Viking: Battle for Asgard Intro Movie

[leo8877]

http://ve3d.ign.com/videos/23315/Xbox-360/Viking-Battle-for-Asgard

I know some peeps were looking forward to this.

[Eduardo X]

What a dumb trailer.

THE GAME LOOKS GOOD, SO PLEASE FUCKING SHOW IT NEXT TIME. Thanks.

[EngineNo9]

What a dumb trailer.

THE GAME LOOKS GOOD, SO PLEASE FUCKING SHOW IT NEXT TIME. Thanks.

Quiet, you.    It's not great, but I don't mind this compared to a crazy pre-rendered intro that is vastly superior to the actual game.

[skystride]

I love the crazy pre-rendered stuff, like what Westwood used to do and Blizzard.  I would like to see gameplay footage.  They've been bombarding Live with one cutscene after another.  They seem to have gotten their tags wrong too because some weird error text shows up on Live where the description should be.

[ATB]

WHAT A DUMB TRAILER.

nice animation. voiceover is atrocious.

[EngineNo9]

OK, if you want to see a little bit of the actual game, check out the third dev diary: Creating Midgard.  It sounds like there are three open-world islands that you progress through and the combat looks pretty cool. 

[ATB]

3rd person action (rpg?). Sold.

[EngineNo9]

So to avoid further derailing the "What are you buying" thread, it looks like reviews for this one are kind of all over the board.  Checking out MetaCritic you can see a low score of 6/10 from GameDaily and a high of 9.5 from Play Magazine with some others filling out the middle for an average of 76%. 

After reading the reviews I think that while it may not be the ultimate epic I figure my love of vikings and action/adventure games means that I will be plenty satisfied.  My copy should arrive tomorrow or Thursday and I'm excited.

[CeeKay]

So to avoid further derailing the "What are you buying" thread, it looks like reviews for this one are kind of all over the board.  Checking out MetaCritic you can see a low score of 6/10 from GameDaily and a high of 9.5 from Play Magazine with some others filling out the middle for an average of 76%. 

After reading the reviews I think that while it may not be the ultimate epic I figure my love of vikings and action/adventure games means that I will be plenty satisfied.  My copy should arrive tomorrow or Thursday and I'm excited.

make sure to post your Vikings impressions when you get it.  The IGN review has me passing, but I didn't realize the reviews varied so wildly.

[Jarrodhk]

Hmm... either I'm grabbing this and Crisis Core tomorrow, or CC and Warriors Orochi for the PSP.

[USMC Kato]

Getting Viking and Dark Sector. 

[Bullwinkle]

So to avoid further derailing the "What are you buying" thread, it looks like reviews for this one are kind of all over the board.  Checking out MetaCritic you can see a low score of 6/10 from GameDaily and a high of 9.5 from Play Magazine with some others filling out the middle for an average of 76%. 

After reading the reviews I think that while it may not be the ultimate epic I figure my love of vikings and action/adventure games means that I will be plenty satisfied.  My copy should arrive tomorrow or Thursday and I'm excited.

make sure to post your Vikings impressions when you get it.  The IGN review has me passing, but I didn't realize the reviews varied so wildly.

Well, Play magazine is pretty to look at, but pretty shallow, review-wise. 

Team XBox liked it (with an 82), but 1Up just slammed it hard with a D+. Ouch.  They said:

These battles don't last very long (10 minutes on average), but the game features an odd respawning system where dying puts you back at the last checkpoint, minus any items (health vials, bombs, axes) you used in the previous turn. In some cases this makes sense, like when you use an item and it leaves persistent damage to certain enemies on the battlefield, but in others it seems unnecessarily punishing to the player, since -- in the final boss battle, for instance -- you only get one shot to use these items, and if you die the battle becomes significantly more challenging.

Viking puts some nice ideas on the table with the epic battles and dragon summoning, not to mention the wealth of Nordic lore to dive into. But it's unfortunate that it does nothing more with them.

