Hear ye, hear ye! I, Matthew of Walklate hereby proclaim this to be my review of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. Camelot, Spam, etc, etc.
Straight to the Point: A refreshingly unique foray into first person multiplayer hack and slash games; Chivalry is only let down by a lack of content or customization, and a few silly glitches.
Review
Ever played a hack and slash game and wondered how much fun it would be to play online? Well Chivalry: Medieval Warfare turns the whole idea of swords and boards on its head to make a very compelling multiplayer only experience with up to 62 players. And with a name like that, it’s clear that Torn Banner is gunning for the big boys. Get it? Gunning? Doesn’t matter, forget it.
Interestingly, it’s pulled off very well. The strongest aspect of the game revolves around the community having a strong investment in the game’s theme. Not an easy task for a multiplayer only game, but it’s this sense of camaraderie and rivalry in each match that gives Chivalry an advantage over more generic multiplayer games where the focus is purely on getting as many kills as possible. There’s a huge repertoire of battle cries available at the press of a button, and use of them is encouraged everywhere. Even playing on one particular server (aptly named The Knights of Ni); a member of the opposing team once complained at length because our team weren’t using battle cries enough.
And the good news? Charging up a muddy slope with everyone around you, flailing a sword while screaming like that man in the park that shouts at the pigeons is exactly as much fun as it sounds.
I probably spent most of my time in Team Objective (TO) mode, where teams are split into attackers and defenders and given, as you might have guessed, objectives. There are other modes, including Free For All and King of the Hill for the lone wolves out there, however it’s the size and atmosphere of the Team Objective games that allows the game to really excel itself.
An average match involves the attacking team first trying to pillage and burn an outlying village. Doing this allows them to build a battering ram which they must push to the castle gates to break them down while the defending team pours oil and rains arrows down on them. Finally if the attackers breach the castle, one of the defenders is nominated ‘King’ (probably not constitutionally), and the attackers must try and kill him to win the game.
Offensive, defensive, ranged and ‘fast’ classes all have their part to play in these fights, and each class has a small perk. However tactics go out of the window very quickly in most matches, and there are always a couple of players who are only interested in their kill to death ratio. So once you do get into a fight it’s a desperate, bloody fight for survival, with arms, legs and heads rolling everywhere. One on one duels with other opponents, do happen; but usually it’s a lot more chaotic and messy. Friendly fire being enabled only makes this worse, and more than once I waded in trying to help a man in need only to accidentally off him myself.
The weapons allow some flexibility by being numerous and varied, but in reality they are all similar in performance. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t fun, or don’t require skill.Indeed Chivalry’s fighting mechanics actually offer a rare opportunity for quite intricate combat; timing and positioning being crucial. Polearms are best used to stab your opponent at long range, whereas the power of a claymore can make overhead swings devastating.
The main problem became apparent the further I got into the game; there’s an overall lack of variety. Players have just 4 classes to choose from, and although a few new versions of weapons can be unlocked, really this is the only advancement to be had. Even upgradeable skills and armor sets are absent, so if you’re looking for customization or hammers the size of small bungalows, you may be disappointed.
Even worse there’s only six maps in the game, three team objective ones and three deathmatch/free for all ones (one little more than a rectangular, open field). Even in Team Objective mode, all three have almost exactly the same scenario. Sure they are large maps where battles can last 30 minutes, but come on. It’s a medieval world, surely Torn Banner could have thought up some unique scenarios? The developer has promised patches, but this is a multiplayer only game that’s still going for £20 and to some people,this might not be value for money.
The format of the game also makes some basic things unnecessarily difficult, such as the game often shows server populations to be full when empty and vice versa. Small niggles that don’t majorly affect the gameplay; but really should have been thought about.
Despite buying a library of games for my spanking new PC over Christmas, I keep drifting back to Chivalry, like that big bucket of chicken you just can’t resist no matter how much you want to try the steak. Even though it may not be value for money, Chivalry still brings something different and to an increasingly stagnated genre. It’s clear by its title what Chivalry: Medieval Warfare aims for; but it gives more than any generic shooter could, it gives many memorable scenes, and such a sense of camaraderie that you will never have experienced before in multiplayer games. And for that, I’ll be picking up my Zweihandler and wading back into the fight for a long time yet. See you in the vanguard, brother!
7 GPP
