Mount & Blade Reviews

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Written by BuckGB on October 1st, 2008

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Using swords, mace, lance, bow and many other weapons you travel the land on your trusty horse raiding or helping villages, doing quests for various nobles while the entire world changes politically. The in game quests range from going to a location to kill someone, training a town to defend it self against raiders, collecting taxes and destroying raiders who are terrorizing the country side.

Combat ranges from using the left mouse button to swing your weapon, fire your bow or punch, right mouse button to use your shield to block or block with a weapon like a quarter staff and how you attack is determined by how you position the mouse, it is a little clunky at first but gets very easy and natural soon after. You can attack from foot or from horse and you gain a bonus while on the horse if you are going fast enough, as you can kill with one hit eventually and quickly chop your way through groups of enemies if you are skilled at riding the horse and using your weapon.

The first thing a prospective gamer has to understand about Mount & Blade is that this is not your typical RPG. If you have come looking to slay some orks or trolls, look elsewhere. Likewise, if casting fireballs from your fingertips is your preferred method of bring down a foe, move on. Mount & Blade is refreshingly original in that while it takes place in the mythical land of Calradia, this is a realm that has far more in common with the medieval kingdoms of Europe than they do with Middle Earth. There is none of the fantastic here, just armed bands of troops jockeying for the favor of local lords and kings. Again, if you enjoy questing for the lost moonstone of Neverland, you won't find much to your liking in Calradia. On the other hand, if your idea of a good time is sacking the village of a rival lord and carrying off loot and prisoners, well, in that case Mount & Blade offers a lot you might enjoy.

Eventually you're going to find yourself in combat. In the beginning you can only command a handful of troops so it's important that you pick your battles wisely. Charging in against a heavily armoured foe will find yourself captures, dragged around the map for several days and starting again with no money and no troops. It's an unforgiving game-over' that redeems itself in the continuation of your levelled up character.

In battle, you'll start atop horseback alongside your warring companions. The game's AI handles both the actions of opponent and friendly troops to an impressive degree. There are some odd movement choices and some dodgy path finding, but all in all Mount & Blade manages to keep the realism alive. Think of the game's battles as a zoomed in version of Medieval: Total War. You're the commander and you can issue basic orders, but at the end of the day you're only one man. You'll need to block, parry, dodge, weave and smash your way through enemy lines. You'll definitely become stronger, but the combat relies on timing, practice and the laws of physics. Once you've got the hang of it becomes very satisfying to watch. Post battle you can upgrade your troops, sell the spoils of war and embark on your next quest.

Cavalry combat is truly the centerpiece of the combat engine. While it is possible to be an infantryman, the advantages of a mount generally outweigh the disadvantages. With increased speed comes increased damage modifiers (just remember it works both ways!), and your horse has the handy ability to trample footmen underneath like the peasant scum they are! Just don't charge into a pikeman block. Finally, being mounted allows one to couch polearms for damage best described as overkill. There really isn't anything like the mounted combat in this game.

It's a little known fact, but I used to work on a horse ranch as a trail guide. As part of my job I would do tricks to entertain our guests. One of them involved getting the horse into a gallop and picking a bucket up from the ground. The point is I know what riding a horse should feel like, and while this game comes close it all feels a bit too wooden. A major tenant of the game is mounted combat; admittedly I've never been trained in the art, but I'd assume leaning toward your target is a significant component. The horse is also unable to make sharp turns at anything faster than a trot, which is how you'd ride casually, but these are fairly nimble animals when they have to be.

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