Seriously, what's so bad about this game?
Let's talk about the gameplay first and foremost. The controls are slick, well laid out, and hold this game on a rock solid foundation. Some may criticize the appearance of repetition but that's like complaining about seeing Jessica Alba too much, it's always good. I love the fact that you carry three classes of weapons. The sword, ax, mace, and shield all come in varying shapes and sizes, all of which look cool and play uniquely. The rune powers are unique with every weapon and are invariably cool.
The graphics pale in comparison to today's modern titles but sure looks good on it's own for a seven year old game. The character models show impressive detail and animation. My one complaint is the lack of detail in the scenery, this gives some environments a grimy, unfinished feel. Also, the water looks very artificial and almost like the ground. It can be very hard telling when you need to swim because of this.
The sound I can go either way on. On one hand, most effects are cool, but on the other the grunting noise your character makes when getting hit is obnoxious and out of place. This is weighed down by the great voice work which do a great job of conveying the characters.
The story does a good job of using traditions of Norse mythology (Ragnarök,Odin's one eye etc.) and some unique factors.
The multiplayer is defiantly where it's at with it's simple, but effective structure. This one factor ensures infinite replay value as you hack at up to three other friends.
For these reasons and more I recommend this to any action fan on a budget. And to all you nay-sayers I say lighten up
-JP