Today I shall be reviewing Mount and Blade:Warband, originally released for the PC in 2010 but ported to the PS4 in 2016. It is an expansion for the original Mount and Blade, which itself was release in 2008, and introduces a couple of new features such as an entirely new faction as well as a multiplayer mode.

Graphics:6

As the game is a port, I shall be comparing it with other PC games of the era. Characters look very odd at some points, and physical appearances often look bland when compared to other 3D models from game such as New Vegas or Bioshock 2. Movements also seem a little bit stiff and awkward when characters move about. However, there are usually plenty of characters on screen at any given time, meaning that individual models would naturally suffer at least a little. Weapons are designed well; one can easily distinguish between swords, maces, morningstars and axes of all shapes and sizes, and the animations for fighting are acceptable. Textures look a bit washed on some weapons such as the aforementioned morningstar but these are far and few between.

Towns are also designed well in the game, and often have NPCs wandering the streets and spouting knowledge. The buildings all look like they'd belong in a real life medieval town, and market stalls are often decorated with related goods, be it weapons, armour or general trading commodities. Towns have different appearances based on where they're located on the world map; for example a town in the Sarranid Sultanate area (based off the Caliphates of the Middle East) would have Arabian architecture, whereas a town in the Kingdom of Swadia (which I think is based off of feudal England) would resemble a stereotypical Medieval English town. Castles look imposing and almost realistic from a distance, but seem very lackluster up close. Nonetheless with the amount of things they needed to design for the game, I'd say that the graphics are very average. There are strong points and weak points but nothing blows you away, yet at the same time nothing leaves you retching and gagging, especially for graphics of the time.

Sound: 7

Another hit and miss aspect of the game is the sound. The sound effects are actually decent, the clashes of steel and the galloping of horses sound life like and serve to immerse the player into the game rather well. Men cheer at the end of every won battle, which is a nice touch. However there is very little variance in terms of sound effects and the player is likely to hear the same sound a couple dozen times in larger battles, personally I found the sounds annoying after hearing them so much. If there was a few more sound clips, the sound effects would have been quite good for its time given the quality of the existing sounds-but the lack of variety really dulls the experience.

Music is often typical 'glory of battle'-esque music, and blends very well with the action. For example, when a battle is won, a joyous fanfare is played in unison with the cheering of the men. But when a defeat is inflicted, the music sounds a lot more glum and sombre. Music also plays while travelling on the world map, and differs by region like the general aesthetic-though the difference isn't as great, its still a clever addition. However, like with the sound effects, not many sound tracks seem to exist, and you are likely to hear the same one time and time again.

Addictiveness-9

One thing M&B shines at is it's addictiveness. I like to replay the game every time I conquer everything, trying something different each time I reset. The amount of different approaches that one could take to conquering the game or even assisting another Kingdom keeps the game fresh each time. Another good thing is that when you start taking over castles and towns, you feel compelled to extend control over even more places, it's like a domino affect. Once the ball for domination has started rolling, it really grips hold of the player, and it feels satisfying when dominance over the continent is achieved.

I find that the ball crashes very suddenly after everything has been taken, and this leaves me with a thirst to conquer more. Thus I start a new game and start to do it all over again, and it never diminishes in its feeling of satisfaction. However, it can be frustrating if a certain part of the map can't be taken for quite some time, which numbs the fun a bit but is negligible in the long run.

Story: 4

As M&B is a sandbox game about conquest (first and foremost), there isn't much of a story to go on. The backstory is that there sed to be an Empire that consisted of a united Caldradia, but it fell many years ago, and now the continent is divided amongst bickering kings who can never quite establish an advantage over each other. Thus it is up to the player character to unite the Kingdoms into a new Empire to last for many generations to come. Such things are to be expected from a sandbox game-the player makes up their own story as they progress through the game.


Depth: 8

Again, as a sandbox, M&B has no shortage of things to do. The player can participate in tournaments, save villagers from bandits, swear an oath of fealty to a King, make their own Kingdom, become rich from trading all over the continent, do jobs for Lords to increase standings, hunt bandit groups and much more. Alternatively one could also pillage villages, besiege towns and castles, attack innocent Lords and bands of peasants and attack trading caravans for loot. Perhaps the most time consuming and challenging of these would be extending grip of control over all of Caldradia, but the player isn't forced to do anything. As long as the player has a band of troops to help fend off attackers they can do anything they please.

Difficulty: 6

The only true difficult thing to do in this game is conquering everything and being a good ruler-there are many many things to consider while ruling from your castle or town, such ad keeping all Lords happy by providing them with fiefs lest you want them to switch allegiance to a rival. I found that governing a handful of unruly Lords was much more testing than any battle I've ever been in on the game,as Lords often have conflicting interest and usually bicker with one another. It's also essential to get Lords to defect to your side, and you'll have to watch what you say to certain Lords as they may favour you doing one thing, but will hate you for doing another.

Fights can also be hard, especially ones where the odds are stacked against you-for example, if the enemy has 1100 troops while you have 236, the game won't hold back-it'll press the advantage against you. The fighting mechanics are easy to learn and use, and pose no annoyance at all. Another hard aspect would be sieges; there are certain castles which are a pain to take due to their layout, and would probably take several attempts to take. The other options such as tournaments and defeating bandits aren't difficult at all, but don't have the same rewards as conquering castles and towns. The difficulty really is chosen by the player so I gave it a 6.

Overall I give Mount and Blade:Warband a 6, as there is a lot of room for improvement but at the same time there is plenty to do, and it will probably be a while before the average sandbox lover would tire of it.