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Mount & Blade: Warband is the stand-alone expansion pack to the action role-playing video game Mount & Blade. First announced in January 2009, the game was developed by the Turkish company TaleWorlds Entertainment and was published by Paradox Interactive on March 30, 2010
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro Tons of stuff to do
This game is a medieval enthusiast's dream, you can build up a huge army and fight for yourself, become king, be a vassal for a king, choose to be a wandering tournament fighter, a wandering fighter who takes down bandits, a bandit pillaging villages as they see fit, you can get married, and even get involved more deeply into the politics of the world. You can even join a group of rebels to try and overthrow a king, they will, in turn, then be the king of their respective realm. You can go to taverns, and feasts, as well as set up your own feasts after getting married. You can build your own mills, velvet factories, etc, and be a wandering merchant. You can even be a slaver if you wanted to, whenever you defeat bandits or others, you can capture them and sell them to random brokers, which gives you money. The possibilities are endless.
Pro Being able to make your own personal backstory
Before the game even starts you get to choose every little bit of your character's backstory, are you a noble who was forced out of their home and thus started your journey? Or... are you a street urchin who wanted to see the world?
You get to craft every meticulous detail, including who your father and family were, who you were as a child, etc. It's very interesting and can get you invested in your character.
Pro Endless quests
Yes, you heard me right, now, while the quests may be repetitive, there are TONS of them, and this game does not run out of quests... EVER. You could be playing this game for over 100 real life years and still have quests. They are all set quests, but there will always be lords that need help, guild masters that will give you tasks, farmers that need their village saved. The quests do not run out, and you'll be happy knowing that you'll still have as much quests to do as when you started.
Pro The BEST Mounted Combat of any game
Yes, this game has, hands down, the best mounted combat of all time, riding across the battlefield on your mighty steed and felling an enemy is one of the best feelings. All weapons work on horseback, barring very heavy crossbows, and they are all fun. There's your traditional jousting with a lance in tournaments, but you can also use a greatsword, a sword and shield, a bardiche. With mounted combat like this, other games with mounted combat will seem completely obsolete.
Pro Very interesting companion characters
The companion characters are relatively interesting, from the ever hilarious Rolf, to the sad story of Deshavi, they all have their own quirks that make them interesting and a joy to have on your team, they'll interact with other companions, both in good ways and bad ways, and they'll even comment on their homeland when you ride near it. You even have the option of making every single companion a lord should you wish it.
Pro Impressive & realistic Combat system
The game has one of the most realistic medieval combat systems ever, and it flows very well. There are different ways to control swordplay as well as archery, blocks are done using the mouse and moving it in the direction of the enemy's weapon and clicking the right mouse button.
Archery is very realistic is well and there is always a sense of accomplishment when you kill or even hit a target.
Cons
Con Repetitive quests
Most of the quests you'll be taking will be repeated over and over, like "take out this bandit hide-out", "scout out these villages", or even super boring ones like "Follow me, the marshal, until our campaign has ended". It does get repetitive and boring when these quests are done over and over.
Con No real story
The game does not have any real story, there is some semblance of a story early in the beginning of the game, with you choosing to possibly help out a merchant, but after that, there is no real story, you basically make your own destiny, but there is no set story that the game gives you, and therefore, there is no real narrative.