Mount and Blade: With Fire and Sword Demo

Since war seems to be mankind's favorite pastime, it is no wonder that computer simulations are doing rather well too, especially since it basically portrays the same activity, only with less actual victims and far less guilt or PTSD to ruin the after party. Hence, titles like Mount and Blade became popular very quickly, because they give players complete freedom and plenty of ways to wage war on everything.

Mount and Blade: With Fire and Sword is a stand-alone expansion pack in which you get to experience the very same elements that made the series so popular, but in a slightly different setting and with way more interesting weapons to employ in battle. Hence, since the period coincides with the invention of gun powder, you now have the change to use weapons such as pistols, muskets and cannons on the battlefield, which should make things a lot more interesting.

However, the game also has a rather complex and interesting story going about in the background, considering the fact that it is based on a fascinating book written by Henry Sienkiewicz. Despite that, you are still free to follow your own instinct once you enter the game world, as well as choose the best course of action in every situation, or even ignore the plot entirely and just roam around the map trying to get a sense of how things work.

In order to have an impact on the surroundings, though, you need a few people to join in your cause and be ready to fight alongside you when the time comes. While you can certainly go ahead and hire mercenaries from taverns whenever you get enough money, it is also possible to recruit them in other ways, as well as even make some friends along the way. Moreover, you can customize each and every one of them, as well as train them to keep a certain formation and overpower the enemy with tactics.

While the muskets do not exactly influence the gameplay too much, since they are basically as slow as crossbows and they do not have too much range to begin with, they can be quite frustrating to deal with, especially since you cannot really use a shield as you would with the arrows. On the other hand, you get to use them as well, although they are rather tricky to master and they really take a long time to reload, which can be annoying in the midst of a gruesome battle.

In the end, Mount and Blade: With Fire and Sword is definitely a welcomed addition to the franchise, although it could have used a few refinements here and there when it comes to balancing and gameplay. Despite that, you can still have countless hours of fun with it, especially thanks to the improved diplomacy mechanics and the truly huge map that can be explored at will from the beginning of the game.