E3 2016 – Day 2 Recap: Livelock, Lego Worlds, Dawn of War III, and Mount & Blade II

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlords: The Indie that Could

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the show so far came from a rather hidden meeting room nestled in the back of the mostly B2B Concourse hall, the indie Turkish company that doesn’t know the meaning of programming fatigue, TaleWorlds. After six long years in development, the sequel to their one of a kind franchise, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlords, is about half a year out from launch status. And to sum it up with something more mainstream, take Ubisoft’s For Honor… and make things a bit more personal.

Mount and Blade II takes the tried and true browser strategy game empire building aspects, and throws you right into the third person combat elements you always wished weren’t just numbers on an RNG calculator. Command your rather sizable army of physics driven rather quality AI soldiers as you clash on the fields and in the forts of a realistic medieval European equivalent world. We’re talking 300-400+ soldiers on each side putting in work as they launch arrows, push siege equipment, raise ladders, and fire ballistas hoping to leave a dent in the horrific war of attrition between sides. Smack in the middle of this chaos is you, a customizable and RPG driven commander gaining experience and bolstering their abilities with each battle depending on your actual fighting style. Play as the crafty Robin Hood, sniping enemy ballista operators from insane distances to buy your sieging soldiers a few more seconds. Man the catapults, and showcase your engineering prowess as you chisel away at the weak points in an enemy structure. Don the heaviest platemail as you kick your enemy’s fortress doors down, standing one against many to press back the tide of flimsy peasant opposition. Ride the ramparts as you face certain death taking the wall guards by surprise. Any part of the battle you wish to be a part of, you can be. Just so long as you don’t end up with an arrow in your helmet visor in the process!

As if just being a soldier in this maniacal madness brought to life wasn’t cool enough, the game introduces tactical strategy to the mixer. Pre-battle plans follow the lead of the Total War series as you designate formations, starting soldier locations, and war machine placements. Then shout to your men to focus fire, fall back, or join you in a heroic final cavalry charge. It’s not fun being a random idiot charging into battle if you can’t tell your AI army to join you in glorious death.

All this amazing gameplay is only the tip of the iceberg though as between battles, players can manage their empires, ally with others, and seek total world conquest in a massive European inspired map filled with castles and resources for the taking. Build your armies, plan your tactics, and hit your enemy when they least expect it. Pretty much all the parts of the browser equivalent that work, just with a way more satisfying resolution to the battles waiting at the end!

There is so much content coming to this game that our team was simply in awe. Indie companies overpromise and overreach on goals all the time, delivering a half-assed inferior product as money dries up. TaleWorlds is not one of those companies. Though not yet on display, promises of ransoming off captives to defeated foes, and an epic close quarters final conclusive battle within the keep basement are still planned for launch. Oh you war maniacs will have your war. You will see first hand what it takes to customize an army of soldiers with the gear and training needed to conquer. And you WILL feel the adrenaline rush that comes with kicking an enemy soldier off the wall of their own keep in some of the most responsive physics driven hand to hand combat we have ever seen. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlords is the epitome of what I dreamed medieval war games could become as a child. And unlike all the other dreams of the future that haven’t panned out, at least a small team out of Turkey was able to make this one a reality.

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