Viking: Battle for Asgard is one of the best games so far in 2008 and it should not be passed up.
You, Skarin, have been selected by Freya, the Goddess of War, to battle the forces of Hel, the Norse God of Mischief. Hel intends to bring about Ragnarok - the apocalypse which will destroy Asgard and Midgard.
Midgard is where most of the game takes place, a beautiful hilly set of isles which have been taken over by Hel's forces. There is a sense of freedom on these islands, as you are free to roam as you please across the islands and engage in battles where you see fit.
As you liberate captured Vikings and free strongholds and resources from the clutches of Hel, you progress toward the islands' final battle. A battle of rather epic proportions where you cease to take on the forces alone, and are joined by all the soldiers you have liberated.
You will then have battle objectives that need to be completed, i.e. taking down the shamans who are continually spawning new enemies. This is also where dragons are thrown into the mix. As you travel through the islands you collect dragon stones which are then used to summon dragons. These dragons will be at your command if you have sufficient dragon runes, which are collected by slaying the shamans. Once you have enough you can command your dragon to attack a specific battle objective. This will involve lots of fire and plenty of carnage, and is a real pleasure to watch as the game skips to a cut scene when this happens.
The story itself is satisfactory, but it doesn't feel as though the game fleshes out many of the elements of the story enough. There are only a small number of cut scenes and you learn very little about Skarin himself, the character you play. This does leave you somewhat wanting, but let's face it, slaughtering hundreds upon hundreds of evil minions is pretty satisfactory in itself.
Talking of minions, there are a range of adversaries in Viking: Battle for Asgard from your low-level sword-swinging muscle, archers, assassins that drop down onto your head and claw at you until you manage to throw them off, and big brutes with shields. There are also giants which you will battle from time to time. This means the game does remain exciting, with nary a dull moment.
One of the best parts of Viking: Battle for Asgard is really the beautiful scenery. The wonderful grassy hillsides, and the big cliffs you would expect from any Viking setting. Watching the gigantic swells roll in onto the beaches is also awe inspiring and the ocean looks convincing (but don't fall in, Vikings can't swim).
The view distance is also massive and you can see far off into the distance, with enemies appearing while you are quite far away. This adds to the feeling of freedom that you have as you traverse the island. The maps are well varied from small villages to massive cities which you will sneak into, as well as fight over. The sneaking aspects will involve heading into a city to destroy a barracks or something similar, which will then reduce the number of reinforcements available to the enemy in the big battle. However these are requirements for the final battle, therefore you have to complete them, which is probably a good thing as the battles can get pretty tough.
A nice added touch is that liberated areas will be sunny and cheerful, whereas the areas that are still filled with Hel's forces will be dark and rainy. These visual cues help you become fully immersed in the game very quickly.
Similarly, when running around, if Skarin goes into a sneak (he does this automatically) you know there are enemies about. If he draws his swords, you know the enemy has spotted you and is coming at you. These elements have worked exceptionally well and the game does not feel restricted because of it.
The combat aspects of the game are very well done, with fluid movements and easy to execute combos. The game is not about making it hard to do these combos, it is about making them look awesome when you do them. This is great for people who aren't normally hack and slash fans, as the game balances its various elements well.
The sword axe combo that Skarin wields is also perfect for decapitating heads and slicing and dicing your enemies.
This is all gruesomely presented with blood sprays and heads flying. You will occasionally feel though that the islands, although not massive, do get a bit large when traipsing from one end to the other. Very helpful though are the portals that have been scattered around, which, once discovered by Skarin, will transport him to other portals on the map, keeping traipsing to a minimum.
All these good aspects can't come without the bad. One of the most irritating aspects of Viking: Battle for Asgard is the broken sound. Starting with the lack of atmospheric sounds, and music which is downright annoying at some parts of the game - you can imagine the music or sound that should have been playing, but it's simply not. Occasionally sound effects go missing and are not played at all, and the silence when you run around can be rather depressing. The footsteps and clanging of your armour are simply not loud enough either. It seems as though more effort could have been put into this aspect of the game. After all, with the developers having the theatrical experience of the Total War series under their belts, one would have thought they would be masters at this.
You will also notice this review lacked any mention of multiplayer. That's because there is none. This is a shame as it would have been nice to jump into the big battles with a friend, either in co-op or over Live. But for whatever reason, this has been left out. Admittedly, the current emphasis on multiplayer in games can seem overrated at times, and judging by how good the single-player in Viking is, it might not be a bad thing that multiplayer was left out.
All in all, Viking: Battle for Asgard is one of the best games so far in 2008 and it should not be passed up. This is a title for action fans as well as hack-and-slash fans. The strategy element of the game is left to a minimum, but there is a hint of it. It is a well-rounded game, and if it weren't for the sound effects--and occasional lack thereof--it would be a near perfect title.