Very entertaining sandbox-style game in medieval ages. Cavalry battles are probably the best part of this game and they are very well made compared to almost any other game of the same genre. You can adjust the difficulty of the game just the way you want to get the best gaming experience.

This is a great game and we really like they way you change weapons and shield with the mousewheel. Easy controls, perhaps a bit hard to hit opponents while your on a horse but with some practice you´ll get it.

Great game at a low cost

This game really brings the medieval atmosphere into life. One of the best medieval RPG's I've played to date. If you want an even better game i suggest you go try out Mount & Blade: Warband.

There is an active community supporting this game. There are lots of unique mods and enhancements available. This review is based on version 1.0 from gamersgate.com. There is a version 1.03 out as of this review, but the saves are not backwards compatible. Fortunately, you can export/import your character. The try before you buy download is pretty nice. You can get the full version of the game for free, but there\'s a level cap unless you purchase it for $30. Mount & Blade is well worth it.

M&B is certainly the best medieval sword, shield, horse fighting game to date. Sadly this version doesn't have Multiplayer but on the other hand it has tons of really good mods that Warband doesn't have yet.

Was an awesome game and well earn the 5 star in my book, simply due to it melee and horseback combat model innovation. But I admit you not worth the buy except if you really one of it old mod that was not updated to Warband, for Warband just a better game has a whole.

The original M&B went a bit unnoticed at first but eventually gained a lot of acclaim from the community. As with all favourite games it was heavily modded by talented people and many of the originally mod features were added to the stand-alone expansion Warband (which mainly brought multi-player). If you wish to see a bit of history of the series or just enjoy the feel of the original, original Mount & Blade is the right choice.

For those who love sandbox games, medieval settings this one is a dream come true. It is a little rough around the edges on some aspect given that it was made by an indie studio originally. But it is extremly enjoyable. This game has a bit of everything and can appeal to many people, lots of strategy elements, direct action and fights, rpg elements and even a bit of politics.

An active modding community on the makers forums is also a big plus and gives this game a second and third life if you ever grow tired of the settings!

Oh and before I forget to mention, the riding and mounted combat in this game, and even archery is almost unmatched in quality and far as I am aware!

If you want an addictive medieval combat simulator then Mount and Blade is perfect for you. The slightly steep price for an indie game is worth it in the long run due to the addictiveness of this game! There are six factions fighting for dominance over one province/country or so and you come in as a mercenary nobody knows and are able to decide which faction to fight for! The combat is smooth and the large battles always feel great! Deffinetly worth picking up or skipping and getting war band is which alot better but both are great.

If you have ever dreamed of being a knight of Europe or a gladiator in Rome..This is the game for you while the graphics are not great the game still looks good..The choice is yours be a warlord a mercenary or just travel to the tournements and with so many mods out there this is a great sandbox style game with many options

This game is so much fun!

This is the first installment to TaleWorld's Mount and Blade universe. Starting out from scratch with an selection of background history, an RPG leveling system, and chosen weaponry places you into the lands of Calradia.

While the game's mechanics may be simplistic when it comes to combat, it can become tougher for you. One upsetting part of the game is losing your life and restarting over again. Another is being captured by your enemies and trodding around enslaved until you escape is another belitting factor for any player; but if you are willing to stomach these experiences and come back on the top, this game is for you!

You are able to ride horses, purchase new steeds, new types of infantry, cavalry, archers; however, each respective empire will have their own soldiers. Some are stronger against others, and some are a lot stronger than most. It all depends on your play style but the more you play, the more addicted you become!

You can travel, complete quests, capture prisoners and sell them, wage war against other empires, woo a beautiful lady to marry, and elevate yourself from poor rabble to a part of the royal court! :)

Recommended for any player looking for an immersive experience! I highly recommend it!

Very good game, and has been followed by a brilliant set of sequals, Warband further expands Mount & Blade although is a stand alone, so if you like the look of this gamer purchase warband instead, it had more features,

The factions, battles and equipment make this game so much fun and you'll easily lose hours into this game after some practice :)

Graphics: Not exactly amazing on this front, the graphics run from passable to fairly shiny if you add many of the graphics modifications available. Out of the box, however, it isn't terribly pretty. 7/10

Sound: Clink, clank, oof, yaarrrgghhh! That last one was a death cry, as you might imagine. The sound effects aren't terribly fun to listen to, but add to the immersion in big battles. The music, on the other hand, is wonderful and will get caught in your head. Very epic and appropriate for the setting. 8/10

Gameplay: This is what brings me back again and again. Mount&Blade nailed mounted combat in a way I haven't seen replicated before or since. With some improvement in the Athletics skill (what determines your character's foot speed), the unmounted combat can be fun as well. If you want to rely on tactics and a large force to defeat your foes, that's possible. If you want to Rambo out and slay them single-handedly, there are strategies that will make this work as well. The greatest failing in the gameplay department is the lack of meaningful quests, but this is almost to be expected in a game this sand-boxy. Together with the many mods available that drastically change the gameplay and setting, the replay value on this game is unbeatable. 10/10

