Parents' Guide to

Viking: Battle for Asgard

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

One of the goriest mature fantasy action games.

Game Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 2008
Viking: Battle for Asgard Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Omfgigorawr
Omfgigorawr Adult
June 3, 2010
age 15+

Viking is a beautiful game but with quite a few downfalls.

Viking:Battle for asgard is your typical hack and slash game. There is quite a bit of gore, and violence. You are a viking after all. The game itself is punishingly difficult regardless of difficulty setting. I found myself on the verge of tossing the controller out the window at some parts. As, you will die...quite a bit whether it is from being overwhelmed by enemies,missing a step and falling off an edge, or being beat down by a much large opponent. The game however is beautiful in term of graphics but i would not recommend it at all unless your good with combos and hack and slash games. It's not worth more than $10 or $15 in my opinion, as it's not easy and loses it's fun factor once you get stuck and die often at some parts. If you like vikings, you will probably like it, and if you enjoy a challenge with button combos. Otherwise i'd avoid this one if possible.

This title has:

Too much violence
Plague
Plague Parent
January 7, 2010
age 13+

Viking: Battle for Asgard

Not a great game. Not as much gore as others had said. The controls are easy to master, but the game itself gets boring.
See all 3 parent reviews

What’s It About?

Fantasy adventure meets large-scale warfare in Sega's VIKING: BATTLE FOR ASGARD, a gory Norse mythology tale crafted by The Creative Assembly of Total War fame. Gamers play as Skarin, a deadly Viking hero who wages war against evil to save mankind from total annihilation.

How does this beefy brute go about it, you ask? Naturally, by beheading and dismembering baddies with a battle axe, summoning dragons or commanding large-scale skirmishes featuring hundreds of fighters on a battlefield (something The Creative Assembly is usually very good at). Skarin will be joined by other Vikings he rescues across the countryside.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (1):

While easy on the eyes and ears, the game-play itself is a mixed bag, rendering this disc as a decent weekend rental for mature players and nothing more. The mission-based objectives are enjoyable, such as figuring out a way to enter an enemy camp, but the huge battleground scenes have their share of problems. Specifically, when you've got hundreds of Vikings facing off against hundreds of these blue-skinned enemies and some giants and dragons, too, the action can slow down to a crawl, which hurts that all-important of suspension of disbelief. There's also the lost feeling of control since the outcome of this big messy fight appears to be out of your hands.

Be forewarned: Viking is incredibly gory. You can literally chop a baddie in half and see entrails seep out. If you upgrade your skills by using gold to purchase new moves from a Viking spirit, you can add even more gory attacks to your arsenal. Beheading and dismembering is common fare in this game, even in slow-motion for dramatic effect. Needless-to-say, keep this one away from kids, tweens, and younger teens.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether this level is violence makes the game more appealing or does it hurt its appeal, and thus, potential? What's more, how do you think the game's writer, Rhianna Pratchett (Heavenly Sword, Overlord), daughter of renowned fantasy author Terry Pratchett, feels about this gratuitous violence and gore? Does it make the story an afterthought because players are preoccupied with a more visceral thrill?

Game Details

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