Horses are awesome! No, I don't mean the ones on icky-poo farmyards that prance about, leaving trails of muck for you step in. I mean the hardcore battlehorses, kitted up with armour, striking fear into enemy hearts as they thunder gallantly across the battlefield, smashing through enemy lines with the ease of a hot knife through butter. Some strategy games have recreated horses so well, like the Total War series, but imagine this on a much more personal scale - imagine being just one of those mounted horsemen, the crashing hooves and clashing swords filling the air. Few games have tried this and none have truly succeeded - until now.

I, Brew van Storm, astride my majestic mount, cantered slowly into the courtyards of a humble country village. The sun was rising from the hills to my left and the blinding rays were projecting through the ancient stone archway just beyond the village. My horse slowed to a trot as I passed by the outlying farmyards and entered into the village centre. The locals continued about their business as I slowed to a gentle plod, surveying my surroundings. I was directed to the village elder, a grizzled old farmer sporting an incongruous wide-brimmed hat. I enquired about the possibility of recruiting young men from the village to bolster my army and the old man found me some suitable volunteers.

With my new recruits in tow, I turned tail and headed back into the rolling green pastures, the distant sea no more than a hazy, blue line on the horizon. My faction was at war with the Kingdom of Vaegirs and we were trying to push back their invading parties. So far we had met with little success, since their superior numbers had put us at a disadvantage. However, I had collected a small but elite army of veteran soldiers, archers and cavalry, and I was going for a last ditch attempt to defeat their most formidable general. We set Eastwards apace, knowing that the coming battle would mean either my grim demise or the turning point of our war.

The sun was setting by the time we reached the battleground. The enemy had finished ransacking a village and were heading further into our territory. I ordered my army into a full charge. My horse struggled up the steep hill above the battlefield, giving me a full vantage point over the imminent clash. I reached the summit of the hill, the sun slowly sinking amidst a fiery red sky. Beneath me, metal smashed on metal as my soldiers made contact with the enemy force. For one long minute I watched the battle hover in the balance, then I purposefully drew my sword; catching one of the sun's dying rays, it glowed fiercely, as though with relish for the fight.

My sturdy mount started down the hill and within seconds we had reached a full gallop, the hooves thundering a deafening staccato across the green turf. I bore down upon my enemies at a frightening pace and aimed a sword strike at one of the foot soldiers. The force of the blow, combined with speed of my horse, proved instantly fatal, his lifeless body flung forcefully across the ground, soon to be trampled by my cavalry. I then made a beeline for the enemy soldiers, throwing their long-range attacks into disarray. I received two arrow wounds in the pursuing skirmish, thankfully neither of which were fatal, and caught many many more arrows on my trusty shield as the enemy archers fell beneath my cold steel or the merciless hooves of my bold equestrian companion. The battle ended with a complete defeat for my foes, my remaining men cheering and chanting, waving their weapons furiously in the air. Again I clambered up the hill, observing the battlefield as the final dying rays of the sun sank beneath the horizon, leaving behind a whorl of oranges and reds dominating the sky. We had won a battle, not a war - but for the moment, that was all that mattered. There were hard times to come - this was just the start - but for tonight we would celebrate. Finally, the tide had turned.

Mount & Blade takes place in the Kingdom of Calradia, a fictional medieval locale that's brimming with towns, cities, and vast castles. There are a number of opposing factions warring within the battle-scarred lands of Calradia, each vying for dominance. As a newcomer, a wayfarer and adventurer, you have no set career path; you are free to roam the lands as you please, forging and breaking alliances, and making friends and enemies.

The idea behind M&B is one that really appeals. Medieval warfare was absolutely fascinating and battles with swords, lances, and bows make for extremely compelling gameplay. For one of the first times in a game, the sword fighting is entirely skill-based. Rather than having preset buttons for preset swings, the developer has designed a fluid gameplay mechanic that relies upon your mouse movements to control the sword. This must have been incredibly hard to create but it works surprisingly well; when pitted against a foe, you can slash or jab from any direction and you can also parry their attack if you are quick and accurate enough.

Some weapons are one-handed, allowing you to hold a shield in your other hand, which makes blocking attacks comparatively easy, at least until the shield breaks through excessive battering. If you have a two-handed weapon then defending is a lot harder, meaning that you are open to every attack unless it is successfully parried. You will need quick reflexes and this game requires some nifty mouse-work but some true swordsmanship against a worthy foe is something that feels staggeringly satisfying to accomplish. Like any skill-based game, proficiency comes with a lot of practise, and with proficiency comes a heightened enjoyment and appreciation of the game.

If you have ever played a sword-fighting game like the Dynasty Warriors series, where you slash your way through lands full of enemies almost single-handedly, you can forget all about that. M&B does not cast you as some elite, superhuman warrior with a vast amount of health, insane strength, and ridiculous sword skills. You are only too aware of the fragility of life as axemen slash at you and enemy archers devastate your health with well-placed arrows. Every army consists of varying units too, so even if you took out an army twice the size of yours in the last battle, you can easily be wiped out by superior or long range units from the next army if your troops are not so effective against that unit type.

There is actually a moral element to the game as well, allowing you to make the good or evil and light or dark decisions that some games employ so well. This affects your interaction with others and how they view you but it does mean that game plays out slightly differently depending on how you act. For instance, do you steal cattle from a village and lower your reputation with them or do you help them to find grain to plant their crops, making them your friends? The ruling forces of the area will be aware of your actions too and may also take action accordingly.

It must be said that M&B has a very distinctive beauty; there is a constant day/night cycle occurring and as you see the sun rising over grassy glades and then setting over the sea in a bloodshot sky, it really is quite jaw-dropping. Several times I climbed to the top of a hill and just sat there quietly on my steed, gazing out over the rolling hills as I viewed the wondrous sunset. The scenery is simply amazing, enhanced further by a fairly atmospheric albeit somewhat repetitive soundtrack.

And now for the horses. Oh, the horses, the single most enjoyable aspect of the game. I have ridden digital horses before and it felt like I was grinding around on a concrete block with the nimbleness of a drunken mammoth - but M&B's horse-riding is oh so exquisite. You have complete control of your mount, turning realistically and moving at any speed you like, from the gentlest trot right up to a full gallop. You can even jump over fences and walls with horses being the natural jumpers that they are. And in battle, it feels so good, charging the enemy atop your noble steed, with your cavalry barrelling alongside. These are gaming moments that will remain for a lifetime, experiences that will stick forever in the recesses of your gaming memories.

However, despite such remarkable moments, M&B is not without its shortcomings. The biggest problem is that, with such a large world, there needs to be a reasonable amount of variation between each location and the missions it can offer. Sadly, it seems that not enough time was allotted for this area of the game, as most of the missions are randomly generated from a short list of possibilities, with the only changing variables being the targets. And every person you speak to responds using the same words and sentences. There is simply not enough variation to give even a slightly unique character to any of the locations or NPCs. There aren't really technically any winning criteria for the game, either. You can simply choose to end whenever you wish and you are assigned a score based upon your performance, and some small end tale - but it is not really a convincing end. We want some final challenge, a sense of completion, of victory, but unless you want to undergo the exceedingly laborious task of dominating the entire map then you simply have to choose a seemingly premature end.

Medieval warfare just got even trendier and, despite several major deficiencies, Mount & Blade has just too many memorable moments of glory to ignore; the price tag is worth it for the sunsets alone.

Reviewed by Adam Shirley for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).