Metacritic Games

Viking: Battle for Asgard (Playstation 3)

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]

Sega
Action
Players: 1
M (Mature)
Developer: Creative Assembly
Released March 25, 2008

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

65 / 100

Critic Reviews

95 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]
85 Gameplanet
A well-rounded action title with elements of strategy, traditional hack and slash, and arcade action.
80 PTGamers
Visceral combat and fort assaults are the main attractions, although the story isn't exactly alluring.
80 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.
80 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.
80 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]
80 TheSixthAxis
It's a game that's far better than most of the tat on the shelves just now, and certainly deserving of your attention and we reckon that a sequel could be stunning.
78 Game Chronicles
This game left you wanting a little more in certain areas but for the overall feel of the game this was wonderfully put together. You have a great story that really flows and pulls you into it.
75 Extreme Gamer
Viking: Battle of Asgard is a great game for what it wants to accomplish.
75 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.
74 Play UK
Viking is enjoyable, but not long lasting. [Issue#165, p.82]
73 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.
73 Game Informer
A solid rental if you like bloody action games.
72 Cheat Code Central
An extremely uncomplicated title that has its fair share of fun due to the hilariously brutal combat animations.
72 MEGamers
The game is flawed and introduces nothing new to the genre but the outcome is pleasant and worthy of your playtime.
70 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.
70 VideoGamer
As entertaining as the game is, it's abundantly clear that things could have been a whole lot better.
70 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.
67 Game Revolution
Viking is a weekend of relaxing ultraviolence, giving Xbox owners an easy thousand points to chase and PS3 owners a short, sweet adventure to pad their shelf.
65 PALGN
Viking: Battle of Asgard is a passable hack-and-slash that would have left a stronger impression if the style managed to outdo the substance.
65 Game Over Online
For a game that promised so much, Viking really doesn't do much in the way of delivering.
65 GameZone
Sadly, Viking is one of those games that could have been great but thanks to repetitive hack-and-slash gameplay there is really not much here even Odin would approve.
64 PSM3 Magazine UK
Tries too hard to ape other, similar games without following its own path. Shame. [May 2008, p.62]
63 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.
60 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.
60 Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
The only good thing to say about the scrapping is the quality of the gore. [May 2008, p.102]
60 Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
The final showdown with Hel - and the story's resolution - seems abrupt and sadly, unepic. [June 2008, p.82]
60 Playstation Official Magazine UK
Combat is gory, but the mechanics are weak. [May 2008, p.104]
60 Console Monster
It doesn’t have a multiplayer mode and the audio is only average, but Viking: Battle for Asgard executes what it set out to achieve - fun and addictive gameplay, even if short-lived.
60 GamingExcellence
While Viking isn't a total disappointment, the biggest problem here is a matter of the game feeling wholly and entirely unfinished.
59 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.
52 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.
50 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.
50 PSW Magazine UK
Viking is sadly, a massively missed opportunity that's dragged into the depths of mediocrity by a boring story, an uninteresting hero, repetitive missions, endless wandering around, hit-and-miss sound, disappointing battles and lots of slowdown.
44 Electronic Gaming Monthly
Viking simply doesn't do enough to stand up to the more polished action experiences out there. [June 2008, p.86]
40 DarkZero
Unfortunately there is so much wrong with it that it doesn’t even manage to reach average status.
40 Gamers' Temple
Viking, once it is all said and done, just isn’t a very good game. It's repetitive, its boring and nearly every aspect of the game seems either rushed or plain forgotten about.
33 1UP
Viking: Battle for Asgard falls far short of its potential.

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