Thor: God of Thunder

Thor: God of Thunder is a 2011 third person single-player video game based on the film Thor developed by Liquid Entertainment and co-written by Matt Fraction, the Eisner Award-winning writer of the comic book series. Thor: God of Thunder marked Thor’s first standalone appearance in a video game and features the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Jaimie Alexander, who reprise their roles from the film.

The game was released on May 3, 2011 in North America and is available on all major video game platforms (with the exception of the PSP and PC). The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game can be played in 3D on 3DTVs and on 2DTVs via TriOviz INFICOLOR 3D glasses. The Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3 versions were met with unfavorable reviews, while Wii version was met with mixed reviews and the DS version was met with favorable reviews.

Plot
Taking place before the events of Thor, Frost Giants secretly invade Asgard, freezing Heimdall in the process.

Meanwhile, Thor spars with Sif and Loki in a battle arena near the edge of the city when a Frost Giant freezes Sif while Loki goes to tell Odin of the attack. The Frost Giant sends his minions to battle Thor in the arena. After Thor defeats them, he frees Sif from her icy prison. She advises him to reach the Gjallerhorn and warn the city of the attack. They go their separate ways and Thor combats the invaders with the help of the Einherjar. When Thor reaches the Gjallerhorn, discovers that the Frost Giants have frozen it and that they seek the Casket of Ancient Winters. Once he defeats them, Thor releases a sharp blast from the Gjallerhorn.

With Asgard alerted to the invasion, Thor faces a large Jotun armored in ice: a Frost Goliath. Thor defeats him and Sif arrives with a group of Einherjar guards. The still-living Jotun attacks one of the guards, whom Sif saves by pushing him out of the way, being stabbed in the chest herself in the process. The guards kill the Jotun as Thor cradles the dying Sif in his arms. Loki then arrives with Odin, who tells Thor that she has saved many lives this day, that her death has not been in vain and that Valhalla's gates will open wide at her arrival. Thor is not comforted by these words, and vows to kill every Jotun in Niflheim as vengeance. Odin forbids this, saying that war will only bring more death and misery and that there are things on Niflheim that should not be disturbed.

Despite Odin's orders, Thor remains insistent on going to Niflheim and Loki agrees to help him in order to wipe the Frost Giants out. He advises Thor to go to Heimdall and convince him to use the Bifrost Bridge to send him to Niflheim. Loki visits Odin, who informs him that he shall use the Odinforce to revive Sif. Loki tells him that Thor will defy him and wage war against the Jotuns until Ragnarök. Odin states that his intention in reviving Sif is to prevent Thor from starting another war with the Frost Giants. Loki expresses belief that this plan will work and that Thor will defend Asgard in Odin's stead while he recovers in the Odinsleep. Odin uses the Odinforce to revive Sif, but states that she will not wake for several days. Drained of an immense amount of power, Odin enters the Odinsleep.

Thor reaches Bifrost and Heimdall is reluctant to transport him to Niflheim. Seeking vengeance for his inability to stop the Jotuns, Heimdall steps aside and allows Thor to pass, but does refuses to send Thor himself. Using the power of Mjølnir, Thor activates Bifrost. Once he reaches Niflheim, Loki advises Thor to defeat the Jotun warriors and draw out their leader, Ymir. Little does Thor know, Loki has allied himself with Ymir and instagated the attack on Asgard. Thor fights his way through the Frost Giants and reaches Ymir's throne room. As he enters, Loki informs him that the ice beneath the rooms hides a giant fissure that leads straight to Niflheim's core, with Ymir's will the only thing keeping the heat at bay. Thor vows to break Ymir's shatter with his hammer and expose expose the Frost Giants to a source of infernal, unending heat.

Thor defeats Ymir, who vanishes into the ice. Loki warns him that Ymir cannot be destroyed while he has ice with which the replenish himself. Loki shows Thor the entrance to the Cave of Ages and informs him that it contains a weapon so powerful it could melt all of Niflheim. Thor notices carvings in the lost tongue of Odin, and wonder why the Allfather would hide such power in this frozen Hel. Loki says that Odin hopes for a peace that will never come and suggests that he has lost his nerve. Ymir returns and warns Thor not to open the cave or the Nine Realms will suffer for it. Ymir attacks Thor again, vowing not to let him bring the Apocalypse. Thor opens the gate and the burst of power that comes forth knocks him off his feet and melts Ymir. Thor has unleashed Mangog, a terrible monster forged from the combined hatred of billions of souls. Mangog reveals that Odin imprisoned it there several millenia ago, and leaves for Asgard to seek vengeance. Regretful of his actions, Thor begs Loki to activate the Bifrost and bring him home. Loki vows to to it at once.

Instead, Loki travels to Vanaheim and bargains with Ulik, lord of the Rock Trolls. Loki vows to help Ulik and the other Trolls escape their exile in Vanaheim and return to Nornheim by activating Frostgrinder, an imitation of the Bifrost created by the Vanir, if Ulik will distract Thor long enough for him to clean up Thor's mess and prove himself a more fitting heir. Ulik agrees to these terms.

Thor is surprised to discover that Bifrost has transported him to Vanaheim instead of Asgard. He is attacked by Skraelings, Rock Trolls and Mire Giants before finding a records building. Here he discovers old recordings that reveal that the Vanir intended to use Frostgrinder to crush Asgard, had difficulty controlling their enslaved Rock Trolls and intended to enslave Midgard. However, Odin unleashed Mangog upon them and they were wiped out. Before their extinction, they discovered that the chains with which Odin controlled Mangog contained Scabrite, and deduced that the substance was the key to defeating the beast.

