Dark Ages in the British Isles were a fascinating, dismal time of constant wars, in which people fought for survival. A dark age with a deep blend of cultures. The 6th and 7th centuries were a time when invaders (Saxons, Angles and Jutes) tried hard to forge their destiny in a new world with the steel of their swords, shields and spears. The ancient peoples tried to resist, while they saw their kingdoms defeated and conquered by the “barbarians”, and sorrowfully saw how their beloved world slowly disappeared off the face of the earth. But other people must not be left unmentioned, like the Picts, who have always inspired great interest. Or to the west, another island as complex as Britain: Ireland in which many people were fighting for a piece of land, their clans, livestock and supremacy. In short, it is a world we know little about, yet a magnet for history lovers: a time of war and great deeds, where few kings (almost none) died in their beds.
7/10 - Agree (10) Disagree (4)
Overall impression: The amount of work and attention to details is staggering. This mod is evidently the fruit of a labor of love.
Graphics: Passable but unimpressive. M&B WB desperately needs better graphics.
Sound: Similar to core game, but improved period music.
Gameplay: Simply too hard, and often also quite confusing.
Highlights: Convincing environments - towns and villages are much improved. Realistic and balanced equipment (except crossbows). Ships! Vast options for actions. Many minor improvements to game mechanics.
Let downs: No substantial improvement on general sand-box qualities of core game - No real campaigning possible.
Still totally unrealistic trading prices - You must loot thousands of corpses to afford some decent equipment for you and your retainers.
Elite sodiers will still get swamped by rabble.
Capabilities of bandits and other riff-raff totally outrageous.
Ridiculous salaries for top tier soldiers.
Still to many traits to pursue in character development, with very little gain for each step.
Exponential scale for exp.improvement too limiting - Needs moderation.
Morale rules mostly unnecessary - Leading a company of whiners gets boring quickly.
Still almost impossible to get by as peaceful trader etc, because of constant harrassment by elite raiders - No matter how much it tries, M&B can only be enjoyed as a war game (unless you are a masochist).
The temptation to cheat becomes overwhelming after some time and this in turn destroys the enjoyment of any accomplishments. With a few tweaks to the basic calculations, this could have been avoided.
Verdict: An excellent mod that unfortunately retains the worst flaws from the core game.