Rune (video game)

Did You Know?

• A Dreamcast port of Rune was planned but eventually cancelled.
• The Rune expansion Halls of Valhalla includes a mode called Head Ball, a variant of capture the flag using body parts.
• The Wren Valkyrie character model in Halls of Valhalla is based on a fan who became site director of the official Rune website.

Gameplay

The player controls Ragnar, a young Viking warrior, through a fantasy plot rooted in Norse mythology. Enemies include man-eating fish, goblins, zombies, Norse dwarves, and other Vikings. Weapons are divided into three classes—swords, axes, and maces/hammers—each with five tiers that increase in size. The first three tiers can be used with a shield; the top two are two-handed. Each weapon has a unique Rune Power activated when enough rune power is collected from runes scattered in the world. Other items like torches and severed limbs can also be wielded. Attacks vary by movement direction: thrust, overhead swing, or slash, and repeated strikes trigger a spinning attack. All weapons can be thrown, dealing damage equal to a melee hit. Killing several enemies quickly triggers a brief Berserk Mode that boosts damage resistance and attack power; a special rune can activate it instantly. The game is largely linear, but players are not required to kill every enemy to progress. Some levels offer alternative routes, though certain scripted pawns must be activated to advance the story.

Story

Ragnar begins as an initiate of the Odinsblade, warriors sworn to protect Odin's runestones that bind Loki. After defeating Ulf in combat, news arrives that the Viking Conrack is raiding an allied village. Ragnar joins a longship to confront Conrack, but Conrack calls on Loki to destroy the ship with a thunderbolt. Only Ragnar survives, receiving a message from Odin that it is not his time to die. He swims to safety through underwater caves and fights through monster-filled caverns into the land of the dead, ruled by Loki's daughter Hel. There he learns Conrack's plan: sending dishonored souls to Hel, who gives them to Loki to form an army. After escaping Hel and goblin lands, Ragnar reaches Thorstadt, Conrack's fortress. Inside a Temple of Loki, Conrack kills his lieutenant Sigurd for questioning him. Sigurd, dying, tells Ragnar he is the last of the Odinsblade and that saving the world is up to him.

Development

The game was created by a team of 15 people. The idea originated with Ted Halsted and Shane Gurno while at Raven Software; Halsted drew inspiration from the Icelandic Völsunga saga. They and four others left Raven to found Human Head Studios, initially working on a Daikatana sequel using the Unreal Engine. When that project fell through, they revived the Viking concept and began Rune with publisher Gathering of Developers. Epic Games allowed continued use of the Unreal Engine, and the two companies enhanced it with skeletal animation, a new particle effects system, and improved shadowing. Despite the engine's shooter origins, the game is third-person and focuses on melee combat with swords, axes, maces, and other medieval weapons. Any weapon can be thrown. A notable feature is that anything dropped by a dead opponent, including body parts, can be picked up and used as a weapon. Enemies whose sword arms are severed will flee. Both the base game and expansion included RuneEd toolkits, which the community used to create multiplayer mods, maps, and skins. Human Head released the source header files in 2004.

Reception

The PC version received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic. Critics found the game good but not great, noting that players needed to adjust expectations. Common criticism targeted the enemy artificial intelligence, as opponents would swarm without tactics, and enemy variety was lacking. Praise went to the graphics, particularly crisp textures, and the detailed limb-hacking violence. Multiplayer was considered middling; while lopping off heads was fun, limited game modes and lag issues detracted. Jim Preston of NextGen wrote that the shaky gameplay undermined the visuals and story. Brian Wright of GamePro called it a fun but unoriginal action-platform game with many hours of gameplay. John Brandon of GameZone gave it 8/10, calling it a visceral antidote to a long workday. Michael Tresca of AllGame gave 3.5/5, citing flaws and lack of variation. Benjamin E. Sones of Computer Games Strategy Plus gave 2.5/5, saying it was too long and uninspiring. The game sold 49,000 units in the U.S. by October 2001. It was nominated for Action Game of the Year at the CNET Gamecenter Computer Game Awards for 2000, losing to MechWarrior 4: Vengeance.