History VideoGame / WarOfTheRoses

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/war_of_the_roses_video_game_cover_7251.jpg]]
War of the Roses is a medieval combat action game for PC developed by Fatshark and released by Paradox Interactive in October of 2012. As a SpiritualSuccessor to Paradox's sleeper hit ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade'' franchise, War of the Roses is a third-person not-quite-Hack'n'Slash game with a deep and unique combat system that rewards carefully-aimed strikes and nimble-minded defense over swinging wildly at your opponents. The game has been praised for its very detailed customization and its [[ShownTheirWork tireless attention]] to period-appropriate detail while keeping the combat approachable enough not to bury players in realism.

The game is set during the titular {{Wars of the Roses}} in 15th century England, wherein the royal houses of York and Lancaster fought off-and-on for the throne over a span of 30 years. In the game, you play a knight, foot soldier, archer, or even a lowly peasant (all decided by you and the game's extensive customization) fighting for your house in up to 64-player multiplayer matches in various battles of the Wars throughout the English countryside, from sleepy farming villages and wide open hill country to the haphazard, claustrophobic streets of large towns.

The game can be bought on Steam, or you can play the game for free as a pseudo-Free to Play without the class customization and a few maps. [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/42160/ Get it here]]

* {{Creator/BRIAN BLESSED}}: In case you need an extra dose of [[LargeHam ham]] with your gaming, a DLC pack allows you to give his voice to your character.

* LargeHam: The original narrator had shades of this, but for King maker they brought in BrianBlessed!

War of the Roses is a medieval combat action game for PC developed by Fatshark and released by Paradox Interactive in October of 2012. As a SpiritualSuccessor to Paradox's sleeper hit {{Mount and Blade}} franchise, War of the Roses is a third-person not-quite-Hack'n'Slash game with a deep and unique combat system that rewards carefully-aimed strikes and nimble-minded defense over swinging wildly at your opponents. The game has been praised for its very detailed customization and its [[ShownTheirWork tireless attention]] to period-appropriate detail while keeping the combat approachable enough not to bury players in realism.

* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Shields can be equipped. When raised, they block pretty much every attack from in front of you without having to be aimed in the right direction like a parry. However, they will break if they take too much damage.

* DifficultButAwesome: This can be said for many weapons, but nearly every polearm or spear qualifies. Hafted weapons (read: anything that isn't a sword) will "bind" and cause no damage if an enemy is too close and you hit them with the haft rather than the head. Given that most polearms have at least 5 feet of said haft compared to give or take 1 foot of pointy bits, you absolutely ''must'' keep your distance with these or you'll never get any hits in and die ingratiously from being rushed. And enemies '''will''' rush you to exploit this weakness. However, pretty much all of these weapons have very high damage when they do hit, and their long reach is a definite plus, especially if you like to stay light on armor to keep mobility high (which will also help you move about and avoid brawlers to keep your distance). Most have a piercing-type head, which will defeat armor well, and their precise stabs and long reach mean you can stab into a thick melee between teammates to contribute damage to a fight where a polearm would otherwise be useless.

* SliceAndDiceSwordsmanship: Every melee weapon can be swung from above or sideways, depending on how you move the mouse. Pointed weapons can also be used to stab, while weapons with no point will be swung underhand instead. This leaves it up to the player whether they'll use a weapon as it was intended or not.

* JoustingLance: Mounted soldiers can carry an actual tournament lance, but it doesn't deal very much damage. The London Tournament map contains jousting lists for the use of the tournament lance in actual jousting. In real combat, you're better off with using the war lance, which is actually designed to kill people, though the tournament lance does have the advantage of a longer reach.

* OffWithHisHead: Attacks that deal over 100 damage (normal max health) or very close to it in a single hit will [[OneHitKill Instakill]]: ergo 'go directly to the respawn screen, do not become downed but not dead, do not collect a revive.' The most efficient way to do this with melee weapons is aiming at the head or neck with a high damage strike, sending the head bouncing away while its former owner flops to the ground. Executions with the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Executioner's and Headsman's Axes]] will use the axes just as they were designed: with a single, punctual, powerful chop to the neck.

