Rune

The Good
Okay, sorry for the cheesy opening line. I couldn't help it. But it does fairly well describe Human Head's Rune.

Rune is based heavily on Nordic folklore. The developers did their homework and it shows. While it's not a great unwritten epic, the story is a pretty good one and gives more than a Hollywood treatment to Viking mythology.

The controls are well done and very easy to get used to, though there are some differences from your standard third person action game.

There are no ranged weapons in Rune. Everything is melee weapons and shields. While you don't have the flexibility Die By The Sword gave you planning your attack, Ragnar is still a pretty decent fighter.

Running down hallways lopping off zombie's heads/arms/legs with an axe is great, great fun. Finding yourself surrounded by Dark Vikings and hoping your shield lasts longer than their lives is a thrill. Combat in Rune is exhilarating.

As you play you will pick up Runestones scattered through levels. These are important, as each weapon you pick up (there are various weapons in the Sword, Mace and Axe categories) has a special charm on it. If you use your Rune 'mana', for a limited time your weapon will have special attacks. My favorite is the vampire sword that replenishes your health when you whack the bad guys. There's also a cool ice axe that will freeze bad guys then shatter them with a second hit.

As I'm sure you've heard before, Rune looks GREAT! At the time of this review, the game is three years old, but the texture work and Unreal engine have held up very well.

The characters are very well designed. The clockwork-man (so much for Norse mythology) looked especially cool. I also liked the Nibelung dwarves and the white shaggy Yeti-thing.

Ragnar himself is a 'business in the front, party in the back kind' of guy, sporting a mullet that would put Solid-Snake to shame.

The music is also very good, reminding me of the rousing soundtrack to Conan The Barbarian>. Wish it played more often.

The level design (once you leave the underworld) is inspired with just the right mix of claustrophobic hallways that open into large arenas where you know you're going to duke it out that then lead you to scaling walls and jumping across chasms.

The Bad
Rune's biggest failing is that the first part is the worst part.

Ragnar is killed in the beginning. He's resurrected by Odin and has to escape the underworld. Unfortunately, this takes up the first quarter/first third of the game. Though the underworld levels are well done, there's only so much to work with and after a while you just get tired of seeing caves.

Rune wouldn't have gotten such a glowing review from me if it didn't do a HUGE turnaround once you're above ground.

The only other complaint I have is that once you earn the most powerful weapons you have to stop using your shield. This seemed to be a bad design choice to me as it detracts a little from what strategy there is in Rune's combat system. One two-handed weapon would have been cool. One in each category was too many.

Also, the ending was a little disappointing. I don't want to spoil it for you, but I thought there would be another battle or something after I slayed the ultimate baddie, because he was a little too easy.

At least the story doesn't leave you hanging for a never-to-be sequel. And it also nicely leads in to the Halls Of Valhalla expansion, without making you feel ripped off if you didn't purchase it.

The Bottom Line
If you like third person melee games like Blade Of Darkness or Die By The Sword, I strongly recommend Rune.

Getting past the beginning may not seem worth it, but keep a stiff upper lip and keep slaying those zombies. It'll be worth your time.