Title: Mount and Blade: Warband
Developer: TaleWorlds Entertainment
My Thoughts: Mount and Blade: Warband is a Role-Playing Game (RPG) where you take the role of an unnamed and unknown character who has just arrived in the continent of Calradia, which is split between six warring kingdoms, all with their own unique properties, cultures and traits. Your goal is to take your character from licking the dirt off Lord Snob’s boots and elevate them, through any means possible, to the level where you can attack Lord Snob, take him prisoner, lob him in a dungeon and demand a ransom. Basically, it’s a social mobility simulator, where you can eventually go from a peasant to the Emperor of Calradia if you so desire.
Would I recommend it?: Mount and Blade has taken up over 200 hours of my life, and I’m still addicted. It’s glorious fun to rise up the ranks of a faction and become answerable only to the faction leader. You can also choose to start your own faction. However, I haven’t attempted this yet as it’s much more secure being Marshal for the one faction that has expanded and beaten two factions into defeat and has a third on the ropes. I’ve had this game since last summer, and it’s never bored me once. My only gripe is that it can take a little while for you to rise to being a Noble and when you do, you soon acquire such wealth that you can buy anything you want multiple times, making the game a tad too easy.
Rating: 9/10, you will struggle not to have fun in this game
Words by Gabriel Rutherford