Lately, I've been caught up in the fascinating new show on the History Channel called Vikings. It's really amazing. The actor they got to play Ragnar Lothbrok captures the lunacy I would equate with the Vikings perfectly. He stares down death and torture with a smug little smile on his face. And his wife! His wife is a kickass shield maiden who doesn't take crap from anyone...

So with this amazing story fresh in my mind, I leapt at the opportunity to see if Viking Brothers could keep my current obsession with Vikings alive a little longer.

My disappointment began with the story... it was pretty uninspiring. The Vikings came to this fertile land kept beautiful and verdant by the Tree of Life. But one day, savages wearing wolf and leopard skins and brandishing clubs, used dark magic to destroy the tree. OK...

Boromir, a plump dwarfish fellow, and Everand, a chiseled blond, are two brothers who have taken up the quest to find a way to save the tree of life and restore the beauty to their lands.

Now, there really was a tree of life in Norse mythology, so I'll give them that. It was called Yggdrasil and it supposedly connects the nine realms. But, we don't really get any of that here. I realize I'm a nerd... not everyone cares about mythology and history, and yes, it's just a game... and even more it's a resource management game, which normally I don't care too much about the story, but seriously... there's so much potential here it's killing me.

And who are these savages? I've been trying to figure it out. I know... I need a life. If the Vikings were in Scandinavia, England, Ireland, or France, there's a chance they would have been attacked by the German tribes or the Celts. But these leopard wearing savages surely aren't painted blue... If the Vikings are in the New World, there's records showing they fought with the Inuit, but again... no leopards there. 

Sigh... after some careful research, I realized I was just going to have to admit that the savages were some made up savages created in the mind of an artist who thought that's what savages should look like. OK fine, Viking Brothers, I'm disappointed, but it's not a deal breaker.

Next, let's move on to the music. At first, I thought... hey, this is nice. It's adventure music, uplifting, full of excitement and hope, with the sounds of flute dominating, backed up by chanting, and some kind of drum. And then I realized after a bit, that I was filled with anxiety... why??

OMG... the music. It's like listening to a crescendo that never breaks. Like you're holding your breath for a very long time, waiting for the tension to ease up.... and it never does. Thankfully, there's the option to turn that off. Pop in your own music instead before you give yourself indigestion.

The graphics were pretty darn cute and well detailed for a resource management game. Rocky outcroppings, tiny blades of grass, and the grain of wood stood out on the map in nice detail. The colors are vivid and inviting, painting a pleasant landscape to entice your exploration. 

The characters you meet along the way are well drawn and memorable, if very cartoony, so just be prepared. The little savages were pretty darling, with their giant animal headdresses sporting exaggerated features like big eyes or a big nose and the Viking workers had a pleasant little ruddy glow about them that made you believe they may have spent too long handling the ale.

The gameplay in Viking Brothers was surprisingly challenging and unique. Chained tasks were enabled, which made me a very happy girl. I can't stand waiting for the little workers to go back to the main camp before I can order them around again in some resource management games, so this worked out well in my strategy.

One unique feature I really enjoyed that I wished they had expanded on was the crop harvesting. Certain farms had plots of land where corn grew. You had to wait for each little plot to grow before you could harvest them. It just added an extra layer of gameplay that I thought was a pretty cool way of making you wait for resources to replenish.

The types of resources you can collect are varied and increase as you progress in levels. You start with your basic wood, corn, and gold, but then quickly add ore, rubies, and different kinds of food that provide more nourishment.

Overall, Viking Brothers was a decent little resource management game that was challenging as well as entertaining even if it didn't blow my mind. Just do yourself a favor and don't go into it expecting a grand Viking tale full of adventure and rich history because... well, sadly, it's just not there.