5. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare

Blood, gore and limb dismemberment! What more could you want

Originally a Half-Life 2 mod, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare is a title that has planted its feet firmly on the ground within the tactical-melee medieval combat sub-genre, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare skips past all the pesky army management and traveling to different towns and slaps you down in the center or vicious battles and sieges where you will face off against other like-minded blood-thirsty players who want nothing more than to hear you scream. This game incorporates sound and voice extremely well and every slash, parry, block, and blood-curdling scream serves to immerse you in the brutal environment that you have stepped into.

The game offers some variety in combat besides the basic melee options of sword & board or two-handed crusher by allowing you to equip crossbows, Middleage grenades, and providing environmental hazards like boiling oil. The game is mainly objective based and requires your team to burn down strategic points or capture forts, but you will find yourself enthralled with facing off against other players.

Combat is unforgiving and requires a tactical touch but can honestly be a bit jumpy and the hitboxes wonky. It is not unplayable by any means, but it can lead to some irritation from time to time.

What stands out:

• Squad-based combat
• In-depth combat system provides players with a huge range of responsive combat options

Devastating combat and gory voice acting

Join friends is objective-based gameplay

4. Kingdom Under Fire 2

Coming to the NA and EU markets soon but I wouldn't hold my breath

Try not to get over excited about this one North American players. While projected to come to the market, this game is taking its time and has hit many delays.

Korean games tend to pride themselves on a simply genre-splitting graphic style and as such stand out from most Western MMOs with ease. Kingdom Under Fire 2 is no exceptions. Your custom character will be foraged forth into a threefront war for control of a single continent. Players build armies, hone their abilities, build alliances, and storm the battlefields to seize territories in a responsive and ever-changing world.

Kingdom Under Fire 2 is a real-time strategy combined with an MMORPG. Awareness and a tactical mind are key as you balance commanding troops as well as positioning yourself to support the fight. Join the ranks of powerful field-generals as you sweep battlefields launching fireballs or crushing the masses with devastating blows.

Customization remains the glittering mark on this game in light of its Korean background, however, class appears to be predefined and locked to a character’s gender and race. Unfortunately, if you are looking to be a female mage that is out of the question and if you even attempt to pick up a bow as a male the game will laugh in your face. While fans question this decision, it has not stopped the success of this game on the Eastern market.

What stands out:

• Over 100 types of troops
• Action MMO meets Strategy

Large scale battles and free-form combat

Join massive battles and lead your troops from the front line