PALGN writes: "While Australia missed out on a shiny new console during the Christmas of 2005, we were instead treated to a number of games that helped cap off the last generation. One of the games that came along without causing too much of a stir was Spartan Total Warrior. We have no shame in admitting that the game had some enjoyable aspects, and now, the developers have come up with an indirect follow-up on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Viking: Battle for Asgard shares a few of similarities with its spiritual predecessor, though the end result suggests that it could have used a few more of its own.
Viking: Battle for Asgard is based around Vikings and Norse mythology. Following a very stylised opening, you witness the main character, Skarin, falling after a fatal wound. The Goddess Freya revives Skarin as her chosen warrior in the war against Hel and the forces of the Underworld. While the opening premise seems quite promising, the story devolves rather quickly from there, as you seem like nothing more then Freya's errand boy. While it's a tired saying, the story seems to exist only as an excuse to slay your way through the copious hordes of demons thrown at you.
Viking: Battle for Asgard had some rather nifty ideas going for it, but they are let down by a lot of poor implementations and seemingly amateur mistakes. Basically, the game is made up of a series of maps. On each map, you start at a home base and explore the map for other Vikings that have been captured by Hel's forces. Once you've either liberated a base or completed an objective such as finding a missing item, often the leader of the area will pledge you their forces. Once you've got enough troops and have satisfied the required objectives, your army can lay siege to some of the densely populated enemy camps."
