This is an ongoing blog where I play every game to completion that has ever existed to determine what is the greatest game of all time. If you care about the rules, I suggest you start here.

Normally when I start these blogs, I wax poetical for a little bit about my past, present, or future in the world of games. However, I want to get out in front of what everyone is thinking: Yes, this game does exist, and yes, when I said I was going to play every game, I meant every game!

When Vikings attack was a Playstation network game, for the PS3 and possibly Vita. I found it during a time in my life when I was being more frugal and searching for games with playable demos in order to pass the time or truly capture me. I thought "Hey, I like vikings," and figured that was enough to get me through the demo door.

I played the demo, and loved it (well maybe not love, but a strong like). I thought the game-play was interesting (more on this later), the game seemed to have some humor (always a plus), and it was on sale at the time, so I took the plunge. I played it on and off a couple times (separated by months) always starting over to remember how to play, always playing through 1-3 levels, and always putting it down. Not a ringing endorsement, but now that I was cataloging and ranking games, and with the weight of the internet wanting to finally know how every game stacks up, I finally had an excuse to force myself to play through the game.

Lets start with a quick overview. You play the role of a towns-person who is looking to repel vikings who are attacking your humble abode. You run around picking up objects on the map, and flinging them at the attackers in an effort to knock them down like ragdolls. You can "recruit" more and more people to join your herd, which allows you to lift and fling heavier objects. The vikings are trying to do the same to you (flick objects) and you stay alive as long as one towns-person remains under your control. It controls similar to a twin stick shooter, with the left stick moving and the right stick you flick to throw an object in a direction. The harder you flick the farther things go, etc. Each map is roughly the same where you take on waves of enemies, with different objects to throw, or obstacles on the map to avoid.

You know what? It actually feels pretty fun those first couple of levels. The absurdity of throwing cars, and fallen trees at a horde of vikings and watching them topple like bowling pins is enjoyable. The cartoon-ish humor and sound effects elicited a chuckle from me initially, hearing the vikings yell in agony when getting hit, or seeing a fellow viking smacked. The "movies" spliced between some levels, which are meant to act as a tutorial, seemed to have some heart that I enjoyed seeing. All in all, the game was looking up, I mean how can this mechanic get boring?

Well, ummm, it does. Now to be clear, I am fine with the general loop here of picking up items and throwing them. My problem here is that the game doesn't know how to change itself in meaningful ways. The first levels work well, because the difficulty is nicely balanced and the worlds are open with plenty of items to throw (big and small). As the game progress those levels become less populated and more cramped, which changes the frantic nature of the beginning levels to controlled slogs later on. The fun of picking up telephone booths, throwing it, and then running to pick up trash cans, are replaced with waiting for the vikings to throw one of the two items on the map. I want to constantly feel like I am on the offensive, not just playing catch with the same item for 20 minutes.

As the game progresses, we are also introduced into tougher enemies, that require you to always hit them in the back, or to rebound shots off of telephone polls. Now, I don't want the games to stay the same difficulty forever, but I do feel these "tougher" enemies actually detract from the pace of the game. This game should be fast paced and hectic at its best, narrowly dodging items and throwing stuff behind you to hit a pile of vikings. The game is at its worst when it tries to act like a puzzle game, where you have to carefully line up shots, or walk on narrow ledges to move between levels. The back half of the game ruins any fun I had in the first half, and something that could have been a neat experiment overstays its welcome.

I feel like I should touch on the final boss battle, but I will simply say it is awful, and plays horribly.

Perhaps this game should stay where I initially found it, as a free demo of 3 levels. If any of this interests you and you want to watch some playthrough, i have some videos here

Is this the greatest game of all time: No

Where does it rank:

1) Super Mario Bros

2) That's You!

3) Super Dodgeball

4) Blast Corps

5) Simpsons Road Rage

6) Knowledge is Power

7) When Vikings Attack

Next games up: "WCW/NWO Revenge" & "WCW and NWO World Tour" for the N64