Mount & Blade: Warband

Mount & Blade: Warband

Mount&Blade: Warband is the first sequel for the medieval, single-player, open-ended, action role-playing video game video game Mount&Blade. First announced in January 2009, the game was developed by TaleWorlds and was published by Paradox Interactive on March 30, 2010, and is available as a direct download from the TaleWorlds' website, through the Steam digital distribution software, or as a DVD.
Mount&Blade is a single-player, action-oriented role-playing game without any fantasy elements, which takes place in a medieval land named Calradia. The game features a sandbox gameplay style, in which there is no storyline present. The player is able to join one of the five battling factions, fight as a mercenary, assume the role of an outlaw, or take a neutral side.



There are four main areas where battles take place: on the open map when two or more hostile parties meet, in tournaments organized in town arenas, in siege combat where the player is either defending or attacking a fortification, or in settlements after a triggering event (village is infested by bandits, guards catch the player sneaking in, the player is ambushed, or the player plunders a village).^[16] The number of soldiers each party can hold is limited by the "leadership" skill and the renown of the leader. Participants in a battle can be either mounted or on foot. The player has to indicate the direction in which he wants to swing by moving the mouse accordingly.^[17] Aiming with a ranged weapon is also done by using the mouse.

Damage is dealt depending on multiple factors. Aside from each weapon's quality, its effectiveness is also influenced by the character's skill with that type of weapon, and the speed of the player relative to the target: for example, a javelin thrown while running or riding a horse will be potentially more damaging than a javelin thrown while standing still.^[19] Further, weapons have certain ranges where they are minimally and maximally effective, which gives the different weapon types different playing styles. A spear, for instance, will do minimal damage when used on an enemy very close to the player, where a hammer could cause maximum damage.

Mount & Blade may be the best game about medieval life ever made. Granted, games about the medieval era are few and far between, but they usually focus on adventure or strategy. In comparison, it's difficult to easily describe Mount & Blade, but it's a bit like a medieval version of Sid Meier's Pirates. It is part action game, where you can ride into battle, swinging a sword to hack your opponents. It's part role-playing, as you control a character that can level up, learn more skills, and even climb the ladder of feudal society. It is part strategy game, as you hire and train a company of soldiers that fight alongside you in battles. And it all takes place in an open world where you choose to be as noble or as dastardly as you want to be.

While obviously inspired by medieval history, the game is set on a somewhat random fantasy world full of kingdoms that spend a lot of time warring with one another; the setting could have been ripped from any generic fantasy novel. This lack of presentation is also evident in the early parts of the game; you're simply dropped into the world with little guidance or preparation. Still, if you stick with it you'll slowly discover a world full of tensions, trade, and warfare. You start by generating your character, using an RPG-style creationsystem. Select from male or female, an appearance, and then attributes such as strength and intelligence. Those attributes affect skills, of which there are many. Fighters will want to focus on skills like athletics and shield, battlefield commanders will want skills like leadership and tactics, merchant should go for looting and trading, and so on. Once that's done, you're in the world and what's next is entirely up to you. I suggest you go to the nearest village, start recruiting soldiers for your company, and see if the village elder has a job for you. These can range from helping to train the villagers in warfare so they can defend themselves from the occasional bandit raid to getting a fetch style quest to retrieve grain or cattle. 