Feel: The game has a pseudo-historical setting, with factions based on historical generalities. Which is to say, the Norse are represented... sort of. And the Mongols are represented... sort of. History was the basic departing point from which the game spreads its wings and develops a new and interesting setting in which the different combat strategies of civilizations pre-gunpowder can duke it out. The biggest problem I had with the immersion were a few bad translations, but these are few and far between. 8/10

Value: The replay value is unbeatable. The many mods available for the game will provide you with many hours of hectic combat fun for years to come. 10/10

Overall: The game was well worth the purchase, has addictive gameplay, unbeatable replay value, and a modding community that's just incredible. Definitely worth picking up when you can!

9/10

Mount and Blade is a older 3rd person perspective RPG/Action game developed by Tale Worlds..but its still a great game. The game is a pretty much open sandbox where you have a lot of freedom in a medieval world where you can raise a army and rule the land. The tournaments are a lot of fun and the actual fighting on horseback on foot is great and really immerses you in the action. While the graphics are dated..it still gets the job done. I would recommend buying the newer version of the game though: Mount and Blade Warband because of the improved graphics, gameplay and mod support. A great game that started a awesome franchise!

This game is great. I love the sandbox aspect of it and the fighting. Fighting from horseback is fun, at first it takes a while to learn the mechanics of it but comes easily enough. Also there are great mods for this game.

A decent game where you have full control over your character's combat skills. Horse-riding, archery, sword-swinging etc. The gameplay is heavily based on the combat moments so if you're new, it might be difficult. It doesn't provide any satisfaction in other areas though and I found the graphics dull but they are good if you appreciate dirty fantasy riding along large plains. I give it a strong 3.

What a pleasure to mount your horse and charge the enemy with your army in a great battle where you don't know if you will win or lose yet.

It's really a great simulation/RPG. Although it's a bit easy if you manage to never fall down your horse, this game can bring a big challenge to players who seek world domination.

Graphics are quite good, you are used to them very quickly.

Can be a bit annoying with the same missions over and over again, but the pleasure of battle is still the same, especially if the enemies have twice your army or more.

Don't hesitate to search for MODs created by the M&B community, some of them are incredible and give a whole new world and adventure to explore.

This is a truly great game. It might not have polish and can be harsh to new users, but it is enthralling and addicting as hell once you get into it. Imagine a hybrid of Sid Meier's Pirates and Morrowind. A couple tips for newcomers: take the tutorial first (it's not boring) and then, once the game starts, recruit a bunch of people to help from villages you or you'll end up getting killed pretty quickly. I haven't played Warband, but I hear it is a superior version of the same. Still, great as it is.

This is a very good game.... I played it and played it and then.... you guessed I played it some more. For a game that received very little hype and virtually flew under the radar it was put together very well. I love the sadnbox style of the game where you are not forced to follow the game designers view on how the game should be played through cutscenes and predetermined occurrences.

Overall, a pretty cool game that has good entertainment value.

I've put my fair share of time into Medieval games, from RPG to RTS, and none have come close to Mount and Blade.

It seems to be a bit of a hidden gem, very few folks seem to know about it, very few shops stock it, yet it's quality is just superb. Graphics are pretty good, sound works well, and Gameplay! It's just brilliant. Fighting is the best I've ever seen in this style of game, sword fighting has to be planned out, archery is as tough as you'd imagine, and mounted combat is excellent.

Truly it's one of the greatest games you've never heard of.

This is one of the best games I've played in a long while. This is especially true if you enjoy games with an open world concept. The fluidity of combat, both mounted and unmounted are some of the best you can find in any game today. Highly recommended!

This is a superb game. The best word to describe the combat is 'exhilarating'. There is nothing quite like riding down an infantry line, chopping and slashing as you go. There is a bit of a learning curve but stick with it and you will soon be a terrifying figure of mounted death! The vanilla game is a little hollow, as really all you do is travel and fight with no real ending or story available. But there is a thriving mod scene that expands in this game, adding magic, or allowing you to become a king and run your kingdom, or play in epic adventures with the storyline and ending the vanilla game lacks, or even play in non-medieval or fantasy worlds such as the world of Star Wars! Get this game!

This title will bring you with endless joy and happiness - if you like to swing a sword and ride a horse.. Okay graphics, great gameplay, fine sound.

One thing I really miss in this game is that when I swing my sword and hit the enemey.. he just dies.. I want him to be sliced into pieces.. Like the real deal.

Mix this title with the soldier of fortune 1.. And add multiplayer to the campaign part. Then this title would be my alltime favorite.

Combat is the part of this game I like. It could have been an awesome game but it misses a storyline and gets boring after some time.