Of course, Games Radar gave it an 8.  They said:

You'll love
Visceral combat
Tightly-scripted story
Great controls
You'll hate
Sound lacks atmosphere
Too-simple puzzles
Struggling camera

[EngineNo9]

So to avoid further derailing the "What are you buying" thread, it looks like reviews for this one are kind of all over the board.  Checking out MetaCritic you can see a low score of 6/10 from GameDaily and a high of 9.5 from Play Magazine with some others filling out the middle for an average of 76%. 

After reading the reviews I think that while it may not be the ultimate epic I figure my love of vikings and action/adventure games means that I will be plenty satisfied.  My copy should arrive tomorrow or Thursday and I'm excited.

make sure to post your Vikings impressions when you get it.  The IGN review has me passing, but I didn't realize the reviews varied so wildly.

Without a doubt I'll be posting some impressions by the weekend.  My copy should arrive tomorrow it looks like. 

[USMC Kato]

Ok I got it, going to divide my time with this and Dark Sector tonight.

[ATB]

Man oh man i hope it's better than it rates...

[Bullwinkle]

Ok I got it, going to divide my time with this and Dark Sector tonight.

Okay, but post your impressions tonight or before I get to the store tomorrow.  So, set your alarm.  Do it!

[kronovan]

All I can say is that I'm very surprised this game doesn't feature co-op play. Without that  there's no way this game would be more than a rental for me.

[CeeKay]

Ok I got it, going to divide my time with this and Dark Sector tonight.

Okay, but post your impressions tonight or before I get to the store tomorrow.  So, set your alarm.  Do it!

so, where's the impressions?  did Kato end up in the hospital again or is the game just that good he was up all night playing it?

[Bullwinkle]

Ok I got it, going to divide my time with this and Dark Sector tonight.

Okay, but post your impressions tonight or before I get to the store tomorrow.  So, set your alarm.  Do it!

so, where's the impressions?  did Kato end up in the hospital again or is the game just that good he was up all night playing it?

KAAAAAATO!!!!!

[skystride]

All I can say is that I'm very surprised this game doesn't feature co-op play. Without that  there's no way this game would be more than a rental for me.

Yeah same here.  It looked like a co-op friendly game from the videos.  I picked up the case at the store last night, looked at the back, it said single player only so I put it back down.

[USMC Kato]

All I can say is that I'm very surprised this game doesn't feature co-op play. Without that  there's no way this game would be more than a rental for me.

Yeah same here.  It looked like a co-op friendly game from the videos.  I picked up the case at the store last night, looked at the back, it said single player only so I put it back down.

heh heh sorry.  No-coop or any multiplayer options at all, it is strictly multiplayer. 

It's your standard hack & slash with light rpg/strategy elements (stealth elements as well) and with a slightly open world to run around in.  Weapons can be upgraded and augmented with different powers like fire,ice, or lightning for extra punch. Combos can be learned at different arena's, and dragon air support can be called upon when things get nasty.  I've only been in 1 massive battle and the slowdown is noticeable, but it wasn't that bad IMO.  Combat seems pretty easy on the normal difficulty.  Combat is extremely satisfying and the fatalities are very gruesome (sometimes the game goes into slow-motion when that happens).

Viking seems like a mishmash of games like Dynasty Warriors (an R-version)+ God(Thor) of War+ Conan. I suck at giving impressions, but if any of you guys have any more questions just hit me up on LIVE and I'll do my best to answer them. 

[Jimmy the Fish]

Kato pretty much summed it up well. The game is pure hack and slash, taking elements from a bunch of other hack and slash games. To add to his impressions, I will say that the graphics are quite nice, although the shadow effects are rather odd in that they do weird things to peoples' faces. Adjusting the in-game gamma setting doesn't seem to help much either. There are combo moves that you can purchase at combat arenas, but so far I find that I don't use them all that much. 95% of the time I'm just button mashing the A button. Voice acting is mediocre, sometimes cheesy but it doesn't detract from the game. The flow of the game so far is very linear. You go from one map location to the next to rescue your fellow soldiers, battle mini-bosses and collect artifacts. Sections of the maps are blocked off until you complete other specific locations.

