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War of the Vikings

War of the Vikings

Chivalry gets an axe in the back as Fatshark returns to bygone days in War of the Vikings.

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Fatshark's latest foray into historical warfare is going to appeal to a very specific type of gamer. Those who like this sort of experience are pretty well catered for, with Mount & Blade, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare and, of course, War of the Roses all doing the rounds. Vikings is aiming at a fairly narrow opening, but does the fact that it's swinging its way through Steam Early Access with a huge effing axe give it a better chance of connecting with its audience? Or even better, is there enough here to appeal to the wider audience that the devs undoubtedly crave?

War of the Vikings is already available to buy. This poses a problem for us game reviewers, because while Paradox and Fatshark are happy to take your money, they're also keen to point out that this isn't the finished article just yet. What you get for your investment at this early stage is a third-person combat simulator that puts the vikings into mortal combat with the saxons. To realise this historical scenario you get a selection of pre-defined profiles to access in-game, three maps to play on, and a lot of death.

The first thing that grabs me once I've booted up for the first time is how similar this is to War of the Roses. It looks better, it's a bit simpler, but those who played Roses will have a good base from which to build if/when they jump on board the good ship Vikings. The second thing that grabs me is an axe. In the face. Within a few seconds of restarting it happens again. And again. And again. I wasn't going anywhere quickly so I stepped out and went looking for the tutorial.

War of the Vikings
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At the time of writing the tutorial isn't online for War of the Vikings. It's due next month, and in its place is a single screen that shows how the controls are mapped out. It goes without saying that most of the early doors take-up of a game like this will come from players who enjoyed its predecessor, so if you're arriving on the servers as a newcomer you'll be facing off against proficient players from the start. Given that these incumbent players are axe-wielding warriors, as you can imagine they're not very merciful to fresh-faced players.

I had played War of the Roses quite a bit following its launch last year, but between then and I now I hadn't ventured onto those medieval servers with too much frequency. That is to say, when I started playing Vikings I was very rusty. I might as well have been hitting up the series for the first time for all the good my previous experience did me. I died, a lot. After a couple of hours the number of kills I was getting started creeping up, but I was still on the receiving end of a lot more pain than I was dishing out. On the in-game text I was being gently taunted for being rubbish by (some of) the other players, which didn't do much for my sunny disposition. I re-installed Roses and had a crack on the tutorial in more familiar surroundings, then went into a Vikings server on my own so I could practice without being brutally slaughtered every 20 seconds.

Upon my return to the game proper I was still rubbish. Just a little less so than before. My improvement cheered me up, but it was clear that it would take a considerable investment of time to return me to the place where I was on Roses when I stopped playing - just about breaking even on my kill/death ratio and enjoying myself.

There have been several gameplay innovations that have been implemented to make Vikings a more accessible experience when compared to Roses. For a start there's only three directions from which you can strike and block; left, right and up. It narrows the focus and makes it easier to get acclimatised to the combat. Fatshark are no doubt hoping that this simplified approach to combat will make the game easier to get to grips with for novices, and it probably will, but this isn't likely to make much of a difference while the game is in its current state. The servers aren't particularly busy, and those that frequent them are already pretty good at playing the game. It's a tough nut to crack, which in turn makes it a tough sell at this moment in time.

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War of the Vikings

Having said that, I don't want to put you off, because it's clear that there's a good game brewing here. The classes are suitably different, from archers to swordsmen. There's also a lot of axes, from one-handed options that accompany a shield, to huge two-handed weapons that leave one exposed to the many missile attacks that come your way (all soldiers have throwing axes or knives, and then there's the aforementioned archers). There's powerful special attacks that, when they hit home, are devastating. For the more powerful attacks there's generally a smaller target-area to aim at, and missing will leave you dangerously exposed for a few perilous seconds. There's a nice balance between attack and defence, and as the maps are generally smaller than those found in Roses, action is more intense and there's less time spent huffing and puffing as you trek towards the action upon a restart.

The maps that are already there are well designed. They're full of vantage points from where archers rain down arrows onto the backs of combatants. The terrain is varied and uneven, and scenery is arranged in such a way that it can be used tactically in the midst of combat. It also worth noting that it looks fantastic, and while some of the character animations aren't perfect, there's a definite improvement over what we've seen before (and Roses was already a decent looking game). The blood and gore that was added in a recent patch adds more to the overall atmosphere, and the more compact arenas make for a more immediate and engaging experience than what we've seen before.

The dodge mechanic keeps combat tense and direct. Having soldiers dart around your defensive shield often renders you vulnerable to attacks from the side, and after awhile you might start wondering if it's better just go into battle sporting a huge axe instead of worrying about taking a shield with you. There's a lot going on amidst the din of battle, and acclimatising to the nuances of the mechanics takes a little bit of time. The steep learning curve from War of the Roses remains intact, and although effort has gone into making it more accessible, until fresh blood joins the servers we're not really going to feel the benefit of these changes. War of the Vikings looks like an improvement over its predecessor, and if you've already played plenty of Roses and are looking for something new to amuse yourself with, you'll likely have a good time painting the map red in Vikings. However, if you're new to the series it might just be worth waiting for a few more players to join the action before you start sharpening your axe.

War of the Vikings

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War of the VikingsScore

War of the Vikings

REVIEW. Written by Mike Holmes

"It's still an utterly punishing game, and while it is certainly easier to pick up, it's still very tricky to master."



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