Mount & Blade: Warband is a downloadable stand-alone expansion to Mount & Blade, which was released in 2008. It is a game that combines RPG features with strategy elements. In addition, the game offers a more developed system of diplomacy, as well as good artificial intelligence of vassals and commanders as far as strategy and politics are concerned. The game also features the multiplayer mode for up to 64 players which largely contributes to its immense popularity.
The producer and publisher of Mount & Blade: Warband is TaleWorlds Entertainment. The title was released on March 30, 2010. Initially, the game could be run only on Windows. It was not until 2014 that the title was released for the computers with macOS and Linux systems and ported to mobile devices with Android. In 2016, the game was recreated and received for the console of the eighth generation PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and received better graphics. However, on any platform Mount & Blade: Warband compared to Mount & Blade from 2008 offers more interesting graphics (for example, HDR lighting).
How to Download Mount & Blade: Warband
The game can be downloaded in digital distribution. You can use the Steam or GOG platforms. To start downloading the game, click on the Download button at the end of this review. It is also worth to download the demo of the game to try the title before buying.
The DLCs
The producer also offers to DLCs that you can download. These are:
- Mount & Blade: Warband – Napoleonic Wars (released in 2012),
- Mount & Blade: Warband – Viking Conquest Reforged Edition (2014).
Mount & Blade: Warband – the Gameplay
In the game, the user freely shapes the fate of the main character, who is a traveler. It is with this character that the player travels around the land of Calradia (which resembles a medieval world). The player constantly develops his reputation. He does it by taking part in numerous skirmishes and building his mercenary team. There is the possibility to play solo or join any faction. These are the following:
- Kingdom of Swadia,
- Kingdom of the Rhodokas,
- Kingdom of Vaegirs,
- Kingdom of the Nords,
- Khergit Khanate,
- and Sarranind Sultanate.
In Mount & Blade: Warband, there are two levels of interaction. One is a strategic map (which lets you move around the game world, manage your hero, his equipment, and his mercenary team). The other is the three-dimensional action mode that is turned on during the fights, after entering the city or during the tournaments. In the game after the player-controlled character’s death, the rebirth takes place at the beginning of the next round.
The expansion introduces many changes in relation to the original game (many of them were suggested by the community of players). These novelties include the improvement of the artificial intelligence of the vassals and commanders. Now, there is also the possibility of subjugating other lords or making political alliances through marriages. You can also create your own faction and try various medieval weapons like swords, axes, bows, crossbows, and maces. However, according to the assumptions of the creators, the best feature of the game is the multiplayer mode that allows a maximum of 64 players. The following game modes are available:
- Deathmatch,
- Team Deathmatch,
- Siege,
- Fight and Destroy,
- Capture the Flag, and
- Conquest.
The first game in the series – Mount & Blade (it is worth knowing that there is also a downloadable demo of this game), as we already know, was released in 2008. The successor which is described here, Mount & Blade: Warband, hit the shelves two years later. In 2011, the players could enjoy Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword. The content of the game was based on the first part of the famous Trilogy by the Polish novelist and Noble Prize laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz. The next TaleWorlds Entertainment studio game is to be Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord which was announced from 2012.
