At PAX West, Killerkdemons met with Prime Matter, Taleworlds Entertainment, & Nightdive Studios to preview System Shock & Mount and Blade II. Alright, Rockers, this is going to be a two-for-one article. You are probably asking, “why are you covering two games in the same preview?” The easy answer is that these two games are from the same publisher. The less kind answer is that I can only say good things about one of these two titles. Can you guess which one? Well, by the end of this preview you will be able to. Sorry if we diminish anyone’s excitement for Mount & Blade II or System Shock. One of these two titles is on our list of games to look forward to, while the is on the avoid til fixed list.
When it comes to video game previews, it is very rare that we walk away dissatisfied. Sadly, this PAX West we had two titles that left a bad taste in my mouth. The first game was The Forest Cathedral. This was due to the unconventional blend of graphics, platforming, and the booth managers being unwilling to answer questions. The second game is one of the two in this preview. Up first, let’s discuss what we liked and disliked about Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord.
Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord
Mount and Blade II is the sequel to Mount and Blade: Warband. In this game, players are able to control their units to attack rival nations. The player can choose to ally themselves with another nation to help them take down a stronger opponent or take down a weaker unit to get easy resources and land. The game focuses on two factors combat and management. Players can choose to actively participate in each battle commanding their units as they see fit or delegating the tasks to their generals. After each battle, the player can decide what to do with the resources they’ve claimed from victory; additionally, players can choose to recruit defeated soldiers or trade them for resources.
The player’s ability to either manage the battle or fight the battle themselves is an interesting element that allows for die-hard fans of the game’s combat to enjoy each battle to its fullest extent while the simulation allows you to play a nice game of Risk. Personally, we loved diving into this fictional world and experiencing medieval battles. Whether or not you like open-field combat or storming beautiful castles, there are battles for you. If you are downed on the battlefield, you can either simulate the rest of the battle or wait until an ally heals you.
Strategy combat sims that allow you to choose if you want to fight the battle or watch the computer do so are a great way to have fun while still feeling like you’ve accomplished something. The level of options shown to us in the demo showed us that players will have a variety of options while playing Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord.
System Shock
Up second is System Shock. PAX West 2022 marked the first time that this game was playable on a show floor. This is Nightdive Studios’ attempt to bring back the beloved RPG to modern audiences; this is supposed to be a remake of the 1994 RPG. Sadly, our experience with System Shock was not one we’d like to relive. Now, this was partially my fault due to missing the original appointment and scheduling a makeup appointment; what I didn’t know is that the developers of the game would not be available to problem solve or help with any issues.
Sadly, this arguably had the most issues of any PAX West demo that we played. Now, with it being an early build of the game, it is easy to forgive, but it definitely needs a lot of work. So why do we say this? In our first run of the game, we grab the pipe from the box in the first room and proceeded into the next room. We came up to the robot which turned out to be aggressive so we went to defend ourselves with the pipe; sadly, it didn’t allow us to attack the robot. After respawning, we went back into the side room and grabbed all the equipment again. This time, however, we were able to smack the robot into scrap metal. After clearing the rooms, we were unable to access the health chamber.
For whatever reason, the chamber would not open, we went around looking for items to pick up and found a dictaphone on a dead body. Accessing the item menu with a controller was a nightmare and it took us a while to be able to find the password. Once in the previously locked room, we got a gun and were able to kill enemies. We then found a light puzzle that wanted us to connect the beam of lights to a certain area. Again we hit a brick wall, with the Prime Matter employee being unable to help us fix the issue. Annoyed by the puzzle, we decided to explore the area. As we went up a ramp into another room, the game rebooted itself.
Mount and Blade > System Shock
Needless to say, Mount and Blade II was by far a better experience than System Shock. Now, this can be easily explained by where the games are in development. Mount and Blade II: Warlord is in steam early access with a 2022 release date. If the demo was anything like the trailer, System Shock could have been a great game, but instead felt like a game out of the early 90s. We recommend checking out Mount and Blade II if you have the chance.
