I don't think there's already a topic about that game, and the mean "search" button hates me. I hate it too.
But back to the main topic.
Mount and Blade is an game (stating the obvious, OH!), about a kingdom. Woo-hoo. Doesn't sounds really interesting. Maybe I'm a bad seller. Anyway!
The game takes place in medieval "realism" setting. "Realism" meaning that wearing an armor will slow you down. But you can still survive after being torn into pieces. Let's say It Got Better.
Anyway!
Why is this game interesting?Because it's a sandbox-like game. You can do what you want. You can trade, fight, rebel against kings, or becoming a vassal. You can make prisoners, but you can't torture them, so it's useless.
Basically, Vanilla M&B presents you a very fine place. Shared into 5 kingdoms, each one looking like a old kingdom. For example, while the Kingdoms of the Nords will remind vikings guys, Khergits will remind you Mongolian empire.
So, what are you doing in this game?What you want. You can be a raider, attacking caravan, raiding villages, raping enemy soldiers and taking women as prisoners. Or the other way around! Your only limitation is your CHARISMA.
That's nice and stuff, but in fact, how does it looks like?That's simple. First, you have your own character. Just like any RPG, he has an inventory, with WEPONS. You can fight with your BEAR HANDS, but that's completely stupid and crazy. So do it, just for the lulz.
Your character can level up, gaining Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Charisma. Strength allow you to do more damage, Agility allow you to attack faster (very important), Intelligence gives you more skills points, and Charisma increase the size of your party. Because, yeah, you can create a party. But I'll speak about that later.
Then, you have skills points. They are very various. Stuff like "trade", "shield", "leadership", are more or less self-explanatory. But other, like "tracking", "pathfinder", and "looter" looks less important, but are in fact REALLY important. I won't explain the whole game, because I am le tired.
Don't go! At least explain us how do we party!Fine kids. You can hire guys for money. Each week, you'll give them wages, depending of their level. There are several way to hire
underlings cannon fodder noble companions. You can hire them in village, but you'll get farmers. They are awful. You can hire mercenary in tavern, they are more expensive, but more efficient. Anyway you should hire only one kind of soldiers. Because hiring rhodoks soldier when your party is mainly composed of sarradin soldiers can be quite devastating. Especially if the two kingdoms are fighting.
TL;DR: This is a really funny game. There are some bugs, so it's why I suggest to try the standalone Warband rather than the Vanilla M&B. It's complex and stuff, but it's really fun to CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES WITH YOUR SPEAR, AND SHOOT THEM IN THE BACK WHILE THEY'RE RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES, AND THEN YOU CAN BURN THEIR VILLAGES AND... excuse me, time to take my happy pills.
EDIT: forgot to say, but here's a good encyclopedia:
http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Mount%26Blade:_Warband. Try it, the Warband demo is available on Steam. For free. You'll like it (maybe).
