Some would argue that Oblivion is the best RPG to emerge on any platform over the past few years. Some would site its sheer scope and hundreds of hours of gameplay as the paramount reason while another group may single out its impressive graphical prowess. While I found Oblivion enjoyable, I ultimately didn’t come away feeling as if I had played anything new. It was the same old RPG I’ve seen before, just more of it. No real innovation. So now you’re sitting there with that incredulous look on your face, wondering just what in the hell could be better than Oblivion? It’s called Mount&Blade.

Two people are responsible for Mount&Blade and they just happen to be married and citizens of Turkey. Not quite the situation we’ve come to expect in the world of game making, though the result speaks for itself. Programmed and designed Armagan Yavuz, with his wife Ipek handling the artwork, these two have single-handedly created one of the most innovative RPGs I’ve seen in a very long time. Do the graphics match Oblivion? Not even close. Does it have 500-billion quests? Nope, maybe half that. What it does have is gameplay, the likes of which you’ve never seen before.

One Game to Rule Them All

When you first begin Mount&Blade you are presented with the typical options in character creation. You pick your sex, select from one of four templates, including Squire, Hunter, Priest and Merchant, and then spend your available points on attributes and skills. It is here where we first start to see something different, especially when looking at the skills. You’ve got some old standbys, like Ironflesh and Powerstrike, but plenty of skills you’ve never seen before, such as Riding, Horse Archery, Tracking, Spotting, Inventory Management, Surgery, and Prisoner Management. A peculiar list of skills to be sure.

After you’ve allocated your skills and tweaked your weapon proficiencies, which include one and two handed weapons, polearms, archery, crossbows and throwing, you find yourself creating your appearance with a pretty exhaustive toolset that will let you alter your avatar as much as most retail games. With skills, attributes and your ugly mug finalized, the game begins in earnest and you soon realize you’ve got something special on your hands.

Your life of adventure begins in a small, fictional town. You talk to a few NPCs standing around and you quickly discover that this is no fantasy land. Mount&Blade is based on a medieval setting, blending elements of both European and Middle-Eastern history. You won’t find any magic or magic items, no monsters hounding the land, none of the hallmarks that most people quickly associate with an RPG. Instead of uncovering quests to cleanse some overridden dungeon of evil, your job as an up-and-coming adventurer will be fighting off roving bands of mercenaries and securing prisoners for slave labor camps.

New players will want to try their hand at the half-dozen combat training missions, and it’s here that you once again see something new. Unlike most action RPG games that degenerate into a simple system of button mashing, Mount&Blade demands tactics in order to succeed in combat. Proper blocking, whether using shield or weapon, is essential, as is determining the right time to strike. A simple visual cue allows you to determine the angle and direction of an incoming attack so you can set up your block properly. It’s a slower form of combat, but it feels more real and there’s nothing random about the process.

After you’ve kicked a little ass in the training missions then you’re ready to tackle arena combat and Mount&Blade flexes a little more gameplay muscle. Each time you initiate an arena fight, the situation you find yourself is randomized, including such elements as what type of weapon you’re using, whether you’re on horseback or not, how many allies you have and how many enemies will be trying to kill you. Chances are good that you will get your face beaten in the first few times you attempt arena combat, if for no other reason than you’re trying to play like a traditional action-game, swinging wildly, trying to do too much too fast. Once you settle down and ease into the system, you soon realize that Mount&Blade combat is all about planning and strategy, rather than clicking a mouse button like a lunatic.