The Lost Vikings

Blizzard has thrown up its “pre-World of Warcraft and RTS” classics The Lost Vikings and Rock N’ Roll Racing for free on Battle.net. All you’ll need to download them is an account, and you’re are all set to go.

The Lost Vikings is a beloved puzzle platformer in which you control three vikings each with their own unique powers. Using the three in tandem will help you complete each challenging stage, and trust me when I say they are challenging. This game is absolutely brutal.

Rock n’ Roll Racing is not as well known, but it’s worth just a much of your time. Blizzard takes a few ideas from isometric racing games like RC Pro AM, and it throws them into overdrive with RPG mechanics for your cars, fun racers including The Lost Viking‘s tubby Olaf as a secret character, and some amazing sound direction. Nothing beats the feeling of peeling around a track while listening to midi versions of Born to be Wild, Bad to the Bone, and Paranoid.

I’ll never forget how the narrator reads the results of the races either. “Rip is in another time zone!” So hilarious!

Blizzard has made references to these two games in the past, but it has never gone back and given them another chance. It’s probably for the best, and the fact that we can still enjoy these classics for free should be enough. It’s always a blast to dive into the early days of your favorite company and see where their humble roots are laid before they found their break. Pre-Spyro Insomniac. Pre-Final Fantasy Square. Every company established back in the early days has a few lost hits like this. What are your favorite lost gems?

The Lost Vikings and Rock n’ Roll Racing are the best of these early hits and have shown that Blizzard has always had talent. It’s just a little obvious that they forgot about Blackthorne. Maybe it will follow soon, unless Blizzard still has plans for it.