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Viking: Battle for Asgard

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8.4 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 67 critic reviews
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Based on 48 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Creative Assembly

Genre(s): Action

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: March 25, 2008

Summary

Viking: Battle For Asgard takes players to the world of Norse Gods, where the Goddess Hel in all her fury, has raised an army of demonic warriors sent to enslave the mortal realm of Midgard and ultimately provoke Ragnarok - the apocalyptic battle that will destroy even the Gods themselves. Play as Skarin, a powerful yet flawed Viking warrior, filled with rage and ready to wage war on whoever stands in his way. Manipulated by the gods and fated to a destiny he has yet to understand, Skarin is the only one able to stop this ultimate clash of great wills. As Skarin, players leave behind them a bloody trail of dismembered foes using a huge array of ruthless and brutal combat moves while mastering the addictive and destructive mystical powers and abilities given to him by the Viking Gods he looks to come between. Explore vast and visually stunning open-world environments where gamers strive to free enslaved warriors and lead them into huge, epic battles featuring colossal giants, powerful shaman, deadly assassins and the Gods' own champions. Tame mighty dragons and unleash their rain of fire, laying waste to the enemy hordes that stand in your way and use Skarin's emerging skills to strategically turn the tide of conflict. Taking full advantage of the technology only next-gen consoles offer, Viking: Battle for Asgard excels at flowing seamlessly from small-scale battles to massive wars featuring multitudes of bloodthirsty warriors waiting to unleash their fury. [Sega]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Play Magazine

Easy to manage hot keys, intuitive controls, a great map that doubles as an objective outline...everything here is spot on. [Apr 2008, p.55]

Pelit (Finland)

An exhilaratingly brutal and brilliantly beautiful action adventure from the days of yore when ships were made of wood and men were made of iron. Some of the best barbarian entertainment we've had in years. [Apr 2008]

Game Chronicles

I loved the diverse mix of exploration and discovery (treasure hunting) one minute followed by insanely fun and bloody combat the next. It truly is the best of both genres.

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Gameplanet

A well-rounded action title with elements of strategy, traditional hack and slash, and arcade action.

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AtomicGamer

The ending to Viking is a pretty big disappointment, but at least the game is a ton of fun on the way there.

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Team Xbox

In general, there’s still a lot of entertainment in Viking, despite its need for more variety and its over-populated battles. Even at the lower “Normal” difficulty, it’s challenging. I just wish it had more inventive gameplay design across the whole game and pushed the player to have to think of more creative ways to get out of certain situations.

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Xbox360Achievements

An impressive game that provides one of the greatest gaming experiences I’ve had in a while, producing some of the goriest bloodbaths featured in a game to date.

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Gamer.nl

Viking: Battle for Asgard is a very nice hack-and-slash game. It's really not difficult to play and is still very enyoable. The huge battles with thousands of soldiers really makes the game supurb.

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GameTap

It feels disappointing at first, but it quickly moves beyond that and turns into a game that, despite its shortcomings, is just plain fun.

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G4 TV

Despite the repetition that plagues the game’s progression, the satisfying combat and epic army battles help it stand out. Fans of exploration, Viking myths, and limbs separating from torsos will find much to love here.

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PTGamers

Visceral combat and fort assaults are the main attractions, although the story isn't exactly alluring.

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MS Xbox World

Viking: Battle for Asgard is a very enjoyable game; it features a very accessible control scheme, graphically rich environments, highly intense battles and an immersive atmosphere.

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Maxi Consolas (Portugal)

In spite of its somewhat repetitive rhythm, Viking manages to offer to the player a great sense of accomplishment. It keeps us moving forward with the promise (always fulfilled) of some epic action sequences. The combat system is the result of a well balanced act between depth and accessibility. [Apr 2008]

Gamervision

Viking doesn’t have the world’s smoothest framerate, but it holds up for the most part even with hundreds of enemies on screen and when it does drop down it is only a temporary annoyance.