For me, it's a fun, if derivative game. I love the Viking mythology theme which is something that isn't attempted much in games. The carnage is over the top with flying heads, limbs and torsos, and generous amounts of spraying blood. I get a chuckle every time your character hacks off an enemy's arms and he stands there dazed, like the black knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Then you swing your weapon and slice the head clean off sending it flying up in the air. That never gets old.

I've completed the first map which took me about three and a half hours. Judging from the progression of what you have to accomplish, it looks like there are only 3 or 4 world maps to play, which makes the game last around 11 to 13 hours total. It's strictly single-player only with no co-op modes (unless it's an unlockable feature). I can see that once the game is compete, there really is no replay value, so it's definitely worth a rental. I'd hesitate to play full price, $60, for it, but if it's on sale for, say, $40, it's definitely worth picking up.

[Bullwinkle]

Kato pretty much summed it up well. The game is pure hack and slash, taking elements from a bunch of other hack and slash games. To add to his impressions, I will say that the graphics are quite nice, although the shadow effects are rather odd in that they do weird things to peoples' faces. Adjusting the in-game gamma setting doesn't seem to help much either. There are combo moves that you can purchase at combat arenas, but so far I find that I don't use them all that much. 95% of the time I'm just button mashing the A button. Voice acting is mediocre, sometimes cheesy but it doesn't detract from the game. The flow of the game so far is very linear. You go from one map location to the next to rescue your fellow soldiers, battle mini-bosses and collect artifacts. Sections of the maps are blocked off until you complete other specific locations.

For me, it's a fun, if derivative game. I love the Viking mythology theme which is something that isn't attempted much in games. The carnage is over the top with flying heads, limbs and torsos, and generous amounts of spraying blood. I get a chuckle every time your character hacks off an enemy's arms and he stands there dazed, like the black knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Then you swing your weapon and slice the head clean off sending it flying up in the air. That never gets old.

I've completed the first map which took me about three and a half hours. Judging from the progression of what you have to accomplish, it looks like there are only 3 or 4 world maps to play, which makes the game last around 11 to 13 hours total. It's strictly single-player only with no co-op modes (unless it's an unlockable feature). I can see that once the game is compete, there really is no replay value, so it's definitely worth a rental. I'd hesitate to play full price, $60, for it, but if it's on sale for, say, $40, it's definitely worth picking up.

I picked it up, hoping I'd be more in the like than hate camp.  Turns out I am. 

The sound is a big issue.  It really does just sound creepily empty.  The voiceovers are fine, though, IMO.  It is a bit odd to have an Irish bloke as one of the rescuees, but the performance is decent.  I understand Brian Blessed is in there, which is always cool.

I also wish the map was a little clearer in each section or that the objectives were a little clearer.  I could easily have missed finding one of the first objectives you get (finding a dragon stone) and with the way I play games, I may have let some time pass before picking it up again, and I don't think I would have had any idea about what I missed or where it was.

As for the over the top violence, I love it.  However, what I find even more amusing than what Jimmy described is when your character chops the head off and then hacks off the arms.  You know, just in case.

Overall, I'd say it's a good game.  I've heard elsewhere that gametime is closer to 15 - 20 hours, which is a plus.  Perhaps some bigger places get opened up later.  If you have an interest in Vikings, it's worth checking out, especially if you like your Norsemen with a bit of Guinness.

[Caine]

small note that fry's has this for $53 until tuesday, so you can save a bit to play this.  not the kick ass sale they had on r6v2, but at least it's something.

[ATB]

Rented!

[EngineNo9]

I've played for a few hours now and it looks like you guys have summed it up pretty well.  It's not earth shatteringly awesome, but if you like the Norse material and hack-n-slash action/adventure games there is a lot of fun to be had here. 

I certainly wouldn't say that it is all linear, though.  Yeah there are times when you have to go in one direction to advance, but for the most part you are able to explore the world and go to any of the conflict areas. 

I think the graphics are great, except for the times when things are so dark that they're basically black around your character.  Maybe I can jack up the gamma a bit, but things look great in the sunny areas so I don't want to wash them out. 

