Transitions from PC to console are risky business. It’s 2 different markets with 2 different fan bases. So, when a PC native RPG, like say Mount & Blade: Warband, gets announced for today’s consoles, one has to wonder how it will be received. As with any game, Mount & Blade: Warband has its own set of fans, but console owners were clueless to its popularity. Was it so popular that it needed a console release? Or was it a leap of faith to attract new audiences? I go in skeptical. I’ve played a healthy amount of PC exclusives in my time, but my heart is in the console.
Mount & Blade: Warband was initially an expansion pack for TaleWorld Entertainments’ Mount & Blade. It was first released in 2009 and was highly respected as an ambitious RPG. The plot, however, wasn’t the reason that it was highly respected. It is barebones and carries no weight on the main game. There are no cutscenes, just text to read. Mount & Blade: Warband allows the player to make his or her own story. Will you be a born soldier from a military orientated background and serve the kings of the land, or will you be a petty thief who spent his life scrimping and scraping, pillaging towns and holding them for ransom? The choice is yours, but none of the factions you can join carry narrative or meaning. This choice only affects your starting attributes. Sad, really. RPGs rarely come without a story or backdrop. Even the mighty Skyrim had a plot, and it still allowed you to be whoever you wish.
Gameplay is a mish-mash of different genres, but none play well. You’ll spend your time walking around lifeless villages and towns of the fictional land of Calradia populated with robotic, poorly designed NPCs. Some may have tasks for you to do like employ your own band of merry men, raid a caravan, or defend a village from raiders. In these instances, employing would-be companions is simply written. We don’t see a cutscene of a brotherly handshake or the raising of a glass, instead we see text on a blank parchment. Great if you’re a reader, but bummer if you’re not.
Combat scenarios are very patience testing. Ranged and melee combat is so clunky, it becomes a chore very quickly. The onscreen cross-hair when firing your crossbow is ridiculously inaccurate, I rarely hit my mark as my enemies slowly ran towards me in a mindless manner. There is hardly any AI present except when they block and attack. Enemies just run up to you and swipe at you every couple of seconds while the ranged guys hang back and pick at your health. What’s worse is that traveling to another location using the plainly designed world map puts you at risk of random battles as you encounter groups of bandits that you must either take out or try to escape from. Combat is unavoidable and plentiful. Adding horses to the mix is like rubbing salt in the wound. Mounted combat requires pinpoint precision in order to hit your mark. Even the training you’re given at the start is a huge pain in the proverbial behind.
Melee combat is stiff, the equivalent of old ladies having a handbag fight. You can block and attack with a short combination. It lacks any impact or emotion. It’s just a case of swipe until your opponents drop. Fighting groups on your own, which will happen near the beginning of the game, is feeble as getting overwhelmed is too easy. It’s like getting horded by Daleks. The only way to stand a chance is to run, strafe, and swipe. It’s easier to survive when you have followers who fight with you, the number of which depends entirely on your Leadership skill points.
The Warband expansion added a multiplayer element which is present in the console version. It primarily focuses on combat, removing everything else from the fray. The addition felt nothing but tacked on. Your single player character, however leveled up he or she may be, is irrelevant here. You simply choose a new unit type be it Archer, Cavalry (horseback), or Infantry. There is no progression system, so winning any of the standardised multiplayer modes usually found in modern first-person shooters such as capture the flag, is pretty much meaningless.
None of the downloadable content is present here, meaning console players will miss out on the Neopolianic Wars and Viking Conquest add-ons. Judging by the quality of the gameplay, it’s doubtful it would have made much of a difference apart from adding more factions and quests.
Developer: TaleWorlds Entertainment
Publisher: Ravenscourt
Platform: PS4, PC, Xbox One
Release Date: 16th September 2016