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NZGamer

Viking: Battle for Asgard is a solid action game that takes elements from Creative Assembly’s Total War series, and adds quick time events and sand-box gameplay. It’s a great romp if you don’t mind the button bashing.

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Computer Games Online RO

It’s the kind of game with good gameplay, nice graphics, spectacular battles and over the top brutality, with the RPG elements being neglected a little.

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AceGamez

It's not groundbreaking and Skarin's slow pace can make it a chore at times, but a lot of love and creativity has been injected, and the result is an experience that will entertain the majority of gamers.

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Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

But for all the glee of the slaughter, Viking is a game butting its head against the limits of its genre. There isn't great variety in the tasks or the bosses you face and a few more genuinely off-story quests would be nice.

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Games Master UK

A gratifying slash-'em-up that would have stood out with greater strategy elements. [May 2008, p.76]

Planet Xbox 360

Perhaps the most attractive area of Viking is the gameplay. Viking is a hack-and-slash game with a tremendous amount of gore and violence mixed in. Thankfully, Viking is done very tastefully in comparison to THQ’s Conan since there’s no out of place nude women standing around cheering while the men fight.

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GameZone

The combat is a piece of cake since you don’t have to worry about a pressing some elaborate button combination to pull off your moves.

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Talk Xbox

It's actually nothing of the sort; it comes off as a mix between Fable and God of War. It may seem weird to compare and combine games, but it's the best example to avoid confusion.

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Extreme Gamer

Viking: Battle of Asgard is a great game for what it wants to accomplish.

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ZTGameDomain

The combat may be shallow, the story non-existent and the fetch quests tedious, but I still managed to have a blast with Sega’s latest offering.

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GameTrailers

The vicious combat is a lot of fun, and building your army and laying siege to the enemy is a compelling experience in an action game setting. If it didn’t run out of ideas so quickly and had a smoother presentation, Viking could have struck an even mightier blow.

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Game Informer

A solid rental if you like bloody action games.

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Cheat Code Central

An extremely uncomplicated title that has its fair share of fun due to the hilariously brutal combat animations.

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MEGamers

The game is flawed and introduces nothing new to the genre but the outcome is pleasant and worthy of your playtime.

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Thunderbolt

Viking is a great game, with some great promise, but this feels like a trial run. Hopefully it will sell enough to garner a sequel, one I would be very anxious to pick up on day one.

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Boomtown

It is a shame that you can’t simply fight the standard troops well enough for your friends to flood the main enemy and help you out there, but it seems to be a one man band at each Shaman or Champion, your allies acting as background help rather than making a real difference to the battle.

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games(TM)

The battle sequences display commendable ambition and technical brilliance everywhere except in the gameplay. [May 2008, p.102]

X360 Magazine UK

Viking does have a lot going for it. It's vast, fun and full of gore, there's just nothing outstanding enough to really write home about. [Issue#32, p.80]

Wired

At some point, you realize that looking back at each of Viking's qualities, it's hard to really put your finger on anything that's truly standout -- and yet it's compelling.

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VideoGamer

As entertaining as the game is, it's abundantly clear that things could have been a whole lot better.

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GamePro

The action does deliver its fair share of thrills, but its repetitive and simple nature quickly wears thin.

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GameSpy

Viking: Battle for Asgard is beautiful as far as offering a hurricane of blood and gore can be beautiful, but it's easy to get bogged down in the repetitive combat.

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Totally360

Viking: Battle for Asgard may lack a bit of spit and polish in places, but the combat is incredibly addictive despite its relative simplicity.

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ActionTrip

The whole thing pretty much boils down to a lot of rinse and repeat, but I still played the damn game because I like Vikings so much.

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Xbox World Australia

There's some solid innovations here as well as a good looking game, and if it wasn't for the stifling lack of variety, almost silent musical score and patchy framerate, it could have triumphed over being "decent” and transcended into the hallowed halls of greatness.

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Destructoid

It's perfect for action junkies who love visceral and brutal fighting but hate to think about things.

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XboxAddict

Overall, the game was enjoyable to play. Difficult and frustrating at times, especially some of the areas where it was key to use stealth to infiltrate Legion camps and achieve a goal.

