With Fire and Sword

Toonces · April 12, 2012, 01:13:17 PM

Hello all.
I know that many of you like to tie your gaming and reading together (yes, I'm looking at you Gus). I wanted to plug With Fire and Sword again.

There is an excellent, free book available now for download from Amazon.com called "With Fire and Sword" by Henryk Sienkiewicz: http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Historical-Poland-Russia-ebook/dp/B005HKK7UG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1334253994&sr=1-1

As I said in the books forum, it is tough going at first. If you're like me and don't read a lot of older or classical works, the writing will seem unusual. But if you stick with it, you start to pick up on the rhythm and how the author writes, and if you can keep the names straight in Lord of the Rings then you'll be able to follow this story as well, eventually.

I'm not really sure how I even found this book; I was googling for something medieval-ish to read on my trip back to the east coast and somehow came across this free book. Somehow I was drawn into the story and now, halfway through, I am totally sucked in. It gets MUCH better once the fighting starts in earnest.

So, to tie this all together, most of you (except me, who apparently lives under a rock) are aware of the module "With Fire and Sword" for Mount and Blade: http://mountandblade.wikia.com/wiki/Mount%26Blade:_With_Fire_%26_Sword

I picked this up last night and got is about an hour of multiplayer with it, and it is very interesting. I haven't had a chance to try SP or the campaign at all, and I'm still a novice with M&B so take everything with a grain of salt. However, for $10 I figure it's a safe bet, and it is nice to see the game take on the book.

In conclusion, for $10 you can get a nice game-book tie-in. If you have any interest in this era of history, I think this is worth a look. The M&B game didn't get reviewed very well, but from what I saw last night, it's fun enough for what it is. I'm certainly going to be playing some more.

Gusington · April 12, 2012, 03:44:47 PM

I have MB Fire & Sword and fired it up only once...the initial avatar screen kinda turned me off. I think I was really tired when I tried it out. I did also check out a copy of the print book the game is based on but IIRC it was expensive back then (a year ago maybe?)

Are you telling me to try again?

Toonces · April 12, 2012, 04:07:23 PM

Well, that's a hard question to answer.

The book in print length is 1100 pages, so we're talking War and Peace here. And, it's part of a trilogy of books, so now you're looking at 3000+ pages to read the whole smack. I don't know how they all tie together. I'm guessing that after 1100 pages I'll feel some sort of satisfaction with the story and I don't think I'll feel like I HAVE to read the other two...although they are also free so why not?

As for the game, it's even harder for me to answer. This is my 4th try to get into Mount and Blade and I am just now starting to dig it. What helped was the Brytwalda mod, where I was able to enlist in an army and get right into massive 100+ vs. 100+ fights right away, and multiplayer on the cRPG mod. After spending some time in MP I got a much better appreciation of how tactical this game is, and the depth of nuances in the fighting techniques. There is a lot more meat to this game than appears at first glance. So finally, after multiple tries, I am starting to see why this game is so popular and I'm enjoying more than any other time.

Still, it's Mount and Blade. If you hate the game, I don't see that Fire and Sword brings anything revolutionary to the table.

Mostly I think that I was really enjoying the book and it took me a while to make the connection between the book and the M&B expansion. I like to game and book the same topic when able, and I'm enjoying Warband modded, so I figured why not?

The buy-in is pretty low, but the time investment is significant. The book is really long and you have to commit to about 100 pages before it gets really good. Same with M&B; my kill/death ratio is like 1:25 on cRPG. I'm looking forward to getting better at it, but until you figure it out it can be pretty brutal, especially against talented players.

Gusington · April 12, 2012, 04:18:20 PM

Sounds like we are on similar pages. 1100 pages doesn't scare me...I have read books that long before. Fire & Sword is also my first foray into M&B.

Hartford688 · April 13, 2012, 01:02:39 PM

And Gamersgate have it on sale right now (at least in Europe - €2.49 instead of €9.99)

http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-MBWFS/mount-and-blade-with-fire-and-sword

Nefaro · April 14, 2012, 11:47:05 AM

I enjoy it. The 'Time of Troubles' setting is great!

Just make sure that you weave & bob at angles when you see an enemy aiming a gun at you! If they get an easy shot, your part in a battle may end quickly!

Toonces · April 19, 2012, 10:26:38 PM

The entire Mount and Blade collection, including Fire and Sword, is on sale until Monday on Steam for $7.50.

This is a no-brainer buy in my opinion. Napoleon is $10 more.

Nefaro · April 20, 2012, 08:23:59 AM

Isn't the Napoleon DLC just Multiplayer-only?

spelk · April 20, 2012, 08:28:12 AM

Quote from: Nefaro on April 20, 2012, 08:23:59 AM
Isn't the Napoleon DLC just Multiplayer-only?

With the caveat that you can play custom Commander Battles as single player against the AI - using custom army setups.

But in Commander Mode multiplayer works very well. Since you control a whole line of infantry, or a whole gaggle of Cavalry.