The combat seemed a bit unresponsive when I first started but I think mostly that was because even the fast attack has a delay if you swing at nothing.  I have started to use some of the moves that I've bought and I find that it helps quite a bit.  Sneaking up on some guys to sliceone clean in half, knocking another down with a shoulder blow and then smacking down the third with a combo is very satisfying. 

One time I went wandering a bit and happened upon a whole squad of like 50 fucking Legion just marching up the road.  That didn't turn out so hot.

The only other complaint I can think of is that trying to fight on bridges and cliff edges while trying not to fall off is a bit hairy.  I'm having fun, though, and I can't wait to play more this weekend.

[ATB]

Rented this today and so far I'm very much enjoying it.  I chose the hard difficulty and so far it has proven hard.

[USMC Kato]

Rented this today and so far I'm very much enjoying it.  I chose the hard difficulty and so far it has proven hard.

Yeah I think I should up my difficulty to hard, it might actually force me to fight smarter (using all the combos and moves). 

[Bullwinkle]

What the F?  I'm playing on Normal, and I'm getting my ass handed to me.

Seriously, I think I might be missing something.  I'm making an assault on the Gorge.  I found a place to "sneak" in, but the second I crest the hill, I stand up, and the sneaking's over.  I try to lure the goons onto that ledge for some one-on-one fighting, but that doesn't work.  It's either going to take hours or I get overwhelmed by ridiculous numbers.  This is after I spent an hour trying to get in through the front gate.

Annoyingly, I freed one set of fellow Vikings, but died afterwards, so now, of course, they're no longer around to help.  There's another group tied up, but I'm reluctant to free them (even if I could...if I get close the horde is upon me).  I feel like maybe the army I've amassed should be helping, but I have no idea how to get that to happen. 

Can someone help me here?  I fear I'm about to give up on this game, as this part seems insurmountable.

[EngineNo9]

Bullwinkle, to get your army to help you when attacking a big fortification like the Gorge and the Encampment by it, you use the map to select that area and press A to call your warriors and start the battle (the option will open up after you've met the requirements).  The map is also what tells you how many more groups of warriors you need to free and any other things to accomplish before the battle. 

And I forgot the one other thing that I dislike about this game: having to smack the B button to interact with stuff (opening chests, freeing warriors, etc).  I know this is basically taken from God of War, but it's a terrible mechanic and should just die.  This isn't 1986 and I'm not playing Track and Field so quit making me mash buttons!  Just let me hold it down for a couple seconds or something.

[ATB]

Now that I get the basic mechanics, I've restarted and have gotten to the point where I have to lower the drawbridge.

Again, I'm really enjoying it as I had no expectations and it has been hellah long since I played a 3rd person perspective action game.  It's not superb, but it is quite good.  Too late to tell what price I'd put on it, but for some reason it's making me think of Gladius. Oh how I wish we could get a current gen Gladius game...

Right now it's easily in the B+ category for me, but again, I'm only about 1.5 hrs in...or so.

[EngineNo9]

For those that haven't yet reached the stealth run on the town at the end of the first "level", I'd suggest you use that time to collect as much of the treasure/skulls as you can.  During the big battle you can't see the treasure on your map and once that's over you don't get the chance to explore any more. 

Oddly enough the town in the middle of the second "level" is much easier to sneak around than that first one.  I had a hell of a time there. 

Despite that, though, I am still really enjoying the game.  Certainly better than most of those reviews made it seem. 

[ATB]

For those that haven't yet reached the stealth run on the town at the end of the first "level", I'd suggest you use that time to collect as much of the treasure/skulls as you can.

Skulls?

[EngineNo9]

For those that haven't yet reached the stealth run on the town at the end of the first "level", I'd suggest you use that time to collect as much of the treasure/skulls as you can.

Skulls?

It's just a secondary thing for an achievement.  There are 6 skulls hidden in each town that you can collect if you want.  Not really worth it to me (but the gold would have been). 

[mikeg]

Now that I get the basic mechanics, I've restarted and have gotten to the point where I have to lower the drawbridge.

