Vikings Row! Review

By Andrew Nesvadba, on October 7, 2010

Publisher: iwin, Inc.
Genre: Arcade
Released: 30 Sep, 2010
Size: 78.7 MB
Price: $0.99

PROS

Simple gameplay and control style.
Fun mixture of maze and race levels.
Six classic areas to conquer.

CONS

Easy difficulty makes replays unlikely.

VERDICT

Help these angry, manly Vikings to find their way to Valhalla in Vikings Row! because if you don't they'll probably learn how to dock their ship and pillage your home.

Full Review
App Store Info

The journey to Valhalla is not an easy one, but if it was easy then these Vikings probably wouldn't have bothered in the first place. 'Vikings Row!' by I-play is a deceptively simple game of rowing your way through deadly and often other-worldly rivers to collect riches and demonstrate your courage to the Valkyrie guarding the way.

Players will have to literally row their way through the hazard-filled channels by swiping their fingers on the screen to simulate a rowing action. Depending on your preferences you can switch between realistic and 'steering' based controls, essentially inverting the direction you turn while swiping on one side of the screen or another. The flow feels fantastic and your ship glides, bounces and drifts its way through the water in an utterly unrealistic, but satisfying way that makes guiding the vehicle a snap.

Power-ups play a large role in some levels, either allowing you to break through deadly barriers or giving you enough time to make it to the end. Coins are scattered about the various clever and detailed levels, though you'll need to pay attention to the initial zoomed out sweep to avoid the traps they sometimes lead you towards.

As you progress through the game's 48 currently available levels you'll also earn small rewards like being able to pimp out your boat with a sail that suits you, but once completed the incentive to dive back in is lost. But for such a cheap game, 'Vikings Row!' is still a hard game to ignore and casual gamers will enjoy its simple charm.

Screenshots