I really like the combat to the game, it's easily one of the best melee combat systems about and you become so engaged in it that you can get lost in arena fights for hours. However Mount and Blade doesn't really offer much else and that's why I can't recommend purchasing the game. If it was a mod to Half-Life 2, then fantastic but actually putting money down for it, you'll need to be in the small group of people who are really enthusiastic about it.
The problems with the game are the graphics, which really are an eye sore. While there are some nice looking sky areas and buildings in the background, for the most part it is an ugly game, especially the animations and character models. The A.I seems to have really bad path finding and looks wonky because of the animations. However it does give you a bit of a challenge in the combat and it is well done for a small indie developer at least. I also can't find any story in the game and the tutorial only tells you the controls, so I have no idea where I'm meant to be going. I would like some story to give me direction in the game, at least until I get the hang of things. You'll enter into the game and wonder what the hell you're meant to be doing which will put most people off. I just spent countless hours being bored wondering around the map. The only fun things I found to do were getting jumped so I could do horse mounted combat and arena fights.
The sounds of the game are okay, not very good but they do the job, you defiantly wont remember the game for them. I really wish there was voice acting but I spose as everything else presentation wise is so bad that it is probably a blessing not to have any. I just really can't find much of a game in Mount and Blade. Theres an inventory system and the whole RPG stuff but without characters to care about and story to give me a purpose in the world, I just really don't want to play much more of the game.
The reason why you'll love Mount and Blade though is the fantastic combat. It is the shining point of the game and quite something when you say it is much better than a Oblivion. I hope Bethesda are looking at this game for it's future combat in the next Elder Scrolls game. I just can't recommend buying this game for combat alone but if there's a demo then it is worth checking it out.
