Skarin Set Loose

Published April 7, 2008

All of Midgard teeters now on the precipice of corruption as Hel and her corrupted minions strangle the life from the beautiful, wild windswept lands of the Nordic mortal realm. All that stands now against Hel are the Norse goddess Freya and the wild-haired, battle-lusting warrior Skarin whom she has handpicked to lead the hardy and courageous warriors of Midgard against Hel's forces.

Gore in 3, 2, 1 …

While Hel's legions may seize Midgard's lands and enslave its people, Freya knows Hel's eye is fixed firmly beyond the mortal realm, all the way to the hallowed halls of Asgard itself. With Freya's blessings and guidance and Skarin's barbarian fury on the battlefield, both Midgard and Asgard may be saved yet. Such is the setup for Viking: Battle for Asgard from SEGA for Xbox 360®.

Grab your axe and sword, tap into your inner
barbarian rage, and let loose on Hel's forces!

Open World War

You of course play as the aforementioned Skarin, a Viking warrior who drinks freely and eagerly of war's chaos and glory. Viking is broken into three distinct islands of Midgard, with each island's adventures and quests all building to a final epic battle to return freedom and fertility back to the land.

Skilled though he may be in the art of war, Skarin can't hope to find victory on his own. He must build his army, and it's this need that drives the bulk of the gameplay as each of the three islands begins with Skarin's allies owning only a small sliver of land, with key structures like farms and quarries under enemy control.

Through both exploration and the use of your world map you must invade enemy encampments and wrest control from the iron grasp of Hel's armies, thus seizing critical structures, freeing your fellow Vikings, and convincing them to fight for your cause. For example, you may set free a group of warriors whose wounds are too many and too debilitating to join in the war effort. Discover and deliver medical supplies to them though, and they'll gladly join your cause.

Hope they're on your side.

Complete enough quests and free enough of your people and you may trigger each island's final confrontation, each of them massive battles featuring dozens upon dozens of highly detailed warriors on both sides all engaged in furious battle as you stab, bash, slice, dice, and even call on a summoned dragon to lay fiery waste to key targets.

One Man Army

While you'll participate in a number of large-scale battles, much of your time is spent alone as you prowl the countryside, infiltrating enemy camps and engaging in fierce battles with Hel's legion of warriors, including monstrous well-armored elite soldiers, stealthy assassins, and even giants.

Viking uses a classic light/heavy attack system to help you devastate enemies with a flurry of blows, eventually stunning them so you can polish them off courtesy of several wonderfully over-the-top, gore-soaked finishing moves. Of course, you'll learn a number of special attacks that add both variety and strategy to each battle encounter.

That's an achievement waiting to happen.

What's more, Skarin can purchase access to powered runes that grant access to fire, ice, and lightning-based powers. With each enemy you fell your power meter builds, allowing you to not only freeze, burn, and electrocute enemies with sword and axe strikes, but also trigger special, more powerful magic attacks that burn down even the toughest opponents in short order.

It's worth noting too that Viking: Battle for Asgard throws a number of platforming and even stealth challenges your way. For example, you must leap, climb, and shimmy your way up ancient ruins early on to claim a rare dragon rune required for summoning the great beast to your aid. Likewise, you'll need to sneak through Darkwater, the enemy's largest fortification in the early going, carefully performing sneak attacks and avoiding enemy patrols in order to reach your objective.

Viking: Battle for Asgard for Xbox 360 should tickle the fancy of any fan of the classic hack-and-slash genre as well as pique the interest of gamers eager to participate in epic-scale battles the likes of which few games have ever offered. With open worlds filled with quests, loot, a visceral combat system and stylish gore-drenched action, Viking: Battle for Asgard looks to sate the needs of action fans of all kinds. Grab your axe and sword, tap into your inner barbarian rage, and let loose on Hel's forces!

Article by Ryan Treit