Viking: Battle for Asgard
A Viking champion battles Hel's army across Midgard.
Viking: Battle for Asgard is a 2008 action adventure game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega for PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. Centered on Norse mythology, the game follows Skarin, a Viking chosen by the goddess Freya to fight against the forces of Hel, the goddess of death. It is notable for its large-scale battles featuring hundreds of soldiers and its open-world exploration across three islands in Midgard.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Viking: Battle for Asgard
- Developer
- Creative AssemblyWindows port developed by Hardlight
- Publisher
- Sega
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
- Released
- PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360NA · 25 March 2008 · AUS · 27 March 2008 · EU · 28 March 2008Microsoft WindowsWW · 17 October 2012
- Genre
- Action-adventure, hack and slash
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game is set in the midst of a struggle within Asgard that spills into the mortal realm of Midgard. Hel, daughter of Loki, has been banished from Asgard for defying Odin's rule and seeks to release the wolf-god Fenrir to bring about Ragnarok. Freya, goddess of war, chooses Skarin as her champion to stop Hel. After Skarin defeats Hel, she screams that he has not freed Midgard. Skarin asks for a place in Valhalla but is refused by Freya, leading him to release Fenrir and begin Ragnarok. A cutscene states that although the gods are destroyed, their essence remains.
Reader's Guide
Viking: Battle for Asgard received mixed or average reviews across all platforms according to Metacritic. Wired gave the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions seven out of ten, noting that while no single quality stands out, the game is compelling. Maxim rated it six out of ten, calling it fun but suggesting a rental. USA Today gave six out of ten, describing it as fine as an inexpensive rental for mature gamers interested in fantasy and violence, but noted that more testing could have resolved some problems. Edge gave the Xbox 360 version six out of ten, finding its shortfalls peculiar compared to its strengths. The A.V. Club gave the same version a D+, stating that without a reason to fight, the killing becomes noise. GamesRadar included it in a list of the 100 most overlooked games of its generation, with editor Jason Fanelli noting the world felt empty while praising the missions. The game features quick time events for defeating larger enemies, individual combat rather than group sweeping attacks, and RPG elements such as purchasing combos. Players can capture settlements, weaken enemies by killing shamans, and call dragons using runes dropped by champions.
Did You Know?
- The game features three islands in Midgard that the player can explore freely.
- Quick time events are used to bring down giants and shake off an assassin's grip.
- Players can call dragons to attack enemies by collecting dragon runes from champions.
- The game's combat system is a hack-and-slash style, more violent than Creative Assembly's previous action game Spartan: Total Warrior.
More in Adventure Games of the 2000s, Part 2 1-22
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