When Vikings Attack! Review (Vita)

What is it?
A side-scrolling, arcade-style, beat ’em up based in 1970s Britain which is being invaded by Vikings.

Is it fun?
Yeah, even though it does get a bit repetitive after a while the enjoyment is definitely still there.

Is it worth the money? £7.99
Yes. When Vikings Attack! does enough to be worthy of an £8 exchange.

Why?
The premise, if I were forced to summarise it. That’s not to immediately damn the gameplay, but the writing and setting is so ludicrously funny that it’s genuinely hilarious in actual practice. There are even cutscenes/tutorials based around the 1970s Cold War warning announcements, only instead of nukes and the Russians, they are based around Vikings. It’s so stupid that it is actually quite brilliant.

The gameplay of When Vikings Attack! (exclamation marks in titles of games are cool, apparently) is very simple. You are a Briton, and you must collect other stereotyped British characters to increase your group’s numbers into one giant cluster. You then control this cluster, pick up items amongst the landscape, and throw them at the clusters of Vikings which are attacking. The bigger your group, the bigger items you can pick up and throw. That’s the real meat and mead of the situation.

It’s not genre-defying by any means but the smirk-worthy humour, coupled with ridiculously over-the-top voice acting consisting of the most brilliant batch of British diction I’ve heard in a game in a long while, makes it damned enjoyable. I’m not sure I’d be giving this game as much praise had I played it on the PlayStation 3, as the game is the same on both platforms, but on the PS Vita it is a great handheld laugh.

It lacks substance to be an exclusive PS3 purchase. I could not imagine booting up a home console for the sole purpose of firing up WVA as it’s a tad too shallow affair. This is a game that shines because it’s always with you, ready to entertain on a whim, rather than making a focussed effort to play it on a console which has more substantial offerings at the same cost. However, whichever version you buy, you are given both the PlayStation 3 version and the PS Vita version – a very nice touch.

There is cross-platform play if you’re that way inclined. The co-op option is damn fun, and while it is possible to have a Vita player and a PS3 player team up, I imagine it’d be best played with in a group of Vita owners in a room together. The gameplay remains almost identical but when you have 4 groups of British people throwing tractors around the streets of London then hilarity is bound to ensue.

There’s not too much more to say about WVA. This is the perfect kind of downloadable game for the Vita. It’s simple, enjoyable, the levels are short but with excellent replay value so pick-up-and-play is a breeze and of course, all for a reasonable price of £7.99. It is what I refer to as a ‘filler game’. You know when you’re on a train, or a bus ride, but it’s not going to last longer than 30 minutes? You want this game. Whip your Vita out, do one or two levels, slip your Vita back into your bag and go about your merry way. This game was reviewed more on train journeys than it was sat at home on a sofa.

This is especially worth a crack if you are, or are a fan of the, British. Normally games, particularly those made outside the UK, are able to recreate British stereotypes for comedic purposes well, but rarely so well that British find them anything beyond mildly chuckle-worthy. I actually did “lol” at some of the lines the mini caricatures blurted out. Absolutely worth a look if you’re after some quick on-the-go entertainment.

When Vikings Attack! is out now on the PlayStation Vita and PS3 through the Playstation Store.