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Game Revolution

Viking is a weekend of relaxing ultraviolence, giving Xbox owners an easy thousand points to chase.

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Gamers' Temple

Viking had its moments and bordered on enjoyable at times, but these enjoyable moments were interspersed with too much tedium.

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Worth Playing

There may be a good game in there somewhere, but it falls into a standard hack-and-slash rut of boring and uninspired gameplay that leaves you wanting more from the experience.

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Game Over Online

For a game that promised so much, Viking really doesn't do much in the way of delivering.

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Official Xbox Magazine

But the real stars of the show are the battle sequences in which you lead an army of literally hundreds of NPCs into full-on raging wars. It’s just a shame that there’s so much filler between the fights.

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IGN

The battles stumble thanks to chug, the worlds get repetitive, and when you're not really interested in the story or your ultimate goal, hack-and-slash gets on your nerves no matter how many times you cut a guy in two.

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Console Monster

For a hack and slash it is good, but for people wanting a good story and a reason to play, they should stay away at all costs.

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Play.tm

There are two types of people who will enjoy this game. People who like very accessible and simple to pick-up games, and people under the age of 18.

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Edge Magazine

Viking’s shortfalls just seem so peculiar when compared to the surging competency of its strengths. [May 2008, p.90]

Giant Bomb

The problem is that everything is counterbalanced by a quest that quickly grows stale and repetitive after its first third. Even the final boss fight is just a minor twist on an encounter you’ll have done at least five times before.

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GameDaily

Viking's a decent game, thanks to over the top combat moves and a sprawling fantasy world, but its lack of drama and a few design issues make it inferior to Sony's exquisite "God of War" franchise.

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360 Gamer Magazine UK

Although initially slovenly and unresponsive there’s some fun to be had taking on multiple opponents and enjoying the resulting spurts of viscera. There’s some fun in sneaking around watchtowers and exploring caves, too, but Viking’s problem is that what fun it provides is heavily watered down to give it a fake epic feel.

GamingExcellence

While Viking isn't a total disappointment, the biggest problem here is a matter of the game feeling wholly and entirely unfinished.

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Official Xbox Magazine UK

A quintessentially average 'alright for a one-night stand but don't even think of proposing' game that your Xbox 360 has had the pleasure of experiencing at least a couple of hundred times before.

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Gamer's Hell

In the end, the repetitive nature of the game kills what could have been a stellar title.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

Ultimately Viking: Battle for Asgard is almost a complete waste of Norse mythology. It’s bloody and epic, but the boring, repetitive combat and hours you spend doing un-Vikingly menial tasks leaves a sour taste in the mouth, washed down with a swig of bitter, pointless stealth idiocy.

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GameShark

Unfortunately the terrific visuals simply aren’t enough to save the game from its increasingly monotonous gameplay.

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Gamers.at

If you want gory action, then you have found the right game for your collection with Viking: Battle for Asgard. If you want a game with Nordic myth or good gameplay - then buying this game might be not as wise as you think. Personally I love this game and the brutality of it. In a certain morbid way I even had fun with Viking, but that might be because of my personal Hack'n'Slay-preferences. Jerking camera, stupid AI, repetitive gameplay - this game could have turned out really great. What a shame!

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Gamer 2.0

With so many problems, unbalanced combat, and no multiplayer, it is hard to recommend anyone to buy this game, let alone rent it. Give it a try if you are a fan of the subject matter, if not, there are plenty of better action titles out there for you to enjoy instead.

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GameSpot

Thanks to Viking: Battle for Asgard's mundane and tedious gameplay, the only battle you'll wage will be a losing one against boredom.

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Eurogamer

The best thing you can say about the game is that it's technically impressive, and the openworld structure is a good idea - but that's it. The game's central purpose seems to be to make dismemberment as easy to pull off as possible, but as soon as that novelty has worn off you're left with a hollow, repetitive experience which quickly loses its initial appeal.