If you are having a look at this game and you are not sure if you are going to buy it or not, you are in the very same position I found myself one year ago. At the end I decided to give it a go, it proved to be an excellent choice. That day I discovered an state of the art game, original conception and ideas who have turned into a superb game. In my opinion you are in front of the best sandbox medieval combat/RPG game.

I could stay here trying to convince you that this game is a diamond, but instead Im going to kill some Bandits & Marauders with my Crossbow and my Morningstar. You can join us killing the scum of Calradia hunting them in the forests, or you can became one of them....Its your choice, you make your rules, defend the caravans or destroy them, Swear loyalty to one of the kings, or became one by your own right.... At the end its your choice, and its only a few clicks away ;)

Mount & Blade is a fun little action RPG, and although there isn't much in the way of story or replay value (outside of mods that is!) the combat system alone should be enough to keep you going for hours. One thing i like about Mount & Blade is how open-ended the game is: you start out as a lone warrior roaming the fictional land of Calradia, what you do from there is completely up to you! You can join any one of the warring factions, you can choose to take the cause of a pretender as your own and fight to restore him/her to power, you can fight in tournaments or you can just wander around aimlessly killing bandits. So many games promise an open-ended experience, but this is one that actually comes very close to delivering!

That game was a lot of fun. DIY style - you can keep downloading the mods of all sorts for all tastes. Different maps, equipment, faces. Real fun for creative mind. Not too "heavy" for playing if you are just killing time.

I would say this game really revolutionized the RPG industry in simulating medieval combat in the finest detail. Action is impressive, especially if you have a lot of troops on the field. Unfortunately, the AI is not very well-developed, as units constantly get stuck and are not able to utilize formations. However, what makes this game really worth getting is the abundance of player-made modifications you can download online. Overall, this is a purchase you will not regret.

Awesome like always but whoever wants to buy this game, take a look at Warbands first its the same thing but better in every way its worth the 10 extra bucks trust me. but still flawless game.

Nice game, but not as fan as i expected. Better graphics and multiplayer mode would get more players.(though, the later would be satisfied in warband version)

I would definetly recomend this game, not only is its combat system totally new, it also has a diverse and wonderfull modding community.

Definetely a must have, such a great game for a small developer studio.

4/5

It was a good game but i recomend mount and blade warband than this one. Mount and Blade had good stuff and all but once you beat this game you will wanna move on. I would get this game first if you haven't played any of the m&b. Then you will want more and then you will move on the warband! and there you go even more hours to play!

A wonderful warfare RPG set in a middle-ages type of world, without all the spell-slinging so common in this type of RPG. I am a great fan of this game and Taleworld did an excellent job with the combat system. I was a little disappointed in the comparative weakness of bows, but that is a minor issue to the superbly done mounted combat and siege-work that they incorporated. One of the greatest draws is that they have opened it up to the modding community which has made the game far more rich that a single company/creative team could ever do.

What a surprise this game was - I purchased Mount and Blade on whim when it was on sale and initially had very low expectations, but was blown away by the addicting gameplay. The first day I began playing I stayed up until 6 a.m. before finally deciding to call it quits for the night, first time in a decade that a game has been able to suck me in like that so quickly.

The most exciting part of the game is the combat, it is visceral and realistic compared to other games of the genre. The RPG elements lack much in the way of depth, but the sandbox style means that much can be left up to the imagination. The mod community is quite active, and there are some real gems out there that greatly add to the quality of the game. Highly recommended.

It's a great game, something you can play for days, which is a rarity these days.

Also a plus is the juicy mods you can download from other players on the games official site -- since the game isn't in itself such high tech(which obviously games don't "need" in order to be good or satisfying) enables the (relatively)advanced mods.

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- I didn't really experience anything bad about the game, it was all smooth in downloading and install, neither within the game itself, found I any disturbing things.

- And what was good about it? Well, I suppose it's pretty much individual, so Don't really know "why" exactly I liked it.

I tried it out first before purchasing it. You don't get a demo when trying it, you get the full game, the catch is that you can't level over ca 8.

At any event it's new in it's genre. Haven't come across anything like it.

I highly recommend this game.

The rush of riding through the battlefield with arrows flying by is extraordinary.

I have never experienced a game with a combat system that is even remotely close to working so well, especially in an enviroment with both ranged and melee combat.

Furthermore there are a truckload of mods that add excellent features and stories to the game.

Fantastic!

The graphics are not the focus in this 3d jousting and sword fighting 'Knight' sim, but they're easily acceptable after you experience the game's style of play. When you get into it, start finishing quests and tournaments, building a strong force, its really fun.

Running through a field, chasing or being chased by a mob of villagers or bandits, knocking them out on horseback with a massive spear or cruelly chopping your opponent down with an ax, its all in this game.

This is an indy game, it really deserves support and if they had a full studio like Bethesda, Bioware or Blizzard, this could be ground breaking.