Ulik rallies his forces and Loki advises him to let Thor use Frostgrinder. Ulik chides Loki for breaking their deal and refuses to let anyone use Frostgrinder before himself. He then orders his henchmen to kill Thor. When Thor defeats them, Ulik unleashes a powerful War Beast which ultimately proves itself no match for Thor. Finally, Ulik confronts Thor himself with Frostgrinder and is defeated. Loki appears and informs Thor that Mangog has opened portals allowing Asgard's enemies to attack and that even Odin may not be a match for him, having been weakened by the Odinsleep. Thor points out that Mangog was imprisoned by Scabrite and can be again. Loki reminds him that Scabrite is only found on Muspelheim and advises him against facing the Infernir on their home world. Thor insists that he must, for Asgard and the whole of the World Tree.

Thor reaches Muspelheim and Loki informs him that Scabrite can be found in the Infernal Forge. Thor intends to absorb it with his hammer. Loki warns him to avoid confrontation with Surtur, the ruler of Muspelheim. Thor battles many Fire Demons before he reaches the Forge, where is confronted by none other than Surtur himself. Surtur, wanting vengeance for Odin's theft of the Eternal Flame many years before, refuses to let Thor pass. Thor defeats him and shatters his sword, Twilight, allowing Mjølnir to absorb its Scabrite.

Thor returns to Asgard, which is under attack from both the Frost Giants and the Fire Demons. Loki informs him that Odin stands against Mangog in the Althing, but advises Thor to aid Heimdall and Sif in retaking Bifrost. Odin has stated that Mangog cannot be defeated until the forces that feed it hatred are destroyed. Thor reaches Bifrost and instructs Sif to lead the Einherjar in holding it while Heimdall informs him of incoming threats. Thor defeats Jotuns in the training ground, unfreezes the Gjallerhorn to boost the spirits of Asgard's warriors, rescues a group of Einherjar and prevents the Fire Demons from detonating a Scabrite bomb.

With Asgard's enemies defeated, Thor makes for the Althing to confront Mangog. Since Loki advised him to do that which unleashed the creature, Thor brings him to help him defeat it. They find the weakened Odin barely holding his own against it. He urges them to finish the abomination that they have unleashed. Weakened without the hatred of Asgard's enemies fueling it, Mangog is vulnerable to the power of Scabrite and is destroyed once and for all. Odin informs Thor that he shares the blame for the destruction Mangog has caused, haing created it. He then informs Loki that due to his ability to see all whilst in the Odinsleep, he is aware of his deceptions, and that unlike Thor, Loki has not achieved redemption this day. Odin then releases the souls that created Mangog, granting them a long-awaited and richly deserved rest.

Cast

 * Chris Hemsworth - Thor
 * Tom Hiddleston - Loki
 * Jaimie Alexander - Sif
 * Steven Blum - Ulik
 * Tom Kane - Odin
 * Phil LaMarr - Heimdall
 * Mitch Lewis - Ymir
 * Rick D. Wasserman - Surtur, Troll
 * Steven Blum, Robin Atkin Downes, Mitch Lewis, Lisa Moncure and Mari Weiss as Mangog.
 * Mari Weiss - Vanir Matriarch
 * Lisa Moncure - Vanir Matriarch
 * Scott MacDonald - Warlord
 * Nick Bennett - Jotun Raider
 * Liam O'Brien - Skraelig, Scorcher

Characters

 * Thor
 * Loki
 * Sif
 * Odin
 * Heimdall
 * Ulik
 * Ymir
 * Surtur
 * Mangog
 * War Beast

Locations

 * Asgard
 * Bifrost Bridge
 * Althing
 * Jotunheim
 * Vanaheim
 * Frostgrinder
 * Muspelheim
 * Infernal Forge
 * Niflheim
 * Cave of Ages
 * Midgard mentioned

Items

 * Mjolnir
 * Gungnir
 * Sif's Double-bladed Sword
 * Hofund
 * Casket of Ancient Winters
 * Odinforce
 * Twilight
 * Scabrite
 * Gjallerhorn
 * Eternal Flame (mentioned)

Races

 * Asgardians
 * Frost Giants
 * Frost Goliath
 * Rock Trolls
 * Skraelings
 * Mire Beasts
 * Fire Demons
 * Vanir (mentioned)

Organizations

 * Einherjar

Reception
Different versions of the game received significantly different reviews. Tom McShea of GameSpot gave these versions a 2.0/10 calling it "a terrible game with almost no redeeming qualities". Richard George from IGN gave the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions a 3.0/10, mostly due to the difficulty arising from severe glitches throughout. GameZone gave the 360 and PS3 versions a 3/10, stating "All in all, Thor: God of Thunder isn’t a game you’ll want to pick up unless you see it in the bargain bin. Sure, it’s cool to have awesome powers and a crazy big hammer, but various problems make Thor a mistake-prone, dollar store hammer kind of guy. Fortunately for us, at least the movie was fantastic." The Nintendo DS version of Thor: God of Thunder has received an 8.0/10 score from IGN and a 5.5/10 from GameSpot. GameZone gave the DS version a 7/10, stating "While it’s not a perfect game, there’s a lot to like about Thor, and it definitely isn’t worthy of the bargain bin treatment that less ambitious licensed titles receive. If you’re looking for a great gift for a young fan of the movie or you’re a diehard Thor fan yourself, then this game is sure to be a (thunder) blast." The Wii version of the game has received an 6.0/10 from IGN and a 5.5/10 from GameSpot, who praised the game's striking visual style and said the gameplay is fun but mindless. GameZone gave the Wii version a 7/10, stating "If you want some no-nonsense brawling gameplay, Thor: God of Thunder should keep you entertained. It’s not perfect or even great by any means, but it’s a good beat ‘em up nonetheless."