Again, I'm really enjoying it as I had no expectations and it has been hellah long since I played a 3rd person perspective action game.  It's not superb, but it is quite good.  Too late to tell what price I'd put on it, but for some reason it's making me think of Gladius. Oh how I wish we could get a current gen Gladius game...

Right now it's easily in the B+ category for me, but again, I'm only about 1.5 hrs in...or so.

I am really intrigued by this one but I know there is no way, in one or even two rentals, I could ever come close to finishing it as I only play about 5-6 hours a week.  So, I am eagerly reading all you guys are saying and hoping for a sale somewhere or someone beating it and ready to sell it.

Anyone?  Keep me in mind if'n you are out there and you want to sell it some time.

[ATB]

K. I'm starting to form some gripes. Not game breaking, but really really annoying.

Like the afore mentioned ease with which you fall of cliffs.  If I'm in a battle and I go to hit x to do a finishing move and the guy has just about fallen off the edge the character goes into the animation and both of you tumble off and die- this happened to me 3 consecutive times in the same exact spot. 

Also, again as mentioned, the settings are too dark. I know that's intentional, but I walked right off the edge of the screen without knowing it was there (that abrubtly ended my play time for this game for the evening).

I wish that chracters you can talk to would clear the 'b' flying over their head when you're done talking to them.  Some characters always have it (even non-merchants) and when you talk to them they repeat one of two or three set dialogues.

I also wish the map was a bit more zoomable so I can get a better sense of where I actually am.

Using throwing weapons isn't particularly good as it seems once you select one, you can't unselect it without actually throwing it. Since they cost money per use, that kind of sucks

I had one more minor thing too, but I don't remember what it was.

Still, I'm having lots of fun and will see this game through to the end I'm sure.

[CeeKay]

well, I had a bunch of trade in credit (and even more when I put my pre-order for GTA IV into the mix) so I ended up grabbing this yesterday.  After Vegas went down again I decided to fire this up and next thing I knew it was getting towards 4am and I needed to sleep.  I'm definitely glad I decided to ignore the IGN review and watch the Gametrailers.com gameplay videos.

[EngineNo9]

Also, again as mentioned, the settings are too dark. I know that's intentional, but I walked right off the edge of the screen without knowing it was there (that abrubtly ended my play time for this game for the evening).

You know, I jacked the gamma up a couple settings and haven't had that problem at all anymore.  It may also be that the second set of islands isn't quite as dark or have as deep of shadows, but either way I'm glad I don't have to deal with that anymore as it was really annoying me. 

Using throwing weapons isn't particularly good as it seems once you select one, you can't unselect it without actually throwing it. Since they cost money per use, that kind of sucks.

I don't use the throwing axes much at all, but when I did I thought you could just let got of the right button and be back to normal combat.  However, if you keep holding the button down and allow it to "aim" then the blue 'X' pops up and you can 1-hit kill them (at least with the better axes from the second island...I only tried it a couple times on the first one and they seemed to suck). 

[Bullwinkle]

Bullwinkle, to get your army to help you when attacking a big fortification like the Gorge and the Encampment by it, you use the map to select that area and press A to call your warriors and start the battle (the option will open up after you've met the requirements).  The map is also what tells you how many more groups of warriors you need to free and any other things to accomplish before the battle. 

And I forgot the one other thing that I dislike about this game: having to smack the B button to interact with stuff (opening chests, freeing warriors, etc).  I know this is basically taken from God of War, but it's a terrible mechanic and should just die.  This isn't 1986 and I'm not playing Track and Field so quit making me mash buttons!  Just let me hold it down for a couple seconds or something.

Thank you, E.  I knew I was missing something.  It was just too impossible.

[CeeKay]

OK, made it to the first stealth mission and not loving it so much.  I've made it within sight of the Ley thing in Darkwater several times but somehow I keep on getting detected just as I'm about to approach it.  I have no clue what's catching me but it's irritating, compounded with the fact that there seems to be an endless supply of bad guys in the town, and if I escape by jumping over the wall all the previous guards that I stealth killed are reset.