When Mount & Blade came out, it was an ambitious project that did not reach its full potential. The first standalone expansion (Warband) added some key improvements to the formula, but ultimately it felt like a re-release of the first game with just short of enough new content to justify paying full price for it if you already owned Mount & Blade. With Fire & Sword is the breath of... semi-fresh air that the series needed. The essentials of the gameplay remain almost identical (except for the great addition of powerful firearms and some other additions, which force the player to come up with new tactics). However, it is the setting of this game that really sets it apart from the two previous M&B titles.

Based on Henryk Sienkiewicz's historical novel "Ogniem i mieczem", the game pushes us back to a period in real world history instead of fiction. We are taken to mid-17th century Eastern Europe, where the once great Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is facing war with multiple of its neighbouring nations. This is where the facts end, as the player can choose to ally himself/herself with any of the real factions included in the game (the 'Polish Commonwealth', the 'Kingdom of Sweden', the 'Cossack Hetmanate', the 'Muscovite Tsardom' or the 'Crimean Khanate') and alter the course of history. Alternatively, like in Warband, you may choose to form your own kingdom or simply remain neutral throughout the duration of the game.

Ultimately, the gameplay of With Fire & Sword is refined to such an extent that it feels like the most well-designed of the first three M&B titles. However, it is still very similar to the previous games and suffers from the same main flaws at the core: lack of significant unique content in terms of story. The cold and calculated nature of the tasks and actions the player is permitted to do in the game may get tedious after a while of playing. If you didn't enjoy M&B, then perhaps you should skip this one unless you really like history. On the other hand, if you enjoyed Mount & Blade then I see no reason why you shouldn't like this game (its unique and unusual setting, which explores a period in history rarely ever mentioned in video games, makes this experience more interesting).

Singleplayer Grade 7/10 (mainly due to bugs)
Multiplayer Grade 8/10 (If you buy this game for multiplayer, remember to check if there are still active players online playing this game)

IMPORTANT:
1) TRY FREE DEMO BEFORE PURCHASING!
2) Mount & Blade Warband is much better and it has mods that bring firearms to the game.

Short review: Like mount & blade Warband, but in different setting. If you hate idea of firearms in this kind of game you shouldn't buy this game. The grade is lower than in Warband, due to some problems in gameplay and large amount of gamebraking bugs.

Full review:
The singleplayer of this game gives you the possibility to lead mercenary warband in the setting of 17th century eastern europe. Like in mount and Blade warband, the experience is generally exciting and unique. Unlike Mount & blade Warband, which is like huge sandbox, this game tries to create what many consider the the Holy Grail of gaming , which is combining story and sandbox gameplay. Unfortunately the developers failed in this in many ways.

First problem is that many players didn't care at all about the story and wanted to play sandbox game, but this was difficult due to the fact that unlike in Warband, you can't create your own kingdom. You can't get married either and there are no tournaments. Because of these and some other reasosn he RPG and sandbox elements are lacking compared to Warband.

Second problem is that if you follow the story (I played the Black Mace campaign which on my opinion unfortunately wasn't interesting) you will face problems. The first one of those are huge amount of bugs, that force you to load your saved game many times during the campaing. Many of these bugs are related to the fact that the world of the game changes usually independently comapred to the story. Even when these changes don't cause actual bugs, they can seriously hamper the players attempst to progress in the story. I was for example given task to capture certain city from hostile country Poland, but by the time I had army to capture it, neutral country Crimean Kahanate had already taken it. In order to capture the town, my country would have to start war also against them. This would have been almost certain defeat due to getting into war in two fronts.

Third problem is the setting. Some people might be scared about the strange setting, but that is not what is the main problem. The problem that the setting causes is that it affects the gameplay negatively. In mount & Blade Warband, the player can both be commander of his/her troops and also be the superhero in shining armour that kills dozens of enemies on his/her own. This is even somewhat historical because armour made medieval knights very difficult to kill. In Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword, half of those filthy peasants :-) that you used to kill without trouble are now armed with firearms, that kill you with one or two shots on hardest difficulty. Even on lower difficulty levels it is difficult to be superhero anymore. The one shot kill firearms also make melee weapons relatively weak, which is a shame, because one of the best things in Mount & Blade series is the melee combat.

Despite the severe problems in singleplayer I gave this game grade of 7, because the basic mechanics of Mount & Blade series are still there and they are great.

Multiplayer part is good, mainly due to the uniqueness of Mount & blade combat. The reason to not to give 9/10 for multiplayer is that there are no modifications for multiplayer unlike in Warband, and because the gameplay is slightly worse due to what firearms cause to the gameplay.

To sum things up,
The campaign I felt was kinda broken... Like you can only hire a certain amount of soldiers :/ found it impossible without cheats.., Multiplayer is good & fun though! . This is a brilliant buy that you will get you ten to a hundred hours of fun gametime- if you like mount and blade games but personally Warband and napoleonic is better. But a good buy if on offer.

great game .. great game play

ONCE AGAIN INTO THE BREACH GENERAL!!!

CAN YOU NOT SEE THE ENEMY FALTERING???

THIS IS OUR FIGHT TO WIN!!!

DO YOU NOT HEAR ME GENERAL??? I SAID CHARGE!!!

We have fought and bled for this chance and you would sit it out? What of your brothers and sisters who lie dying and screaming for aid or even a swift death, crying for their mothers as they lose control of their bodies. Is this how you would honour them, with cowardice?

You make me sick.

What is that you ask? Why don't I charge with you? How dare you? Is it not I who has the more courageous task. Do not let the wine, food and this tent fool you. It is to dull my rage for I fear without it I would be first into the breach, and that would be the end of us all, for if I were to meet my end in such a glorious charge many, many innocents would suffer for it. I am but one man but I must carry this huge burden alone. Now order your men to CHARGE!!! Oh and General, if you see Rosalita on your way down to the battlefield tell her I have need of her services.


http://steamcommunity.com/id/TheSeasons/recommended/