In gaming, medieval combat is generally comprised of a bunch of hack and slash games, where the player-hero is generally this superhuman character who is capable of sustaining far more damage than the rest of the soldiers on the battlefield, and is also able to dish out far more damage. Generally these games blur the line between actual realistic medieval combat, and the fantasy genre, mixing in magic healing potions, and other features that are a bit out there.
Not Mount & Blade. Produced by Taleworlds, Mount & Blade utilizes an innovative melee combat system that requires both skill and concentration on the part of the player, and also strives to make the game as real as possible, meaning no healing potions, no near-invincible players, no magic. The player takes damage just as ordinary soldiers would, and dies almost as easily as well. That means, yes, *gasp* you actually have to block enemy attacks, instead of soaking them up like a human sponge. O, harsh reality. Yet once you get past the fact that you can't beat the game simply by mashing buttons like a caffeine crazed maniac, you find out that the game gives you far more control over your character. You control how your character blocks, and the direction of his swings. This adds both to difficulty as well as enjoyability.
And then there's horseback combat, in which the game is quite highly appraised. The horses respond intuitively and realistically, accelerating and decelerating as you would expect them to. The movement is seamless, and combat follows naturally on them. In fact, there's a huge combat disadvantage in not having mounted units in your armies. And here's where Mount & Blade surpasses other games in terms of their mounted system: the horses actually interact with the enemy. You can run them over, knock them down, and if you are playing against mounted units, stop them in their tracks with a well-timed spear thrust, or even hamstring them with a blow from a great axe.
In terms of storyline, M&B isn't that great, as being as sandbox game, the player controls the storyline. Basically the player exists in a world called Calradia, which is in civil war. The player is a man or a woman with background decided by the player, who decides to start a band of mercenaries. And the rest of your career as an adventurer is up to you. The dialogue and quests get repetitive, and some of the game is simply fighting battle after battle until it's all over. In which case, it is never over, at least until you choose to retire, but overall, Mount & Blade is a great game to play. Check it out at
http://www.taleworlds.com.
You can download the trial version, which allows you to play the game until your character reaches level 7, at which point your game will be saved, and you will have to purchase a serial key to continue further. You can play the trial to level 7 as many times as you wish, however.
I have gotten the full game myself, and there is a vast modding community, so you can play the game several times and not get bored. However, there is one noticeable downside. Being an indie game, the game was produced independently of any large companies like Electronic Arts, or Activision, and the graphics are slightly lacking as a result of that. But graphics are largely secondary when taking into consideration the great gaming experience that Mount & Blade provides for.
Taleworlds also provides a community full of players like you and me, and there is a large selection of videos on Youtube as well.