Since there is so much potential its sad that this game can't give you the depth of story and combat of an Elder scrolls game, so be aware of its shortcomings too. I don't want to over hype it but I do want to give it it's dues as an amazing low budget indy game.

The multi-genre mix here is alone the best part of the game. Give it a shot next time its on sale!

I put 3800+ game days into this game and killed 24,000 people. First and foremost, this game excels in what 9.9/10 games refrain from barely pressing upon: gameplay, the most important part of a...how do you say...game. When I bought it, it was $20 so you, dear reader, should just go ahead and buy the new standalone expansion since it is priced the same as the original. After having playing it for over a year, I can tell you that there need be no end-game for this baby. Its awesome. Its addictive. You will get your money's worth, unlike...how do you say...9.9/10 other games.

Wonderfully deep and engaging game. Best medieval era game I have ever played by far. Realistic combat, decent graphics, and hours and hours of fun! A must have for any war-game enthusiast. Can't wait to try the expansion!

Fantastic Game. A awesome sleeper got the game just because of the name and played it. Haven't stopped playing for almost 2 years. Don't miss this one. It is a keeper and then some.

Fun at first but it gets rather boring after a short while, battles seem all the same and there is really no point in traveling from town to town as they are all the same.

Cheap graphics, no story at all, repetitive battles, Nothing special.

Not worth the asking price, maybe 10 euro less and id say it would be worth it.

In my opinion, this is one of the most underrated games of recent years. It may lack a bit of polish, but it's an incredibly ambitious game in what it tries to achieve. It's a hugely addictive blend of RPG and strategy, and I've come back to it time and time again. I especially like the way it creates a world that carries on independently of the actions of the player. It reminds me a bit of playing Lords of Midnight on the ZX Spectrum when I was a teenager and that's high praise from me! There's also a very good modding scene.

Mount & Blade is a surprisingly addictive game. It may seem a bit dull at first; the graphics are somewhat dated, and the user interface and menus aren't all that flashy. But it's fun. The combat mechanics are highly satisfying, as is building/maintaining your army. Successfully taking a castle or town gives a greater sense of achievement than in any other game I can think of.

Much like Morrowind, M&B is a highly moddable sandbox game. There's a lot of really good fan-made content available which adds a lot to the game's replayability and longevity. Even without any of that though, the game lasted several months for me; it's a game that can stand easily on its own, yet benefits greatly from custom content.

This game was a really surprise for me. I didn´t expect much when I first played it but the fun of the tactical battles really blow me away. The game itself is like a big sandbox, where you do pretty much whatever you want within the games limitations.

Great fun, if you always wanted to fight in the battles you saw in other games but in first person, then this is the game for you, with tons of weapons and armours to choose from, tons of units on the battlefield at the time and also this game has a lot of mods to help make it even more fun!

It's a nice game that mix gdr and strategy. It lacks of some features that luckly will be present in the new stand alone expansion

Being a sandbox game M&B is quite different from many other games in its genre. It offers quite fun combat and an array of possibilities for the player. You can either choose to play as a general, commanding your troops from the rear, or you can participate directly in pitched combat.

Travel around calradia, recruit troops and fight for gold and/or glory. It IS a decent game, tho' at times you find yourself dreaming of what might have been. It could have been even better.

There are tons of mods out there, so should you tire of the standard game there are still loads of gaming hours to go if you wish.

I dare say that this game is worth a play. he combat system is fun and rather challenging. I for one spend a good deal of time with it. Sadly enough, more ofthen than not, I ended up beaten by my enemy. But usually I shrugged it off. Once more into the breach!

An intriguing RPG, very well done and thougt. Of course, it is not churned out by a fat company with ringing bells and whistles, and is not as gorgeous as the typical trendy rpg. In fact the first look is quite bland and rough. However the design is clever, it offers unique horseback fights and rejoicing small scale battle, with an emphasis on horse archers. For those who want an inside look at medieval survival.

Beats most 50 euro rpg/action/stragegy games out there in terms of how fun it is to play, aswell as how addictive. Great combat system, alotta new thinking in general and that air of "we know we cant satisfy everyone, or make the perfect game" wich shows in the incredible possibilities for modding. this game is mostly like a platform: it has a new combat system, it reintruduces and reforms some old ideas, and it welcomes the chance to "upgrade and unfold". In short terms: This game is a most try! 9/10

I loved it! Finally a RPG game comes along, without the unrealistic dragon and elf theme! I mean, who wants to slay a dragon when you can slay some barbaric mongol who's bent on killing the beautiful princess? I am very critical of games, but I must say that Mount & Blade is one of those games that wsill keep you busy over the Christmas holidays. Looking forward to M & B 2 !

4/5 Stars. Its a great game. Good combination of Strategy and Role playing. Its also open world, you can travel around the entire map. The game is not the most replayable but you can either work for a faction or make your own faction which is a nice change. The game never crashed for me and never had a single glitch/bug.

