Asterix and the Vikings

If you think of famous cartoon Gauls you’ll probably be only able to think of one, rather short chap called Asterix.

In Asterix and the Vikings you are plunged into a mission to find and return the son of Chief Vitalstatistix who’s been kidnapped by the pesky horned-helmeted sea-farers. You play the vertically challenged hero Asterix in this platform game where you must time your jumps, move barrels into position, ducking and fighting your way through the levels. The comic book styling remains throughout the game to the delight of all Asterix fans. Fighting in particular highlights the appearance and style of this game. For example when you’ve drunk some magic potion you will be rewarded by seeing your opponents (Vikings, seagulls and anything else which moves) fly through the air in a comical fashion.

It’s clear to see that the looks are superb however the game’s sound is not at all that it should be. Apart from the odd chime whenever you collect a power-up or an entertaining comedic slap sound whenever Asterix hits an enemy character. Unfortunately apart from the introduction tune that sparks up in the first few seconds, it’s really quite a silent game! Normally I’m grateful for there to be no music, but having no option other than effects during the game seems a little thoughtless.

Game-play and movement’s are pretty effective although there’s no real variety. For example, the action key only causes you to hit in the same way, although on the plus side you can use objects to bowl over opponents and save you the hassle of getting in too near or getting hit and possibly losing the game!

There’s a small hint of puzzle solving opportunity with this game by moving the barrels or snowballs into place, you can reach levels of the platform previously out of reach. This element of strategy proves more essential as the game goes on. Indeed you will need to solve some puzzles to ensure you gather all the objects you need to help you complete the level.

If you complete the three levels for each three worlds by successfully collecting all the various power-ups (slain Viking helmets, skulls and extra lives etc.) you’ll be rewarded by unlocking a fourth level in each world – which is essentially the same as all the others, but full of score-boosting items and no Vikings! At the end of the game your score is tallied up and stored for you to try and improve upon later.

In the end, this is a very entertaining and beautiful looking game. The lack of sound is a little disappointing but least it’s not as offensive as many other themes that you can endure. The early levels are pretty entertaining and provide a bit of a challenge, however the later levels are infuriatingly hard. The snow level is wicked, with instant death being the result of a mistimed leap or the falling ice from above which come with no warning.

Rating 91%

Positives

Excellent looks

Simple moves

Pretty addictive

Negatives

Repetitive

Very difficult at times