Mount & Blade - The IKEA Wardrobe
Independent game developers TaleWorlds Entertainment blast out their debut title in the form of extreme open-end gaming. In-fact, the game is so open-ended it has lost the plot. No, I am being completely serious; it does not have a plot. Whilst this gives you no initial direction; with a game like Mount & Blade it would almost feel out of place anyway. The game aims to offer a living, breathing world of conflict based in a fictional medieval-esque land named Calradia. There is nothing prestigious about the lore, events or times that will particularly stand out but there is enough on a basic level to keep you entertained. Each city, village, lord or king will formulate their opinion of you based on your choice of faction (If any) and if you have supported or neglected them in the past. This gives you the power to brew your own recipe of fun just how you like it – be evil and face the consequences of battle or assist lords and be rewarded kindly.
When starting out most of the quests will come across as dull and even later on in the game they are not thriving with exhilarating content, but this is not where Mount & Blade needs to shine, because its value appreciates in the places you really want it to – combat. There are not many role-playing games that boast real-time combat systems effectively and successfully. There is no turn-based combat or hidden dice rolling with Mount & Blade and to put it simply, it really does not need it, because it delivers extraordinarily. Not only that, but we are bestowed with the rarity and beauty of mounted combat – something very few RPG's can swank. The simplicity of the combat system is probably why it is so effective – you aim and left click to attack, you aim and right click to block. Before you accredit me as a moron for admiring such a supposedly basic combat system, I can only stress that it is in-fact better than it seems. Why? I will tell you.
The battles can be huge. I am not talking about one or two angry caravan men against your three little soldiers having a scrap in a field (Rar-Rar, gimme your honey-pot!), no no – I am talking about your army of thirty valiant warriors sizing up against a Lord's army of seventy noble horsemen. You would be right in thinking chaos ensues because this is such a rarity within an RPG. I would absolutely love to see Oblivion on this scale – you would need a fire extinguisher nearby for your PC. Ultimately because of this you can see the glimmer from Mount & Blade – a true gem for gameplay that shies away from the myth that you need half a million polygons per character to create an enjoyable experience.
I guess this leads me onto the graphics – don't expect much. The basic landscapes and character models are nothing special but they certainly do not make your eyes bleed by today's standards, so it's tolerable to the hardcore aesthetic gamers – just not pleasing. It is also noteworthy that the map looks like it has been confiscated from MS Paint. A slight cringe, but it does its job. Weather effects are quite pleasant with satisfactory night and day visuals. I would say, as a whole, the graphics are quite like an IKEA wardrobe. You buy it all in pieces and for some reason they haven't included your instruction manual so you start building blindly until you have something that resembles a wardrobe but doesn't really work as one. I guess it sounds cruel to compare the graphics to a botched DIY job and in all fairness you will get along fine with them – just as long as you don't try and open the door to investigate a bit closer.
The sound is nothing special either - but then who really cares? You trot when you're riding a horse, you attack people with your sword and your army cheers when you win. Okay, so again a budget issue with the lack of voice dialogue. I would have enjoyed hearing some of the kings talk or having a caravan guard whine because I'm stealing all of his cows, but unfortunately that is not so.
The character development system is neither innovative nor original too but nothing is nowadays so once again it works. You can choose to specialise in a variety of skills and weapons whilst levelling up using the regular experience points system. Certain companions within the game will also level up alongside you and you can set their skills and abilities too which is helpful if you want an engineer, for example, but do not wish to specialise in it yourself.
In a sense, unless you are extremely imaginative, Mount & Blade is more of a strategic game of building an army up and conquering the world. I mean you can try running around as a trader but ultimately the strive for power and watching your army flourish (Or fall) is the heart of the game. All of the 'role playing' aspects are just the side-orders. This isn't exactly a drawback though – who doesn't want to control a huge army and kill everyone that gets in your way? I mean in a game only of course.
When it comes down to it, there is an incredible list of things wrong with Mount & Blade. However, if you're one of those that are going to compare it to the high-spec dimes like Oblivion then you are an idiot. The game has huge fun value and although it is incredibly rough around the edges, if you actually are willing to give it a proper chance, you will find hours and hours of fun inside this broken wardrobe.