This really is a great rpg. The lack of a storyline may bother some people, but the joy of it is you really can be whatever you want. You want to be a travelling mercenary? Done. A powerful lord? Done. A bandit? Done. A king? Sadly, no, but there may be potential in future mods. Speaking of the mods, those are one of the best things about this game. From the TaleWorlds forums, you can get to the Mount and Blade respository of modules, where there are tons of modules to try. I personally recommend Expanded Gameplay III for it's general awesomeness, but there are plenty of others. The combat in Mount and Blade is very fluid and tactical, although rather difficult, but hey, you probably already knew that. Fief management is very cool and addictive as you take over more stuff, although it can only happen if you become a lord. There are plenty of other oppurtunities for do-gooding as well as maliciousness. Burning out villages or saving them from bandits: the choice is yours.

A amazing RPG! It has it all. It's really cool that each fief, castle and city has it's own economy.

Through I agree, there should be a storyline.

Other than that, I enjoy every faction, weapon (Even through I'd rather bash a bandit with a quarterstaff, stab than with a lance) and quest.

I even captured the Rhodoks for myself.

Another thing that I feel is missing is Alliances.

I'd like to have the enemy of my enemy, my friend.

I highly reccomend this game, because of the gameplay, opportunities and the thrill of slaughtering hostile villages' peasants.

Beginners should start with Swadian as they have both good infantry, crossbowmen and cavalry.

It's alot harder with Rhodoks and Nords as they don't have any cavalry and therefore, easily killed.

And Vaegirs and Khergit has some annoying bandits that can be really big problems in the start. (Mountain Bandits and Steppe Bandits)

Through almost every Khergit soldier is mounted and is also very skilled unmounted, they are also a good choice.

4,5 / 5 stars! :)

The main plot in this game is there is no plot. There is however a scenario going on around your character, how your character fits in is entirely up to you. The game is set in a realistic medieval setting which I found quite attractive as it offered a more realistic edge to the game play as there is no nonsense like magic or zombies etc.

The graphics are about average for what a first person game. Characters, horses, castles and terrain all look good. The sound is quite good, however there is no real voice acting in the game. The combat system is one the best I have seen in a first person game, it’s straight forward to learn and effective to use as it gives all the necessary control. The representation of horse riding is the best I have seen in any game, the horse combat is amazing.

Sure the graphics might not do it justice. Sure the fact the game is open ended can become a double edged sword, as it could lead some gamers to become bored but the fact that the game forces us to use our own imagination is not necessarily a bad thing.

For me the thing that stands out is the game play, open ended nature and the fact this game is completely moddable. Simply this is one the best games I have played.

The only criticism I do have is the fact I stumbled on it by chance as it was not very well marketed.

This is a game that every self respecting gamer should have on their shelf.

Mount & Blade is a game that focuses on horse combat, but still has an in-depth melee and ranged combat systems. M&B has a free-form world with no story-driven gameplay. You may do whatever you want, whenever you want it, whether it's doing errands for kings, fighting in the arena, or carving out a kingdom for yourself. This game stands out among the hordes of games out there, I highly recommend it. 88/100

Mount and Blade is a game for players who love endless strategic battles. In this game you'll experience a lot of fun working your way up from a adventurer to a owner of fiefs, castles, and towns. There's always been other games that I've played and loved more than this game; especially with graphics. This game lacks in graphics but makes up for it in its endless gameplay. There is literally no end to the game that I have discovered. EVEN WHEN CHEATING! So prepare yourself for a lot of killing, owning, and looting villages. This game will keep you hooked.

I found this game to be very very enjoyable. At $30 or a sale price of $15 it gives alot more play time than a $60 First Person Shooter. (those I finish in typically one weekend).

As with PC games there are corrective patches and a wide selection of community made mods. These mods allow you to play entirely new realms. There are fantasy settings like "The Horde Lands" and a massive updating of the basic game world in "Native Expansion".

Combat, like a FPS, is an ongoing theme. This can be repetitive but only after weeks of play. After a short break I returned and played for months more.

A very enjoyable game with a huge play value.

This is a great game. I often do not get into first person combat based games but the degree of realism has got me hooked. What I like best about this game is that once you put some time into your character and your party you can do some great things and really affect the story line of the game. At the moment I am leading a rebellion and dashing from one hot spot to another trying to carve out a niche of the kingdom as a base of operation. But this degree of power and impact only came after slogging through a lot of dirty jobs with a rag-tag bunch of followers. And there is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment as you lead your cavalry into battle and order your infantry and archers to hold a hill top. It really is a wonderful game. I am looking forward to experimenting with some modding.

You play as the leader of a small party in a medieval fantasy kingdom, as you progress both you and your troops get experience which leads to a stronger party, you can upgrade everything from the size of your inventory to the size of your party to the distance at which you can see the tracks left by other traveling parties.

