Mount & Blade Review
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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.
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First time players may be a little lost the first time they are presented with this overview of Calradia. Mount & Blade is not a story-driven game; the player is completely free to pursue whatever business opportunities he wishes. As such, some players are not sure where to go first. Head to a castle and ask the lord for a quest? Visit a prosperous town and begin a trading enterprise? Or perhaps ride into a nearby village and help the village elder obtain some cattle or drive off some bandits? The choice is completely up to the gamer but one thing becomes immediately clear: the Calradian (tactical map) (for lack of a better term) will be where the gamer spends more than a little time planning and plotting and moving from location to location as he seeks out new opportunities.
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While most players new to Mount & Blade should begin with using the third person perspective as it is easier to keep track of your opponent's actions, but once settled in, I urge a swift switch to the first person perspective as it adds a FPS immediacy to combat. However, unlike most shooters, don't expect to be stacking bodies without lots of practice. Each weapon - and there are a lot of them in M&B requires a specific approach and the player will quickly discover which are better suited to his style. For example, I have found that my current character is particularly talented when it comes to burying a hatchet into a foe but quite inept at using a bow and only middling with a sword.
