Mount&Blade is a sandbox game with no narrative but that’s not to say there are no stories to be told. You play a role of your choosing in a story of your imagining in this game. The stage is set and you are actor, director, writer. The only question is who will you be in the land of Calradia?

Will you be the hard mercenary captain whose only loyalty lies with the brothers and sisters of his company, faithful only to the terms of his short contract?

Will you be a faithful vassal, biting your lip as your king humiliates you by denying you what you have rightfully won with blood and valour?

Will you side with a claimant to a throne, part of a ragtag rebel force seeking to overthrow a mighty king?

A trader, perhaps, forsaking blades and bows for business and profit?

A paladin aiming to protect the innocent and the improve the lot of the poor or a dastardly thief waylaying the unwary caravan?

A little from column A, a little from column B?

Let me tell you of the days of high adventure
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After doing the usual research about patches and DRM, reading a few reviews and checking forums for potential pitfalls, I bought Mount&Blade from Steam.

The game was sold for the ridiculously low price of USD7.50 in January (a price so low Valve temporarily ran out of CD keys as demand ramped up) but I opted not to get the game then because I didn’t want to fall into the trap of constantly buying discounted games I never play — I’ve yet to launch Disciples II and I bought that game last August — so I ended up paying USD29.99. I’ve put a lot of time into the game since I bought it and I’m delighted to report it’s been worth every single cent.
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