The game gets fairly detailed, with several ranks of quality within each type of item, so just for your horse there are (I'm estimating here) around 50ish possibilities with around 5-7 of them being "optimal" for you depending on both what your play style is, and what you're using the mount for

each horse/armor/weapon has a unique skin which is applied to your character if that kinda thing is important to you, however the different qualities of each item used the same skin.

The only thing that i felt detracted from the game was the complete lack of a story line, however some may also see that as a plus since the game is completely open ended,

I've heard the game has an extremely active modding community, but haven't tried out any of the mods as of yet

If you're looking for more information before buying you can go to the forums for M&B here : http://forums.taleworlds.net/

Great game. The combat will have you hooked for months. Each battle plays slightly differently as troop levels vary, units vary (most earn experience and you can upgarde them along various paths) and the AI can be scaled from easy, to hard.

There are also many ways to play. You can play a powerful heavy knight with strong armor and a powerful lance. You can be a fast raiding horse archer, you can even remain on foot. Or you can focus your skills on leadership and training and play a "hands off" approach and let your minions do all the dirty work.

The possibilities are even greater when you visit the official forums and browse all the wonderful player-created mods and graphic packs. This is a must-buy for any action/rpg fan.

This game is really awesome and everyone who has not play it really misses something unique. I cannot compare it to anything i ve played so far it is so unique. Mountain combat is really great and also the whole medieval fighting feeling. Modding community is really great and provides many variations of the original game. I definetely recommend it!

This game has the best mounted combat system I've seen, despite how basic it is. While you can be a trader, or a mission runner, the real draw is of course the combat; and not just personal combat. The troop management is simple, yet effective. Sometimes while on the field you'll wish for more complex orders to give, but usually you can attain what you want with what is given.

Some of the castles you have to siege really need work, but as others said there is a great mod community for this game and some have done just that. If you do get this game the first thing you should look for is the battle sizer mod which allows you to increase the number of troops on the field in each wave. Having 200 vs 200 battles in first person view is a blast, especially when your cavalry charge into the enemy lines.

Now here is a game that was a true pleasant surprise. I bought it hoping to find a game i would like and instead i got a game that i love!! Its a game full of free movement, go as you please , be what you like. Only thing i didnt like was the fact that i couldnt become king and take over the entire world! :)

The battles are great , the enemies do behave with intelligence and are not mere sheep to the slaughter, well they are if you only make an army of Swadian Knights but ...

My son aged 8 was allowed to try this game once, i had a really hard time dislodging from the computer and we had to buy him his own PC now. All due to this game. My warmest recommendations if you like a 1st person 'shooter' in the middle ages combined with the art af trading and the art of conquering

One of the better sandbox games out there. It really sucks you in. The modding community makes it only so much better.

a very exciting and fascinating game. the first-hand combat is excellent,the battles,sieges and the variety of troops create an fun atmosphere.it is a free-moving game where anything is possible.when you win the game (however unlikely) you can download mods and continue your epic adventure

I love this game and with the heavy mod support there is endless variety, I wish I had brought this game a long time ago.

Best middle age- themed game. Fighting on horse is made perfectly, and thanks to ods things to do never ends. I tried demo at first, and played it for 2 months. No boredom noted, can imagine playing this over 100 hours.

Best indie game (shares with World of Goo)

And it's very cheap.

The medieval age has been a fascination of mine, so when I first saw Mount and blade I knew I had to get it. The great thing about this game is that it is open ended leaving the player to make the choice as to what they do with there life in this fictional medieval world. You start off by crafting your characters looks and traits and then are just set free upon the world. although there is a tutorial if you want to take it which shows you the finer art of combat , but once you pick up on it, the skills you learn become second nature , blocking with the right click of mouse while left click swings your weapon . The Great thing about this game is the scope at which the world allows the player to craft there own lives , you can be simple trader , mercenary , a lord and Assembled large armies of heroes and trained solders to siege castles and towns. Even cause a military coup and oust a king of his throne, and proclaimed you’re self as ruler.

So if you’re a person whom likes open ended worlds , commanding armies in first person view and have a knack to play with sharp swords. This game I personally highly recommend.

A solid game that wonderfully blends elements of Role-playing, action, and strategy in a completely original way. The world is attractive (though not stunning) and I've rarely had issues running the game smoothly on moderate-high settings with an aging PC. It's not a perfect game. The quests, and the gameplay in general, can get a little repetitive, and there could certainly be a lot more depth with respect of faction and character relations, but these are, by no means, game-breakers. Moreover, the developers are extreme keen on listening to player suggestions and concerns and there is a vibrant mod community, which will only grow with time. I encourage everyone to pick this title up and take part in, what I believe, is the start of an amazing franchise.

I have been playing that game for ages now. I have tried almost every possible versions and demos, when it used to be some kind of amateurish game, and I can't believe I waited that long to buy the full game.

