Mount&Blade - With Fire and Sword Preview @ Gaming Nexus

Although the graphics and sound are quite dated, the action of the battlefield is still somehow engrossing. At first, when it was just me against a handful of troops, things weren't all that exciting. However, after I began amassing a small squadron of my own, and could take on larger numbers of enemies, the appealing chaos of the fighting system began to shine through. Controlling the character initially took some work to get used to, but after a while combat felt almost natural. As the title suggests, players can spend a great deal of time fighting from horseback if they choose. Charging a horde of enemies, gun blazing or saber flashing, while being flanked by dozens of friendly pikemen and musketeers, was a surprising amount of fun. Battles always had a largely chaotic feel, which only grew with the size of the armies, and this barely-controlled, frenetic pace did keep me on the edge of my seat throughout.

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