wardrox
CAG Veteran
Hey, I just finished and had posted my review for Viking on Ripten where I gave the game an 8.0. I checked meta-critic and was mildly shocked by the some of the 5/10's the game got. Just wondering what Cags think?
I essentially pointed out that the game was at least average in all regards, but excelled in some areas. Citing combat and graphics (as in, 34875234975 people on screen at once) as it's strengths. This sat the game at a solid 8 on the Ripten scale-of-reviewing-games.
To try to not get fired for copy/pastering, but to give you an impression of what I wrote, some extracts:
I essentially pointed out that the game was at least average in all regards, but excelled in some areas. Citing combat and graphics (as in, 34875234975 people on screen at once) as it's strengths. This sat the game at a solid 8 on the Ripten scale-of-reviewing-games.
To try to not get fired for copy/pastering, but to give you an impression of what I wrote, some extracts:
In Viking, you play the role of Skarin, a beefy Viking with a ponytail. Skarin is called upon by Freya, the goddess of Asgard, to help her defeat Hel, Queen of the Underworld, and prevent the world from being plunged into a dark age in which Hel will rule all the land.
As you travel across the open world maps, you will discover more jobs to do, be they discovered by you finding them as you walk around, or from talking to people. Using a handy mini-map to keep track of your location and objectives you will never be lost as to what to do next.
The jobs themselves all feel fairly similar, from freeing a group of men trapped in a quarry surrounded by Legion, to freeing a group of men trapped in a brewery surrounded by Legion. There are a few exceptions to the general formulaic “go to location X, kill all the bad guys”, but they don’t too venture far from the mould.
The combat never ceases to get old, even after killing hundreds of enemies, it’s still amazingly fun. Most likely because of the slow motion fatalities you can use. When your enemy is near dead, missing an arm or some other important body part, you get the option to kill the guy with style. Slicing a man in half and watching his entrails fall out has never quite been as much fun.
The first time I was able to pull off one of these fatalities I let out an audible “oh, wow… haha”. You know. the kind of noise you make when you watch a Rambo movie? Something so gory (yet awesome) happens and you become a little shocked. yet mildly bloodthirsty for more? In Viking, when you cut an undead Viking’s head off, then take both his arms off in one swift move, in slow motion, with lots of blood, it does feel good.
Besides combat, another area where the game shines is with its graphics. Initially, the game looks very average. Nothing stands out as looking stunning. The character models have a nice level of detail in, but they don’t bowl you over. That is, until the game shows its trump card.
During the large battles, or if you happen to chance upon an enemy army, you will see literally hundreds upon hundreds of NPCs on screen at once, many more than I have seen before. This comes at a cost of a few framerate slowdowns, but it is definitely worth it.
All in all the game is best described as a cross between God of War (for its combat), Crackdown (for its open world) and Dynasty Warriors (for the large scale battles). If you enjoyed any of those games, you will likely enjoy Viking, and it’s a must buy. Although I would recommend not playing it for long periods of time, due to the mildly repetitive nature of the tasks, the payoff the game gives the player in the form of satisfying combat and mighty battles makes the game well worth it.
So, I would say buy it.As you travel across the open world maps, you will discover more jobs to do, be they discovered by you finding them as you walk around, or from talking to people. Using a handy mini-map to keep track of your location and objectives you will never be lost as to what to do next.
The jobs themselves all feel fairly similar, from freeing a group of men trapped in a quarry surrounded by Legion, to freeing a group of men trapped in a brewery surrounded by Legion. There are a few exceptions to the general formulaic “go to location X, kill all the bad guys”, but they don’t too venture far from the mould.
The combat never ceases to get old, even after killing hundreds of enemies, it’s still amazingly fun. Most likely because of the slow motion fatalities you can use. When your enemy is near dead, missing an arm or some other important body part, you get the option to kill the guy with style. Slicing a man in half and watching his entrails fall out has never quite been as much fun.
The first time I was able to pull off one of these fatalities I let out an audible “oh, wow… haha”. You know. the kind of noise you make when you watch a Rambo movie? Something so gory (yet awesome) happens and you become a little shocked. yet mildly bloodthirsty for more? In Viking, when you cut an undead Viking’s head off, then take both his arms off in one swift move, in slow motion, with lots of blood, it does feel good.
Besides combat, another area where the game shines is with its graphics. Initially, the game looks very average. Nothing stands out as looking stunning. The character models have a nice level of detail in, but they don’t bowl you over. That is, until the game shows its trump card.
During the large battles, or if you happen to chance upon an enemy army, you will see literally hundreds upon hundreds of NPCs on screen at once, many more than I have seen before. This comes at a cost of a few framerate slowdowns, but it is definitely worth it.
All in all the game is best described as a cross between God of War (for its combat), Crackdown (for its open world) and Dynasty Warriors (for the large scale battles). If you enjoyed any of those games, you will likely enjoy Viking, and it’s a must buy. Although I would recommend not playing it for long periods of time, due to the mildly repetitive nature of the tasks, the payoff the game gives the player in the form of satisfying combat and mighty battles makes the game well worth it.