

The combat is basic but rather enjoyable. Veterans of many a fighting game won't be impressed by the limited repertoire of moves and basic combos but the sheer blood and guts bravado on display makes it enjoyable nevertheless.

There are one or two occasions when a stealthy approach is called for, but most of Skarin's disputes are settled with an axe blade between the eyes. Some of the special death moves are pretty gruesome stuff.

Skarin also has the power to send dragons into combat and does so frequently. I was disappointed to find I couldn't control the mighty beasts directly.

A dragon attack is strictly computer controlled and, although they are nice to watch, I soon grew tired of the same old mayhem repeated on different baddies.

The audio levels seemed a bit strange on the PS3 - with sparse musical interludes and few ambient sound effects - and I experienced an in-game crash at least twice, an almost unheard-of problem on a console.

Repetition is perhaps Viking's biggest enemy. The first couple of hours are fun in a brainless kind of way but, after a while, there's a strong temptation to give in and move on to something with a bit more variety and a more interesting plot.

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