Article Highlights
- Offers exceptional combat play, but the graphics are crude and the game lacks polish.
- An expansion is arriving soon and will offer cosmetic upgrades and multiplayer support.
 Showing off an epic suit of armor at level 24.
Introduction
Mount & Blade by TaleWorlds Entertainment teaches us that there are few things in this world more satisfying than charging up behind an unsuspecting peasant archer on your mount and smashing a mace into his brainstem with your mouse. Sure, it’s an indie title that lacks state of the art graphics and the polish you’d expect from a bigger name studio, but Mount & Blade has one big takeaway: the combat mechanics.
 Riding up behind an unsuspecting crossbow sharpshooter, poised to plant a mace into his brainstem.
In addition to some intense battle scenes, players can also complete quests, besiege castles, manage kingdoms, and tax farmers by the point of their swords.
 Sometimes, your peasants need a gentle reminder to pay their taxes in a timely fashion.
From Rags...
Staying loyal to the RPG concept of character development, you begin the game with rags and a stick after choosing your name, gender, starting attributes, and your facial features with the character editor.
You begin with no army, but you’ll find that drunken farmers in nearby villages are eager to join your ranks for a few denars. Your party size is extremely limited at first, but it will grow after you gain notoriety in battle or when you increase your charisma and leadership skill. In just two days of casual play, I was able to transcend from a level 1 hobo to a level 24 warlord complete with a hundred man army of knights riding atop thundering armor clad warhorses.
 When you're just starting out, the only people crazy enough to join your army are mercenaries and the local town drunks. Buying everyone a round of drinks does wonders for recruitment.
 Here, we're off to a rocky start with some recruits from the local militia and some small farms. Our frontline soldiers are affectionally named "Peasant Woman."
 After conquering an army, you can choose to hire and imprison captured soldiers.
What Now?
Exemplifying “sandbox play” possibly to the point of flaw, Mount & Blade is a very open game where you create your own adventure. Quests and stories seem to have little impact on the game, and there are no “win conditions” or campaigns.
If you’re looking for a goal and have no idea where to start, I would suggest taking over all of a faction’s territories, or taking over the capital of every faction at once. These are challenging and enjoyable feats, though they are not sanctioned by the game or story in any special way. You will, however, receive taxes, additional recruits, and other support in the game from the castles and towns you take over to help catapult you to the end of your self-assigned goals.
 Riding into town. Sometimes, the guards are not so welcoming. You can also choose to sneak in, or fight your way through.
Itemization
Your character can upgrade armor over the course of the game, and can also choose from a variety of weapons and mounts. Though the best items seem to come from vendors, you can also seize items from your opponents after conquering them in battle.
In contrast to combat engines with automated swings and turn-based concepts, Mount & Blade uses your mouse movements to swing and aim weapons and to block incoming attacks. This means that your play style with a one handed mace and shield will be different from a two handed sword. Likewise, a long reaching halberd will feel different to you than a dagger.
Ranged weapons also handle differently, as you can expect a bow to have a rapid reload time and to fire arrows far distances, while crossbows will take some time to reload but deliver high damaging attacks at point blank range.
You can choose a horse with maximum maneuverability and speed, or one that is heavily armored and can render opponents unconscious by charging into them.
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