The combat system is a more refined, deeper version of Mount and Blade's system with many of the same controls; you ready an attack from one of four different directions with the mouse. Fully-charged attacks cause more damage, swing faster, and pierce armor more effectively. Your opponents can block your attacks with a parry from the same direction or a shield. Being blocked causes your weapon to freeze up for a moment, leaving you vulnerable to a counterattack, discouraging players from swinging randomly and rewarding those that make attacks that are hard to predict. Skilled players will "fake out" their enemies by starting an attack from one direction, cancelling it, and attacking from another. Compared to Mount and Blade, several other details have been added, such as aiming for an opponent's [[AttackItsWeakPoint cloth-bound arms and legs]] rather than his plate-armored chest to cause more damage. Also of note is the aforementioned Call of Duty-style class customization system with weapons, armor, perks and some cosmetic details to make classes that are absolutely your own; with tweaks as deep as blade material, edge grind, pommel type, fighting style, what type of leather to cover your shield, what type of wood to fashion your spear haft from, what type of coif and visor on your helmet and even paint and polish for your armor. Once you have a class fully kitted-out, its almost a statistic impossibility to run into another player with a class the same as your own.

* OffWithHisHead: Attacks that deal over 100 damage (normal max health) or very close to it in a single hit will [[OneHitKill Instakill]]: ergo 'go directly to the respawn screen, do not become downed but not dead, do not collect a revive.' The most efficient way to do this with melee weapons is aiming the head or neck with a high damage strike, sending the head bouncing away while its former owner flops to the ground. Executions with the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Executioner's and Headsman's Axes]] will use the axes just as they were designed: with a single, punctual, powerful hack to the neck.

* OffWithHisHead: Attacks that deal over 100 damage (normal max health) or very close to it in a single hit will Instakill: ergo 'go directly to the respawn screen, do not become downed but not dead, do not collect a revive.' The most efficient way to do this with melee weapons is aiming the head or neck with a high damage strike, sending the head bouncing away while its former owner flops to the ground. Executions with the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Executioner's and Headsman's Axes]] will use the axes just as they were designed: with a single, punctual, powerful hack to the neck.

* OffWithHisHead: Attacks that deal over 100 damage (normal max health) or very close to it in a single hit will Instakill: ergo 'go directly to the respawn screen, do not become down but not out, do not collect a revive.' The most efficient way to do this with melee weapons is aiming the head or neck with a high damage strike, sending the head bouncing away while its former owner flops to the ground. Executions with the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Executioner's and Headsman's Axes]] will use the axes just as they were designed: with a single, punctual, powerful hack to the neck.

* OffWithHisHead: Attacks that deal over 100 damage (normal max health) or very close to it in a single hit will Instakill: ergo 'go directly to the respawn screen, do not become down but not out, do not collect a revive.' The most efficient way to do this with melee weapons is aiming the head or neck with a high damage strike, sending the head bouncing away while its former owner flops to the ground.

* OffWithHisHead: Attacks that deal over 100 damage (normal max health) or very close to it in a single hit will Instakill: ergo 'go directly to the respawn screen, do not become DownButNotOut, do not collect a revive.' The most efficient way to do this with melee weapons is aiming the head or neck with a high damage strike, sending the head bouncing away while its former owner flops to the ground.

War of the Roses is a medieval combat action game for PC developed by Fatshark and released by Paradox Interactive in October of 2012. As a Spiritual Successor to Paradox's sleeper hit Mount and Blade franchise, War of the Roses is a third-person not-quite-Hack'n'Slash game with a deep and unique combat system that rewards carefully-aimed strikes and nimble-minded defense over swinging wildly at your opponents. The game has been praised for its very detailed customization and its tireless attention to period-appropriate detail while keeping the combat approachable enough not to bury players in realism.