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Electronic Gaming Monthly

Viking simply doesn't do enough to stand up to the more polished action experiences out there. [June 2008, p.86]

DarkZero

Unfortunately there is so much wrong with it that it doesn’t even manage to reach average status.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

With no reason to fight, all the killing turns into noise—and even the giant cast-of-dozens battles are as engaging as watching ants fight over a cracker.

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1UP

Viking: Battle for Asgard falls far short of its potential.

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NTSC-uk

Viking: Battle for Asgard falls too far below the benchmark set by those that have gone before.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 48 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Billy B. gave it an8:
Very solid open world game, stealth mechanics are simple but work well. Each of the 3 islands have no loading beyond the initial load screen. Story is muted, however gameplay is 1st class, with usually 5 or 6 camp skirmishes, followed by sneaking into the main battle camp to power up a gem, at which point you return to that main battle camp, but this time not sneaking about, with around 1,000+ soldiers, they flock into battle in a similar fashion to Epic's recent demos of flocking hordes, and epic battles ensue. Most of the game is the build up to these battles, if checking a map, clearing out a camp, checking the map, clearing another, similar camp is not for you, you may get bored of repetition, as people did with Assasins Creed. However it's an extremely well made game, and has provided me with a few great nights of entertainment so far. I have 566G's at present and have played 2 of the 3 game islands through before writing this, so if the last boss turns out rubbish don't blame me! Another aspect i really like is the islands will be dark, foggy, and wet, until you liberate areas, then the sun shines, the birds tweet and the once dank environs revela themselves to be RPG pretty..

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
Best hack and slash in years.

George W. gave it an8:
Even though you see a few glitches here and there and the story isn't up to much, Viking is so much fun. The open world is beautiful and the big battles have to be seen to be believed. It balances perfectly between sandbox and cinematic spectacle. The combat could be deeper and the script is pretty awful but I couldn't care less when it is so much fun.

Shannon L. gave it a9:
Despite what critics have said about it - Viking is a fantastic game. The graphics are awesome, the controls are solid and mildy chunky but only as chunky and solid as you would expect - You ARE playing as a Viking afterall.. The sandbox you roam around in is huge and the game itself is instantlyplayable - there NO loading screens AT ALL when you are in the sandbox even if you die and respawn - no load screen. The complaints that there is slowdown is totally mistrewn the only slowdown you get is when trying to kill one of the Shamans and even then it is very minor and definitely not Game breaking. Yes the fetch quests do get repetitive but as while you are on these quests it still involves copius amounts of gratuitous violence to keep even the most hardcore Gorehounds happy. If anything at least rent the game - it would a crying shame if this new IP is some how overlooked because a Viking franchise would be fantastic. Do yourself a favour - if your unsure about this game - rent it, borrow it whatever you do - make sure you play this game.

Gio D. gave it an8:
Creative Assembly have crafted another suberb gem for their 2nd concole effort. Viking is ALL brutality, plain and simple. You roam the land of 3 MASSIVE islands to free and recruit other warriors into your army so you can go up against Hel the goddess of death. Once you recruit your warriors you go into battle, but when you go into battle, YOU GO INTO BATTLE. I'm talking hundreds and hundreds of guys on screen hacking and slashing away at one another. If your into action and brutality or like your battles on FULL SCALE ASSUALT (and who doesnt), then you cant go wrong with Viking. Cant wait to see what Creative Assembly does next.

Alex B. gave it a7:
Well, I love this game. I played it for a few hours and I can say: If you love the vikings, huge battles, simple controls and a lot of hack n slay fun, then you should get VIking. + great battles + great atmosphere + for adults only - somethings it slowsdown - the graphics are not the best - the sound is not the best, too but nevertheless a really funny game, that keeps you entertaining for a few hours

Chris M. gave it a7:
I’m enjoying this game quite a bit. Lovely graphics combined with an open world mechanic and wonderful gameplay all combined to a less hyped Assassins Creedesque game with out the platform elements of said game.

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Viking: Battle for Asgard

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What The Critics Said

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