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Last week, the ears of the Scandinavian gaming diaspora perked up when a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game called Viking: Battle for Asgard appeared on online retailer GameStop. The game’s product page indicated Sega as its publisher, but offered no further details in the few hours before it was taken down. However, the reference to the mythical realm of Asgard sparked speculation that the game might do for the Norse pantheon what God of War did for Greek mythology.
As it turns out, that speculation was prescient. Today at the Leipzig Games Convention, Sega officially announced Viking: Battle for Asgard, a game that the publisher claims will let gamers “experience for the first time ever the brutal yet spectacular world of the Vikings and their all-powerful gods.” Like God of War, it will feature a “powerful yet flawed warrior” protagonist who battles newly imagined incarnations of ancient deities. In this case, he must stop the death goddess Hel’s demonic armies from overrunning Midgard (aka Earth) and starting Ragnarok, the cataclysmic final confrontation between the Aesir (Odin, Thor, and so on) and the forces of evil.
Viking will be the first next-generation console title from The Creative Assembly, developer of the acclaimed Total War real-time strategy series for the PC. To date, the West Sussex, UK-headquartered developer’s only console game has been 2005’s Spartan: Total Warrior for the Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2. However, the shop has previously made Norse-themed games in the form of the 2003 Medieval: Total War–Viking Invasion expansion pack.
Viking: Battle for Asgard is set for a simultaneous release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next spring, and has not yet been priced or rated.
looks good to me :^:
The echo of shattered bone and slopping coils of intestine resonates around the Leipzig demo room, as The Creative Assembly’s James Carey gleefully demonstrates the inventive ways you can slaughter a foe. Creative Assembly might be renowned for their “historically accurate” Total War series on PC, but it’s apparent that their new next-gen project, Viking: Battle for Asgard, joyously chucks any semblance of beardy realism out of the window in favour of fantastical, gory fun.
Token plot? Hel, boss lady of the Nordic underworld, has invaded Asgard with an army of undead Vikings, and it’s up to strapping hero Skarin – champion of the goddess Freya – to restore balance to the world. The events of Viking unfold over three islands (each a kilometre in real world terms), each of which our hero is able to roam about recruiting troops – before engaging the forces of evil in large-scale battles. Naturally, CA admit it’d be a folly to march right up to the game’s final scraps 10 minutes into your adventure, but this is the sense of scale and freedom of choice the Sussex massive are striving for.
A real genre hybrid, this. There’s a smattering of Dynasty Warriors’ wild scale, but with infinitely more panache and rolling hills instead of pop-up-obscuring fog. The scale of Asgard and sense of autonomy recalls Oblivion; battlefield dynamics appear heavily influenced by the likes of Braveheart while the chunky, personality-packed character models and bleak sense of “humour” might have been ripped straight from Mark of Kri and God of War respectively. Meanwhile, you’d do well to remember that each one of Skarin’s solo excursions is intrinsically linked to the outcome of climactic battles, whether it’s purchasing a stouter sword from a smithy, freeing a posse of comrades to help bear arms or incapacitating an enemy outpost to shrink the ranks of their armies. Attempt to take on Hel’s hordes unprepared and the future looks bleak. Put in some groundwork and the forces of light might prevail.
I do not want Trophies, Money or not even a title saying I am number "1". You can have your cheap trophies, paper titles, and dingy headbands. I am a "STORY" to my peers, a "LEGEND" for your kids to hear, and a "FOLKLORE" to keep you from dieing with fear - [b]Calvin D. Kates aka Chauncy "TRU" Talon. [/b]
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