It's your tale - make it a good one!

User Rating: 8.5 | Mount & Blade PC
Mount and Blade is an open-world combat and quest engine. You learn to fight with sword, shield, spear, lance, bow, axe, and all gobs of other medieval weapons, all from the back of your mount. The combat is visceral - it is extremely rewarding to gallop into a mass of opponents as you lower your lance and slice through enemy ranks!

Combat, while well done, is the only really straight-forward thing in the game, Learning what quests to take, when to ally yourself with a faction, and figuring out how to keep an effective fighting force in the field are all part of the more difficult challenges that Mount and Blade offers. It can be frustrating to get your troops built-up only to get into a massacre that costs you the bulk of the men you have carefully trained. It can be difficult to be given a castle on the frontier - and find yourself bound to defending it while you work to get the garrison built-up.

The first time I took a shot at Mount and Blade, I played for around 12 hours and gave it up for months. The next time in, I took my time and have decided not to bind myself to a faction until I have 70 troops - all mounted. After another 20+ hours, I still don't have all the troops (68 now) - but I have fought in some major engagements and have built my reputation and honor up nicely. Soon I will commit myself to a faction and then I will have to deal with the requests of my leige, building up villages, and protecting my lands.

Anyhow, the point here is that the vanilla game has pretty good depth and will keep you chasing after various goals. Mount and Blade is an excellent value.