Classic video game ‘The Lost Vikings’ reborn in ‘Heroes of the Storm’

 

 

The multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA, is arguably the biggest thing in competitive gaming right now, and no title aims for “big” the way Blizzard Entertainment’s “Heroes of the Storm” does.

 

One of “Heroes of the Storm’s” greatest strengths is its versatile character roster, which culls heroes and villains from almost two decades of gaming history. But with the game’s latest update, Blizzard steps even further backwards in time, yanking out of the past a triad of characters from one of its earliest titles.

 

Back in the days of yore, when I was but a wee lad and Blizzard wasn’t yet the gaming industry titan that it is now, the company came out with a fun action puzzler starring three Vikings. You see, the alien overlord Tomator had captured these Vikings and trapped them in his intergalactic zoo, and boy, did they want to escape. Well, they managed to do just that – only to stumble into the Nexus.

 

So now, Erik, Baleog, and Olaf from the 1992’s “The Lost Vikings” are joining “Heroes of the Storm” – effectively serving as three heroes in one.

 

 

 

Three in one

 

As a hero unit, the Vikings are extremely unique, even by “Heroes of the Storm” standards. For starters, each Viking can be selected and moved around separately – the Talent hotkeys “1”, “2”, and “3” are used to guide each character individually, while “4” controls them as a group. As such, they can be killed separately, too, each with his own respawn timer.

 

Each Viking has his own strengths and weaknesses:

 

Eric the Swift, the height-challenged leader and tactician of the team, is the fastest of the three. He also has the longest attack range.

 

Baleog the Fierce is the bruiser of the party. Because he is clearly overcompensating for something, he wields an enormous sword, a single swing from which deals splash damage to several foes.

 

Olaf the Stout – who was cool before a certain snow queen hypnotized us with the power of her undulating CG hips – has the greatest amount of health, as well as regenerates lost hit points the fastest. He can charge into enemies with his shield, slowing them down.

 

The Vikings come with three Primary Abilities. With “Spin to Win!” each Viking whirls around, damaging all enemies caught in the vortex. “Jump!” has them doing their best impersonation of Mario, which has the added bonus of rendering them temporarily invincible. “Norse Force!” briefly thickens their Viking hides, raising their armor. The more Vikings are alive when this ability is used, the more effective the armor augmentation is.

 

As with other heroes, the Vikings have two Heroic Abilities. “Play Again!” not only allows a surviving Viking to revive dead ones, it also gathers them all in a single spot – an enviable skill, as it should prove useful in real-life situations when your lazy friends aren’t “able” to accompany you to the movies because they’re too busy playing dead. “Longboat Raid!” only works when all three Vikings are standing close together. The three of them jump in a longboat, which then showers enemies with cannon and mortar fire. It has to be noted that the longboat moves even on land, which is probably not historically accurate.

 

The Vikings have “Fast Restart” as their Hero Trait, which gives them faster respawn times after falling in battle.

 

Together, the Lost Vikings form a “Specialist” hero unit. They are considered “Very Hard” to play – so they’re definitely not for beginners.

 

An ever-expanding MOBA

 

“Heroes of the Storm’s ” character roster continues to swell, with a new addition almost every month. Jaina Proudmoore chilled the competition last December, while

Horde Warchief Thrall, one of the most recognizable characters in the Warcraft universe, honored us with his presence just this January.

 

 

As an “Assassin,” the mighty orc is able to wield the elements and summon fiery wolves. His Heroic Abilities, “Earthquake” and “Sundering,” cause the ground beneath his enemies to tremble, damaging them as well as impairing their movement.

 

Of course, “Heroes of the Storm” wouldn’t be a MOBA worth its salt without giving players exciting places to spill their enemies’ blood in. Blizzard therefore also releases new battlegrounds every now and then. The latest is the Egyptian-themed “ Sky Temple ,” which has the two teams vying for control of temples. Maintaining a hold on these temples unleashes a powerful attack on the opposing side, so capturing them is a tactical must.

 

 

Recruiting the Lost Vikings was indeed a move no one but the most dedicated Blizzard enthusiast could have predicted. We’ll just have to wait for the next update to see what other surprises Blizzard has in store for “Heroes of the Storm” fans. — TJD, GMA News