And so begins a long journey as you try and work your way up the social ladder of a feudal system. There are bandits, looters, and deserters to hunt down; you not only get money, but also loot that can be traded as well as experience points that let you level up your character and your troops. Your troops themselves start as raw recruits, but as they gain experience you can promote them to specialized roles, such as archers, spearmen, veterans, and lancers. The only downside with that is the more experienced a soldier, the higher a weekly wage he demands, so there's a constant need to generate income so you have enough to pay your troops. Even feeding your troops is important, as having a diverse amount of chow boosts their morale, and having no chow at all is also a big problem.
At the heart of the game is the battle system, which does a great job at rendering the mob chaos that was medieval combat. Groups of combatants come together and bash one another, while cavalry slices through enemy lines. You have a key role, as you're in the thick of the action. You can specialize in the large variety of medieval weapons like swords, two-handed swords, axes, throwing axes, daggers, sabers, bows, crossbows, polearms, and so on. You can be clad in a wide range of armor, mixing and matching headgear, armor, gloves, footgear, and more. Finally, you can ride into battle, mounted atop a warhorse or steed, or dismount and go on foot. What's neat about the battle system is how "real" it feels; the game uses a physics system to model sword thrusts. Hit someone with a glancing blow and it barely hurts them. Charge at them on horseback and connect with a solid hit and you'll kill them. Momentum counts, and the sword battles feel challenging, yet they're not hard to master. As you and your troops gain a reputation, you can start doing jobs for the local nobility. These tasks range from delivering letters to hunting down fugitives to collecting taxes and "taking care" of an annoying merchant. Doing these jobs can gain you favor with a lord; gain enough favor or a big enough reputation and you'll even be invited to join the nobility. You'll get a small fief of land and a town that you can manage; you can build costly improvements that boost the town's economy as well as its loyalty to you. And, as a member of the nobility, you can serve as a champion to a local lady, fighting duels for her honor. 
While battles take up a large chunk of your time, there's so much to do and see outside of them. The map is dotted with castles and towns that can offer up quests; there's also a sense that this is a living, dynamic world, as trade caravans roam the countryside. You'll encounter plenty of war parties, as the kingdoms wage war with one another. You can get drawn into these by either becoming a mercenary company in service to one lord, or if you've become part of the nobility in one kingdom and the king raises his banners then you've got to go off to war or else. These battles are much bigger than simply hunting down bandits; you face much better troops (and more of them), plus there are castle sieges to deal with.
In between wars you can try your hand in trading goods from castle to castle in an attempt to generate lucrative profit. Or there are tournaments that you can partake in for fame and money. The politics of the world can be tricky, as pleasing one lord can often displease another, but there's another layer, as there are claimants to many thrones who are in exile; you can choose to champion their cause if you'd like. It doesn't take too long before you find yourself being drawn into the world of Mount & Blade.
On a down note, the game's production values range from decent to primitive. Character models are awkward up close; you notice things such as necks sticking weirdly out of torsos. Yet in battle the fluid animation makes it almost thrilling to engage in a horseback pursuit. The fights themselves are the best looking part of the games, but the world map and the paper doll character interfaces are downright crude, looking like they belong to games 10 or 15 years in the past, though, on the plus side, everything loads quickly. Transitioning between battles, towns, and the world map only takes a few seconds. Sound effects are limited mainly to the clomping of horses' hooves and the clanging of swords. The music tries to inject some color and variety into things, but its synthesizer roots feel out of place for the subject matter.

Level up!

Then there's the interface, which is awkward to use, particularly when trading. You have to click-and-drag each and every item that you want to trade back and forth across the screen, and if you don't like the proposed deal there's no way to cancel the transaction; you have to click-and-drag everything back in place otherwise you'll be charged for it.

If you can get over the lackluster production values, you'll find an incredibly well-paced and engaging game that immerses you into a remarkable world that you can do what you will in. You can be the hero, the villain, or just a guy or gal trying to get by. This is a game for anyone who has a yen for history, the Middle Ages, knights, and medieval warfare.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an action role-playing open world video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth installment in The Elder Scrolls action role-playing video game series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Skyrim was released on November 11, 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Gameplay

The nonlinear gameplay traditional in the Elder Scrolls series is incorporated in Skyrim.^[9] The player can explore the open world of Skyrim on foot or on horse, and fast-travel to cities, towns, and dungeons after they have been discovered.^[10] Quests are given to the player by non-player characters (NPCs) in the world, and through the Radiant Story system, the quests can be dynamically altered to accommodate for player actions which may influence the quest's characters and objectives. The Radiant Story then further directs the player's interaction with the world by setting unexplored dungeons as quest locations.^[11] When not completing quests, the player can interact with NPCs through conversation, and they may request favors or training in skills from the player.^[12] In addition to scripted quests certain ones will be dynamically generated, providing a limitless number to the player.^[9] Some NPCs can become companions to the player to aid in combat.^[13] The player may choose to join factions, which are organized groups of NPCs such as the Dark Brotherhood, a band of assassins.^[14] Each of the factions has a headquarters, and they have their own quest paths which the player can progress through. The economy of cities and towns can be stimulated by completing jobs such as farming and mining, or spending large amounts of gold in the stores. Alternatively, the economy may be harmed by forging business ledgers and robbing the safes of stores.^[15]

When exploring the game world, the player may encounter wildlife. Many wilderness monsters are immediately hostile towards the player and thus can be slain.^[9] The inclusion of Dragons in Skyrim affords a major influence on both story and gameplay.

