Tale of 3 Vikings is a side-scroller. What's this? Another side-scroller, you say? Yes, but side-scroller aficionados enjoy these games. If you like those addictive Flash shooter games, you'll like Tale of 3 Vikings. The game opens with the back story of our intrepid heroes, our cannoneer Hagbard, his rail- and wall-building friend Berni (who also cowers behind his shield very well) and Grendl, purveyor of explosives. You pick them all up along your journey to save your village from Orcs, Skeletons, Spiders, Witches - yes Toto, there are aerial targets - and other assorted nasties.

Going through the tutorial is recommended, since it is there that you learn the various characteristics and dispersion pattern of the shots available to you - and how useful they are against your various opponents. Crossbows, Tommy Guns, Acid Rain, Poison Cloud, Chicken Bombs - of which the Super variety makes the best weapon for those pesky flying Witches on broomsticks - you name it, it's available, including the Turtle Bomb, which was one of my favorites as I tossed one in between the middle of a row of Orcs. The Turtle then bounced back and forth between two, damaging them until they died, then continued to their outer buddies.

As with most side-scrollers, progress is linear; however, this side-scrolling shooter also requires some strategy. Besides shooting stuff, you must manage your ammo and your action points, as well as take care of your henchmen. Your henchmen are useful. Berni lays rails and build walls (which block enemies while you lob cannons from behind it); Grendl sells you ammo, so you don't have to depend only on the treasure chests along the route.

Strategy is subtle. You can play it like a straight shooter, because killing your enemies will yield you reward of coin to purchase more ammo or advance as quickly as you can. Since it's a side-scroller, there is a goal at each end. You have Berni build a wall for your guys to hide behind, and then you move him as quickly as you can while keeping him alive. He will pick up gold and weapons from treasure chests. Once your goal is reached, that scene is over, and you advance to the next.

Tale of 3 Vikings is turn-based. On each turn, each of your characters has two action points available. Firing your cannon will consume all your remaining moves, so move everyone before you fire.

The entire game is controlled by mouse click, including moving through the story, character selection, movement and other actions. The Vikings may be selected by clicking on their icons or by clicking on the little guys themselves, and ammo may be selected with the mouse wheel. Here, I have a complaint. It's as easy to mistakenly move Hagbard instead of aiming the cannon, thus losing the chance to shoot that turn. I have two hands. The characters ought to be able to be tab selected and keys programmable for aiming, shooting and selection of ammo. I suggest clicking on the interface button to guard against misclicks.

This is not a fast-paced game by any stretch of the imagination. You use your character action points, aim the cannon and fire. As the power/range bar moves, a graphical arc shows where the shot will land. Another click fires, or you can cancel with a right-click to re-aim. When you are done, the enemy takes its turn. They move, and then they fire.

Besides the Easy, Normal and Hard Story modes, Tale of 3 Vikings has a Survival mode. You are given an amount of coin to purchase ammo from a list, and then it's all out war. After each scene, your score is tallied, and with the coin earned, you purchase more ammo and go to the next scene.

The other play mode is a Two-player mode. Player 1 plays Hagbard, and Player 2 plays an Orc. Both players can be renamed, and there are nine slots to save games. A list of ammo is provided, and players select a type in turn, or it can be randomized. Hagbard always goes first, and the turn ends when one character dies or both run out of ammo.

In both the Survival and Two-player mode, you have three action points available, so you can move two spaces and fire. These modes are also more difficult than the Story mode, because the graphical cannon firing arc is not available. You have to eye-ball it.

The amusement factor - point your cannon straight up, and you've tipped poor little Hagbard off. He hangs on tightly, his little legs churning the air trying to climb back on. I'm sure I can heal Hagbard if I can shoot the Medikit straight up and it falls on him, but I haven't yet succeeded.

The land shark pops up from behind and chomps on your enemies. The Super Chicken Bomb isn't just good for taking out the flying Witches, the chickens cluck as they fly, and one of the ammo type turns your opponents into harmless chickens. I won't spoil the fun by telling you which.

The longer I play this game, the more fun I'm having. Some things you learn from experience, especially the dispersion patterns of the various shots and how the Tommy Gun differs from the Mini-Gun. I've learned how to use different ammo to reposition the enemy and when to use a shot with a push effect or the glue gun to group many of the nasties together then hail destruction from above.

So there you have it. The Tale of 3 Vikings - a strategic, amusing, side-scrolling shooter.