Hatschi, the brave Saracen, returned to his home village. Sigurd, the Frank hero, left the south and set for his way to beloved Franconia. Bjami and Crya, feeling more than just friendship for each other, returned to Byzantium to recover from the exertions of their adventure at the palace of Crya's father, the emperor of Byzantium.

But one day they were disturbed by a call for help from their friend Hatschi. Hatschi's homeland was plagued by mysterious monstrous serpent creatures, which spread chaos and destruction through the country. Without hesitation, Byjami and Crya hurried to help him and stumbled right into a new adventure in which the sly god Loki will play an important role...

Loki, known from the Nordic ages as a versatile god of lies and weaver of many intrigues against his divine "colleagues". As punishment for the trouble caused by the Midgard serpent, godfather Odin has banned Loki from Asgard. Now Loki is plotting revenge and searching for a possibility to sneak back into Asgard and pay Odin back.

Using the pseudonym Ykol, he worms into the confidence of Hatschi and our heroes and accompanies them on their adventurous quest. All the time he is weaving a tightening web of clandestine intrigues in which our heroes will get entangled unsuspectingly - until the whole truth is revealed at the end of the campaign and a final showdown takes place in Odin's throne chamber...

Before this, the serpent plague must be vanquished, a miraculous amulet must be created, Sigurd's people have to be relieved of the wolf demon Fenris and his evil hordes, and our heroes have to traverse the underworld, free the abducted Crya, blow a magic horn, thaw some frozen gods and release Odin from a charming spell.

Northland Gameplay

The basic gameplay of Northland is similar to Age of Mythology and other similar RTS titles. You control a population of Vikings. The growth, development and technology of this society are dependent on you. Elimination of their enemies and acting as their leader and guide on their vision quest is also up to you. The units in Northland are not used for resource collection, attack or defense. This is where Northland is different from other games of this style. Each unit is an individual, has a name, can marry and produce children that grow to repeat the cycle and insure the growth of the village. The citizens are assigned a trade and can be re-appointed and given a different career or path in their life. The buildings in the world are their residence and where they apply their trade to produce products for their fellow Vikings.

The character control in Northland is also similar to other RTS games. The difference is in the progression ladder the game uses to assign an individual a profession. For instance, for bricks to be made, a Viking citizen must have enough experience in clay collecting before he can be assigned to a pottery factory where wood and clay are combined to make bricks. An individual can change professions where previous experience can be put to use building better products, buildings and defenses for the village. Game progression increases the depth of the technology tree, which must be maintained to insure the advancement and survival of the citizens. The player must also make sure that all professions are adequately staffed as this also determines the strength of a society. This feature of active research and development creates a much deeper game experience for the player.

Features

• Stand-alone Adventure Strategy game.
• Single player campaign with 8 missions including several sub missions.
• The exciting plot tells the story of the Viking God Loki who tried to take revenge on Godfather Odin for his banishment from Asgard to Earth. For that he abuses our four human heroes with his intrigues and traps.
• 8 additional free single player missions (non-campaign).
• 6 multi-player missions (LAN/Internet for up to 6 players); also playable in single player mode.
• 3 difficulty levels to make the game fun for everybody from beginners to experts.
• Special effects like varying weather, fog, ghost units, etc.
• Internet Lobby for match making and chat.
• Easy-to-use map editor to create single player and multi player maps that can be played alone or with friends.
• Based on the enhanced technology of "Cultures 2 - The Gates of Asgard"; enhanced AI.