Review of Warband multiplayer beta

[Adorno1]

A review on Rock, Paper, Shotgun:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009...ta-mb-warband/


Some quotes:

It’s a pity the multiplayer doesn’t extend to the campaign, or provide any sort of persistence

True

The mechanics behind Mount & Blade’s hit detection always were a little nebulous.

Huh?


And about ranged weapons:

When you hit, it’s the best thing in the world. When you miss, you’re that tiny bit closer to catching that knight’s attention, and becoming a kebab.

[sabaku_no_gaara]

Regardless of which mode you’re playing, one thing remains abundantly clear; fighting like an army really fought in the Dark Ages is far more successful than fighting as a lone fighter.

Similarly, if you stick a few knights together, you can do serious damage that wouldn’t be possible as a lone horseman. You create a group that isn’t so easily avoided by the footsoldiers, and suddenly they’re a lot more scared of you. It even works for archers, creating a quick flurry of arrows that make it more than difficult to just hide behind your shield. Sticking together, than having certain groups go off to harry a cropping of archers, or creating a line of horsemen and having a makeshift cavalry charge are some of the best moments of the game.

Verry true! teamwork wins battles, so do tactics, I've seen desperate rhodoks forming pikewalls, and desperate Nords forming shieldwalls, doing verry well 2 or 3 rounds, and suddenly you notice in the 4th round, that the opponents have distracted and outflanked you and taken away the advantage

And teh cavalry forming a line and performing a coordinated cavalry charge, truelly is a sight to behold

The real thing that’s going to dictate how much longevity and enjoyment Warband provides will be the players; if they continue to gravitate to a more organised style of play, (as they’re already doing so), it’ll become harder and harder to resist getting caught up in it, finding yourself part of an impromptu strike force tasked with using the riverbed to sneak around behind the fragile archers and dispatching them, while your footmen harass the horsemen with their pikes, slowly dwindling their numbers. The temptation to pull a group of friends together and talk tactics on voice chat has never been quite so strong.

Verry verry true! that is the thing that makes these battles so fun, and I hope that as we get more people playing this game, they will adapt to the tactics area of the game, and won't go "I'm the leet medieval Rambo!111 watch me kill these noobs on my own" only to end up being sliced, stabbed, and shot after they took 10 steps out of the formation