Mount&Blade, war has come down on Calradia and war attracts its own bunch of misfits. Men ride to war, for one or other reason. Some because they are looking for thrill and excitement, some because they are desperate and know no other way. Some because they are so bitter and hateful that they are willing to unleash doom on earth. Yet some, who are the very heroes, will step forward to stop that. Combining a sophisticated, dynamic game world and intense medieval sword fighting action, Mount&Blade has you venturing through a world filled with daring enemies as well as friendly groups that will come to your aid or need yours. In a land torn by constant danger, raids and skirmishes, you will raise and lead your own war band, commanding dozens of hardened soldiers. You will hunt down your enemies following the tracks they leave behind. And you will fight epic battles where arrows cut the air with deadly hisses, axes and swords hack with fury, and horses and men clash into a violent melee. Interact with hundreds of characters – hire mercenaries to build a private army, accept quests to assassinate troublemakers, or boost your reputation by buying a round of beer at the local tavern
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Mount & Blade Review
For a long-time medieval RPG gamer- this game is refreshing. No Magic, no enhanced weapons, just your skills at combat and strategy.
5 Stars Fun, addicting, unique, open ended, this is what is good about PC gaming.
Pro’s
- Combat and Strategy: The game is a great combination of strategy and action. You implement your strategy and the over world map where you recruit followers and soldiers, find equipment and raise funds to maintain your armies, level up your character and chose his strengths and weaknesses. If you want to gather a brood of archers for long range combat you can. If you wish to gather a horde of horsemen you can or you an try to go it alone. You can choose your strategy and implement it as you wish.
The combat phase is a medieval battle (think braveheart) where you and your troops fight off the opposing force. The actual combat is somewhat similar to oblivion where you have your weapon and hack and slash, or shoot, or charge on your steed through opposing forces. If you win, you get their gear and exp. if you lose you still live to fight another day (after a few days as a captive. The battles are very very fun. Nothing like popping a guys head with a bow from 100 yards.
- Open Ended / Sandbox: This game has no linear story whatsoever . This is a positive thing. You are presented with an open world and are free do do whatever you want. As others have mentioned, you can be a Slave Trader, a Merchant, a Mercenary, the Mayor of small towns, a gladiator, or a Nobleman following the dictates of the king. Because of the sandbox nature of the game it has a very very high replay value. (a linear story can be added via Mod)
- Healthy Mod Community: the Mod community for this game has been around for quite a while. There are gobs and gobs of value adding mods that can change the game and extend the replay value.
- Price and value: I got this new for relatively cheap and have been playing it more than my more expensive games. You could drop 50 quid on an EA game that may or may not become a rental after 3 installs, or you could risk 15 dollars and get a game with fantastic game play.
- Free online download: If you buy this new is you get an activation code to download it for free from [...]. I downloaded the game online and never even used the disk. My [...] experience has been great. I don’t have to start up a game manager or anything like that to run the game. I just downloaded the installer, ran it and now I am good to go. No CD in the drive needed. (Keeping the DVD as a backup because I love the game)
Con’s
- The graphics are still very good, but they are not eye popping like Crysis. to me this is one of the halmarks of a good game. Gameplay is the key and not graphics. Plus, almost any computer out there can run this game.
Someone has said this game is not for everyone. I disagree. Everyone should take a look at the game and see what it has to offer.
4 Stars Great Fun!
I am having so much fun with Mount and Blade! I love being able to command my army! And to actually be in the battles! And using the different weapones in battle! Can not wait for the multiplayer version with mods for playing cowboys and indians!
5 Stars Great game, MUST have.
This is a great game, the game in vinalla form is great.
It has a lot of little features that make it so much better than most other games of this type.
Fighting on horse back, large battles and a good character skills/stats system.
The combat is fast pased and fun, both on and off horse.
The game looks a bit dated, but it makes up for it and more with the ammout of fun that can be had, you can play pretty much any role you want, there is no real story line and no real goals.
Just quest and fight, raid, loot and burn villages, seige castles and compete in tourneys.
You can also lead your own army, as large or as small as you want it, but getting that larger amry takes time, and carefull investment of skills points and keeping them fed and paid is something to think about.
Also, you can recruit other heros to fight with you as well.
Over all a great game, everone must try it, a demo is avable at the games home page.
5 Stars This was a reminder of why I like games!
This game is a ton of fun! In the first 10 hours or so I’ve already won a tournament, recruited a fair sized army of peasants, sworn my allegiance to a lord, had that lord’s enemy king chase me down, slaughter my men, and drag me around the countryside for a day or so. Lost some of my equipment and money, but for some reason this game makes it so instead of wishing I had saved and restarted, I just picked myself up again and started recruiting a new army!
With no linear plot line there are no right and wrong choices to make- which is fantastic- so all that really happens is that you become more experienced and learn how to fight better. Just like life! You can read some of the other good reviews on this but I would add a couple of points:
The balance in combat between large numbers of troops and you as an individual is great. You can be as BA as you want, but if you’re mobbed by a bunch of dudes you’re probably going down.
Also, it says this in a roundabout way, but there really is no fantasy element to this game. While I was initially skeptical about not having any magic, special abilities, or “+3 Dagger of Smiting,” I’ve now been sucked into this medieval world and love it!
It’s ironic, but great games always make you think of the tiny tweaks you would want to make to make it even ‘that much better’. Maybe its because you care enough to actually want to improve something? (I love cookie dough…wait a minute- what if I add ice cream!) That being said I can’t wait for the expansion to this rascal which is coming out soon.
Buy this game!