Saga: Rage of the Vikings

I was not sure what to expect when I jumped into Saga: Rage of the Vikings, but what I found here was pretty decent. This is a game that was originally released n the late 90s. It had the hard task of trying to compete with the liked of Age of Empires and Warcraft II which was not an easy feat. As a result, what we have here is a real time strategy game that has kind of been forgotten about.

The Viking Code

What I found most interesting about the game was the setting and the theme. What we have here is a game that is heavily influenced by Norse mythology. Saga: Rage of the Vikings is pretty cool in this regard. The campaign is very lengthy and you will end up dealing with all kinds of races. While “Vikings” are in the title, trolls, elves, and more are also here. Any game that has a fantasy style about it is always something I am going to be willing to give a chance.

A Sing Of The Times

When it comes to the presentation of the game it is, let’s just say it is ok. Ok is a major theme that is going to be part of every aspect I talk about when it comes to this game by the way! You have an isometric top down viewpoint and it works well enough. While the game has a “fantasy” element to it I never feel that they go all-in with this.

Still to be fair, Saga: Rage of the Vikings has a decent enough look and I liked how they allow you to zoom in and out of the action so you can get a better or worse look at the action.

Fight!

As this is a real time strategy game, most of what you will be doing is fighting. The combat here is fun, but it plays it very safe and it is not all that exciting. That is not to say it is bad, but it is just ok. When you look at the reviews from when this game first came out that was the case then too. There are many different clans that you can deal with and fight so there is a fair bit of strategy at play, but the menu system in the game is a tad clunky.

While the campaign is a decent length, you do also have a map editor that you can have some fun with and just wage war on various clans if you want something a bit quicker and easier.

Pros:

• Vikings are always cool
• The music is kind of badass
• The visuals are not bad at all
• There are many different clans
• I like the fantasy elements in the game

Cons:

• The whole game plays everything every safe
• It does not do enough to stand out from other RTS games

Set in the days when men wore skirts, grew lengthy beards and were judged by the size of their horns (on their helmets), SAGA: Rage Of The Vikings is a moderately entertaining if somewhat uninspired real-time strategy game that should appeal to fans of Age Of Empires, Warcraft II and Civilization.

Graphically it's not up to the standard of Microsoft's classic, and at times the 'modern' Celtic music is just plain comical. That said, there are heaps of characters to play with, including Vikings, dwarves, elves and trolls, and an abundance of detailed buildings to construct. The facility to zoom in on the action is a nice feature, as are the changing seasons, the implication of the Viking code of honour, and use of magic; although some may find the interface a little complicated compared to that employed in AOE, which is simplicity itself.

With 60 different clans to fight and conquer, numerous alliances to forge and an expansive game world, there's plenty in the way of game play. And if you get bored of the campaign mode then you can always design your own levels using the easy-to-use map creator, or indulge in a little multiplayer action via a LAN.

If you can overlook the rather uninspiring terrain and forgive the occasionally quirky artificial intelligence, there's plenty here to hold your interest - at least until AOE 2 arrives later this year.