The graphics are really nice in my opinion, a lot nicer than in the previous versions, and actually starting to look very good an professional (shadows, hdr, normal mapping, etc).

However, the game focuses on gameplay and originality, and does it very well. How many games can you find, that allow you to control a knight, mercenary, or whatever, with a role playing touch, in a medieval world, and fight in massive battles in realtime? Mount & blade is the only one I have found that does that properly.

The game also features tons of smaller features, like character customization, with an RPG feel to it (improve skills and buy equipment).

I would describe M&B as being very similar to Sid Meier's Pirates in terms of quests and fun factor, but with the added medieval effect.

Finally, the game has got a great community, tons of Mods already, and is in constant evolution. Taleworlds has made an excellent job here, and I can just imagine what M&B will be like in two years or so...

A must have!!

Great game from the inside out.. First time I looked at it the graphics kinda turned me off but after I got addicted to the gameplay, mechanics, and community graphic mods this game is one of the best of its genre that's on the market now.

Can not wait till the multiplayer expansion is released!

I downloaded the beta from an alternate game site, and was so impressed with the mechanics, the fluidity of the human and horse movements, and combat system that I went looking for the actual game. Found it hear on Gamersgate. That was 4 months ago, and I'm still playing, trying new mods. Considering the independent nature of it's deelopment, it has a leg up on many other RPG style games in it's playability and realism, and as a person who grows tired of the 'fantasy' elements of RPG, this has a very nice pseudo-realism to it that's simple and elegant. Kudos the developer, and I've recommended this game to to friends... who are as picky as I am. :-)

Really an awesome game. Don't be turned off by the big critics' reviews which may miss the point, you can easily get addicted to playing. Yes, there's basically no storyline, other than what you add to it, but the combat is great fun and advancing your rank and leading armies to battle just doesn't get old after hours and hours of gameplay. Definitely recommended.

I bought this in Beta and was wowed straight off. Firstly was the mounted combat - especially the Lance - which made it totally different from any other fantasy/historical game I'd ever played. Secondly by the fact that it was actually pretty hard to master. Too many games come out of the box on a Friday night for the first time and they've been played and beaten by the time you return to work on Monday.

So the other day a couple of years after playing the Beta I downloaded the final and as impressed. The game play is a lot easier with a lot of the irritating features of the beta removed.

I die a lot - or at least keep losing battles and being captured - but the way the game mechanics work this is actually quite enjoyable and not a save and reload opportunity that it would be in other games. Not that you are allowed to mind you . . .

Verdict - definitely worth buying

This game is the best action RPG i have played.

The combat system is the best i have seen in any game.

Great game. It does get a tad repetitive, but its repetitively fun! Riding down some poor peasant with your lance just has to be experienced. Plus, there's a whole mess of mods out there that vary it up a bit when you're ready for something new. I'm so glad gamersgate carries this game, because I just downloaded on a lark, and its one of the best games I've played recently.

From AA0, "Although there is no story, the combat is extremely well-rounded, very detailed and something that must be experienced. Mount & Blade was designed to be modded, from mods that improve the combat, add new weapons and features, and add in new tactics and troops, all the way to completely overhauling the game into something different. Maybe, in time, there might be a couple out there that adds in a good story. Each time I’ve tried to describe what a battle is like, it just feels wrong. There are too many aspects to write about, so just go and try it! If you like first-person combat, medieval combat or even RPG-style leveling systems, you’ll go crazy for the detailed, fast-paced action in Mount & Blade. But what I’ve been trying to write this whole time without being too blunt is that horse-mounted combat is absolutely incredible and must be tried. This is by far the most fun I’ve had in combat in any game to date, and I really can’t stop playing it. Plus, why not support an independent developer?"

One of the best games out there, IMO. Very, very satisfying combat, and a whole world to explore and conquer.

Yes, the game out of the box is lacking in story, but that's what the mod community is for. This is a sandbox game, that despite every rational reason why it should get boring, doesn't! And the mod community is HUGE.

There are tons of mods for all sorts of different games, so that you essentially get 4, 5, or more A- quality games for the price of one. And they're always evolving, with new story-lines, new features, and so, literally every week.

Best purchase I made last year, along with Sword of the Stars!

Hands down, this is the best implementation of medieval combat ever. Swords, shields, horses, longbows, lances --- it's all there, and it's insanely addictive. For about a week. Then you start to wish there was actually something to do. A pity they couldn't have wrapped the combat system in something more structured. Even so, it's absolutely, without doubt, worth spending your money on. Despite the one big problem, it's brilliantly entertaining, didn't crash once while I was playing it, and the combat graphics are very pretty.

This games reminds me a lot of Sid Meier's Pirates. It has all the same elements, minus the romantic portion, which is a shame. It's a very good game, but it is repetitive. Of course you can mix it up with the mods.