Character development

Character development is a primary element of Skyrim. At the beginning of the game, the player selects one of several human, elven, or zoomorphichuman races, each of which has different natural abilities, and customizes their character's appearance.^[16] A perpetual objective for the player is to improve their character's skills, which are numerical representations of their ability in certain areas. There are eighteen skills divided evenly between the three schools of combat, magic and stealth. Training skills until the necessary required experience is met results in the player's character leveling-up. Previous Elder Scrolls games made use of a class system to determine which skills would contribute to the character's leveling, but its removal inSkyrim allows for a preferred play-style to be developed naturally.^[11][17] When their character levels, the player may choose to select a skill-specific ability called a perk, or store perks for later use. Upon levelling fifty times, the player character can continue to level and earn perks, but the rate of levelling is slowed significantly.^[18]

Combat

A heads-up display appears when any one of the player's three attributes are being depleted. Health is depleted primarily through combat and can be restored by spells, potions, or resting; the loss of all health results in death. Magicka allows for and is depleted by the use of spells; it is regenerated naturally over time, but it can be restored in similar ways to health. Stamina determines the player's effectiveness in combat and is depleted by sprinting, jumping, and power attacking, but can be restored in similar ways to health and magicka. The player's inventory can be accessed from the menu and items can be viewed in 3D, which may be essential in solving puzzles found in dungeons.^[19] The player's effectiveness in combat relies on the use of weapons and armor, which may be bought or created at forges, and magic, which may also be bought or unlocked. Weapons and magic are assigned to each hand, allowing for dual-wielding, and can be swapped out through a quick-access menu of favorite items.^[20] Shields can be used either to fend off enemy attacks and reduce the damage intake, or offensively through bashing attacks. Blunt, bladed and hacking weapons can be used in close combat and each have specific advantages and roles; as an example, the player can perform power attacks with each weapon. Magic can be used in the form of spells; each of the eighty-five spells has a different function, such as the regeneration of health or the depletion of enemy health.^[21] The bow and arrow may be utilized in long-range combat, but the bow can be used as a defensive melee weapon in close combat. Another change from previous games in the series is the elimination of weapon and armor durability; in which a player would periodically have to repair or pay to have items repaired or risk rendering them broken and unusable.

The player can enter a sneak mode and pickpocket, or deliver sneak attacks to unsuspecting enemies. If the player drops unwanted loot, such as a shield or item of clothing, some NPCs will attempt to pick the item up, some even asking the player's permission to take the item.

Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy role-playing.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a role-playing video game developed by Snowblind Studios. It is based on the events taking place in the northern regions of Middle-earth in the background of the main story of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, more specifically in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy universe. The Plot for the game is that, the 3 heroes players can choose from, go on their own journey, similar to the Fellowship of the Ring the characters journey to different locations to help the War, their actions help the Fellowship, in a way that is not seen in the films or books. Players take control of a hero of the war, and are able to play through the game alone or co-operatively with other players. Let's hunt the orcs like in the classic lord of the rings movies series on the cinema.
Over the past few years, The Lord of the Rings franchise has gone silent. There was a time when the world of Middle Earth was on the forefront of everyone's mind. The film franchise was doing gangbusters in the theaters, and the books were at the top of the bestseller lists. On the gaming front, LOTR was doing pretty well, with a variety of games spanning genres from action to real-time strategy performing quite well. However, once the films had ended, interest slowed to a crawl and the games faded out of memory. War in the North is an action-RPG built with a strong focus on co-op. As three warriors placed in a new story set concurrently against the events in the LOTR trilogy, War in the North adds in a brand new plot, as well as an M rating due to some pretty brutal combat. All of the familiar trappings of the action-RPG genre are here, from shops and loot to blacksmiths that repair weakened or busted weaponry; as well as some combo-based sword (and axe) play. 
Relive the incredible thrill and immerse yourself in the unforgettable story of the books and the films. :)

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

The Witcher 2.

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy role-playing.

About this game:

The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings is a third-person role-playing video game developed by Polish studio CD Projekt RED for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360.  

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings contains many different paths and storylines, along with multiple endings. As in the first game, the player takes control of Geralt of Rivia, one of the few remaining witchers. Witchers are humans that have been genetically enhanced and trained to fight monsters from a young age. They have special powers, different in each witcher. These include alchemy, magic, and sword handling.

IGN games described "The witcher 2" as a gorgeous, unfiltered fantasy epic game. 

The world of The Witcher 2 is a volatile, violent place filled with selfish, furtive characters. As monster slayer Geralt of Rivia, you'll need to not only combat beasts and bandits, a case of amnesia and the public perception that you're responsible for regicide, but also navigate between powerful figures and unravel complex conspiracies amidst a huge cast of power-obsessed monarchs and magic users. It's an adventure where choices that appear inconsequential slap the story in unexpected directions and one that doesn't compromise its fiction in the name of convenience or accessibility. In some ways those qualities are flaws, but they also contribute to a world that feels convincing, making its initial inaccessibility seem inconsequential relative to the intrigue and revelations embedded further in.
The characters in The Witcher 2 exist in a land of monsters, celestial bodysnatchers and magic, and though there are stereotypes walking around, they're not all typical video game fantasy fare. Even the supposed heroes are hopelessly self-serving, arrogant and impudent.