There was no NDA to be agreed to, no serial, just a plain and simple download link for the installer. Even the official beta discussion forums are open for everyone to see, so I guess it doesn't do any harm to discuss it here a little.
The basics are simple: Warband is the upcoming addon to Taleworlds' great Mount & Blade. Its main features are slightly updated graphics and more importantly a multiplayer option. The beta being solely a multiplayer beta, I don't really know how and if the single player aspect has been altered or improved.
After a first few rounds, I can say it's going to be awesome. At least if the few remaining quirks are gone by the release date, which, by the way, isn't announced yet.
Not surprisingly, the multiplayer ditches the global aspect of the game, so you won't lead an army around the fictional medieval continent of Calradia, there are no taverns to visit, no tournaments to be fought, no quests to be fulfilled. It's just two completely player based armies fighting for survival.
The game mechanics themselves aren't really that spectacular. First, you choose a faction, then a role, and after that, you can spend gold you earn by killing the opposition, winning, and at best even surviving a round to beef up your equipment. Once a team is obliterated, a new round starts.
So far so good, but thankfully TW didn't just make two same teams with different colour schemes. The server determines the factions from the pool of kingdoms already in Mount & Blade, and the factions have each very unique and special troop types. The Nords for example are mainly an infantry faction, while the Khergit Khanate features only cavalry, with the other kingdoms sporting a mix with focus on pikes, armored knights or crossbow archers, et cetera.
While it's obviously a balancing nightmare, it does have it's merits: No map plays the same, as each faction needs to develop a distinct strategy against any enemy on any map. While a horde of Khergit Horse Archers might sweep the floor with Nord Berserkers on sweeping, open hillsides, the outcome changes drastically if the map features a city. Even one team falling back to a farm house can turn the tides of a battle greatly. I really do love that concept, especially since I am no fan of artificial balancing. I prefer if a team has to do with what it has got and make the best out of it.
Speaking of balance, the basic troops pretty much act as they would in real life: archers kill melee infantry with no problems if they don't let them get near, but are usually wiped out by an onslaught of cavalry. Cavalry on the other hand is pretty dead if it tries to storm a group of pikers. The pikers stand no chance against ordinary infantry though. Then there are hybrid troops like Horse Archers who fill in some gaps. Other gaps can be closed via your equipment purchase, so you can buy some javelins for example to give your pike wielding soldier a means to attack from a distance.
Also, player skill can overcome the class differences. A talented piker for example can skewer almost anyone who's approaching from the front.
The small community of Mount & Blade has it's advantages. Even on public play, there are serious tries to create some tactics, which is especially great if they work. I can't wait for real competitive play between clans. That's where Warband should really shine.
And for those of you who haven't heard of Mount & Blade yet, here's a brief description. It's made from a small turkish team (that has been internationalized a bit) and it is the most realistic medieval RPG/Action Combat/Sandbox game. It looks dated but still nice, which means it runs on older rigs just as well. It has some bugs, which can be overlooked if you share both my love for realism and my kind of generosity towards small independent developers, and best of all, it's open to mods and there are tons of great mods out there for for it.
Go check it out. It's available in stores and via Steam. And there's a demo which let's you play until you hit level 6 or 7, so plenty of time to judge it.
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