This game is epic considering it's been developed by a couple! I strongly urge anyone who even has a passing interest in RPGs to get it! It has quite a few innovative ideas and can give you hours of hours of fun despite the fact hat it's only about 500mb. I'm so looking forward to its multiplayer expansion pack!

This is a very good game. Gameplay is great, mounted combat particularly is excellent. Visually the game is not designed for graphics but they are good too. The mods too are brilliant for this game.

Definately one I'd recomend getting! Only minor problem is it can get a bit samey after a while. The mods definately help with this though.

This is the best action game ever. The system for combat is easy to learn and makes this a really good game. I've been playing this for about a week no bugs. Nothing bad to say here.

I have played this game since .7xxx. This free form RPG has the same attention span of a good non-sandbox RPG. Even though it it is free form it starts getting old after about 70 or 80 hours (I have played 200+ hours over the years). You think it is the greatest game ever at first. However, you just go around doing the same type of missions, all battles are almost the same, sieges even all look the same after a while. This being on the highest difficulty level, (other than not turning off auto-block)

So my real grip is it is a lot of fun but it does not last. All the mods I have seen so far are much of the same granted some a step up from native. This is a good game, not a great game, great games have lasting appeal. Some promising mods and , the multilayer expansion might change my mind about this though. The underlying ideas of this game are great, it just needs a lot more variety.

This is a great game.

The point of all of this is to recreate the life of a warlord, with all pro and cons. Simple.

Once on the battlefield you will feel how an horseman can vanquish a group of footman not equipped (spear) to beat him.

I'd like to add to the other reviews that the mod community has created some excellent mods, that not only will enhance the game, but will add tons of equipments, random events, graphical overhaul and much more.

Definitely recommended.

Mods:

http://www.mbrepository.com/

or

http://forums.taleworlds.net/index.php/board,9.0.html

Incredible game---my choice for 2008's Game of the Year, in fact. Plenty of games promise open-world but few truly deliver on the promise. Mount & Blade doesn't feel it necessary to hold your hand at any point. It drops you into Calradia and says "make your own fun" while providing every possible tool to do exactly that. Infinitely friendly to mods, a quick look at the TaleWorlds website will expand this game in ways that a dozen retail expansion packs couldn't dream of. I can't recommend it enough---GAME OF THE YEAR 2008.

This is a great game, in fact, i would recommend it just for the mods! I can't get enough of the combat, there's nothing more satisfying than riding your horse up some poor infantryman and slashing him with your axe! Or using a longbow to snipe off an attack single handedly. I've heard alot of people complaining about the open endedness of this game, but thats the beauty of it! You work really hard to become a lord with your own city and army... but you get to keep it! Highly Recommended 5/5!

I've been playing this game since the 0.650 version, its great.

Open ended, realistic combat, (actually the first realistic mounted combat), runs smoothly.

One of the major advantages is the ease you can mod it with, there have been so many very good mods out and plenty more are still being worked on every day.

A really nice community check them at http://forums.taleworlds.net

Support some actually innovative small gamedesigners and try it and buy it ! :)

If you enjoy sandbox style games, or if you're interested in medieval warfare, buy Mount and Blade. It's as simple as that. I've never seen anything else do such a good job of portraying mounted combat; the act of setting your lance and using it to run through some poor sucker fighting on his feet is entertaining enough to recommend this game.

The graphics are a rather strange combination of beautiful but amatuer, and the interface, though functional, has a few flaws, but in terms of gameplay, this game is almost perfect. It also scores points for being one of the few medieval action games without any fantasy elements, which I found to be a refreshing change. As long as you can handle games without any sort of rails pushing you in one direction or another, you'll get your money's worth from this game.

This is an outstanding game. I can see myself spending many hours playing Mount and Blade. This is the most realistic and compelling simulation of being a Medieval warlord that I have ever played. You get to be a Beowulf like leader of a band of warriors. Combat is engaging and while challenging at first, a welcome advance over the point and click attacks. You really get a sense of why a rider on a horse has a big advantage over a foot soldier.

The troop development system is deep and you really have to look after your men...lose all your veterans in a battle and you'll be forced to start over with a bunch of raw recruits. The game is completely open ended so you can run your character however you want. Trade, burn villages out, rob caravans or defend towns, it's your choice. This might be my favorite game that has come out this year.

Honestly, I did not expect much at first, given the game is not very much advertised - but this game is a treasure. I can very much recommend it to everybody that loves the genre. In fact, I never faced medieval combat that close. So I very much felt the pain of blood, sweat and tears when my little army and myself got drawn and quartered by an enemy force (great fun though!).

The game, of course, is not perfect. I can imagine for instance a command bar and other improvements for making army-management and other aspects of the game more comfortable. Fighting friends via internet later also would be nice. But all this can be done later if there are many buyers of this fine software ...

great game. nice graphics, fluent action. A marvel in it's own way. Open field battles, sieges, different nations with their own specific troop trees and strategies...some politics and conspiracy...It has it all.

really recommended 4.5/5