Mount & Blade Preview

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Written by BuckGB on July 25th, 2008

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Unlike in typical role-playing games where horses can magically move off at top speed instantly, horses in Mount and Blade require a few seconds to pick up speed and similarly to decelerate to a stop. Gone too are the ballistic ponies that can pivot on the spot and change headings in a flash. Horse riding in Mount and Blade actually forces you to make arcs of turns that get wider as your riding speed increases. This injects a tactical element in combat and makes large scale cavalry battles extremely intriguing and engaging. You can also dish out a greater amount of hurt while fighting on horseback and your mounts can even knock down enemies and break their defenses.

The other big draw that Mount and Blade possesses is its open-ended gameplay. You ride around the world map with your party in tow, stopping at castles and villages to trade and pick up quests or engaging in battle with wandering ruffians and bandits. You gradually expand your party by recruiting heroes and an assortment of rank and file soldiers which can be upgraded as you and your party gain experience. What you and your fellow comrades decide to do is entirely up to you. There are 5 different factions currently in game for you to align with or otherwise piss off. Later on in the game when you gain sufficient prowess you will also be able to take part in large scale siege battles against castles of opposing factions with a chance of annexing them to your command. Strictly speaking, you will also be able to tour the lands primarily as a tradesman by gaining knowledge of the local exports of each town and where these produces are in demand. Of course, this route detracts from much of the appeal of the game.

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