Age of Chivalry Mod for Half-Life 2 Age of Chivalry v1.1 Review review

The medieval times weren't the best of times. You have the Dark Ages, the Crusades, the Hundred Years' War and the Bubonic Plague among many other things. The age of kings — an era of peasants, beheadings, and knights in shining armor has long been behind us now but the Age of Chivalry mod for Half-Life 2 grants you the ability to experience it again - the fun parts at least. While not exactly historically accurate (there's even a Helm's Deep map!), this mod is one that tackles the problem of FPS melee combat and wrestles it to the ground.

Watch out for the hot oil!

At first glance, many may think this mod to be nothing more than just a simple hack 'n' slash with a shiny exterior. This is definitely not the case. Melee combat has taken a front seat in this mod and offers a healthy moveset to choose from while dueling opponents. Guarding and three different attack options are all controlled via the mouse and allows for forming different strategies. This brings depth to combat and requires more than just frantically clicking one mouse button while running into a swarm of enemies. Time your guard maneuver correctly and you can retaliate with a counterattack. Go for a quick stab and step away before your opponent takes a swing at you. The versatility is there, and I've seen some of the more experienced players hold their own against 2 or even 3 adversaries. Ranged weapons include the crossbow, longbow and an assortment of less effective throwing weapons. While the aiming does take some time to hone, — there's no reticule to help you out — arrows prove their usefulness in many areas of the maps while not turning matches into sniper-fests.

Chaaaarge!

The objective-laden maps are strung together in a campaign style with a somewhat flimsy story. Still, it's a welcomed addition to try and inject some semblance of narrative into a strictly multiplayer affair. Tasks range from storming a castle to rescue a prince to poisoning a village's drinking water and beheading peasants at a chopping block. While all maps have been tuned in the latest 1.1 release, some still have a few kinks to iron out. For the most part though, battles tend to be balanced and engrossing. The layout and structure of the maps feel like something akin to Team Fortress 2, in that you experience this nice blend of teamwork without focusing on it entirely. Lone wolves tend to get chopped to pieces if they stray into enemy territory so that reinforces coordinated charges. Catapults and trebuchets (one even modified as a man launcher!) dot many of the levels and are a complete joy to use. While they don't dominate the battlefield, one well-aimed shot can ruin a coordinated defense and clear the way to an objective.

It's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it.

As far as the the presentation side of things goes, one only has to inspect the recent screenshots and trailer for proof of quality. Everything achieves a consistent standard a couple notches above your average Half Life 2 mod. It's also worth mentioning that version 1.1 also includes the hotly anticipated decapitation feature. Fans thought it criminal not to be able to lop off heads in a mod set during a time period when it was considered fair punishment so the developers delivered. Maybe we'll see some more dismemberment in Age of Chivalry's future. And I mean that in the best way possible.

I hate assigning numbers to these reviews since mods are things that constantly in development, but if you were to force me to prescribe a digit, I would assign Age of Chivalry a solid 8. The melee combat is the most satisfying, far beyond any other mod I've played that has attempted it. The multiple objective based maps give purpose to your multiplayer matches and keep the action focused and centralized as you work through them. If you're craving some medieval combat, consider Age of Chivalry bandwidth well spent.

• Download Age of Chivalry v1.1