The game is set during the titular Wars of the Roses in 15th century England, wherein the royal houses of York and Lancaster fought off-and-on for the throne over a span of 30 years. In the game, you play a knight, foot soldier, archer, or even a lowly peasant (all decided by you and the game's extensive customization) fighting for your house in up to 64-player multiplayer matches in various battles of the Wars throughout the English countryside, from sleepy farming villages and wide open hill country to the haphazard, claustrophobic streets of large towns.

The combat system is a more refined, deeper version of Mount and Blade's system with many of the same controls; you ready an attack from one of four different directions with the mouse. Fully-charged attacks cause more damage, swing faster, and pierce armor more effectively. Your opponents can block your attacks with a parry from the same direction or a shield. Being blocked causes your weapon to freeze up for a moment, leaving you vulnerable to a counterattack, discouraging players from swinging randomly and rewarding those that make attacks that are hard to predict. Skilled players will "fake out" their enemies by starting an attack from one direction, cancelling it, and attacking from another. Compared to Mount and Blade, several other details have been added, such as aiming for an opponent's cloth-bound arms and legs rather than his plate-armored chest to cause more damage. Also of note is the aforementioned Call of Duty-style class customization system with weapons, armor, perks and some cosmetic details to make classes that are absolutely your own; with tweaks as deep as blade material, edge grind, pommel type, fighting style, what type of leather to cover your shield, what type of wood to fashion your spear haft from, what type of coif and visor on your helmet and even paint and polish for your armor.

The game can be bought on Steam, or you can play the game for free as a pseudo-Free to Play without the class customization and a few maps.

* An Axe to Grind: Many different weapons of many different flavors, all with different strengths and weaknesses. Most have higher damage than other comparable weapons, and they have the most effective armor penetration of any slashing-type weapon. Examples range from the simple, effective, one-bit with backspike sidearm Battleaxe; to the extremely short (not always a drawback), extremely fast, extremely high damage Executioner's Axe; all the way up to the 9-foot long Knights Hospitaller halberd.
* Bigger is Better: Most definitely averted. Read Difficult, but Awesome below for why.
* Difficult, but Awesome: This can be said for many weapons, but nearly every polearm or spear qualifies. Hafted weapons (read: anything that isn't a sword) will "bind" and cause no damage if an enemy is too close and you hit them with the haft rather than the head. Given that most polearms have at least 5 feet of said haft compared to give or take 1 foot of pointy bits, you absolutely ''must'' keep your distance with these or you'll never get any hits in and die ingratiously from being rushed. And enemies '''will''' rush you to exploit this weakness. However, pretty much all of these weapons have very high damage when they do hit, and their long reach is a definite plus, especially if you like to stay light on armor to keep mobility high (which will also help you move about and avoid brawlers to keep your distance). Most have a piercing-type head, which will defeat armor well, and their precise stabs and long reach mean you can stab into a thick melee between teammates to contribute damage to a fight where a polearm would otherwise be useless.
* Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The fate of anyone that finds themself Instakilled by a charging horseman's lance. Executions with most swords have a bit of this as well, with a single sword plant into the top of the chest.
* Off With His Head: Attacks that deal over 100 damage (normal max health) or very close to it in a single hit will Instakill: ergo 'go directly to the respawn screen, do not become Down but Not Out, do not collect a revive.' The most efficient way to do this with melee weapons is aiming the head or neck with a high damage strike, sending the head bouncing away while its former owner flops to the ground.

The combat system is a more refined, deeper version of Mount and Blade's system with many of the same controls but with extra details added, such as aiming for an opponent's cloth-bound arms and legs rather than his plate-armored chest to cause more damage. Also of note is the aforementioned Call of Duty-style class customization system with weapons, armor, perks and some cosmetic details to make classes that are absolutely your own; with tweaks as deep as blade material, edge grind, pommel type, fighting style, what type of leather to cover your shield, what type of wood to fashion your spear haft from, what type of coif and visor on your helmet and even paint and polish for your armor.

The game can be bought on Steam, or you can play the game for free as a pseudo-Free to Play without the class customization and a few maps.