This Notched and Rusted Blade

Author: Sparky668
Game: Mount & Blade: Warband
Genre: Story

It's quite clear that narrative isn't found in a large abundance when watching what would be considered "main stream" Machinima, a prospect that becomes quite evident to anyone with even a peripheral knowledge of the current state of Machinima the company., this notched and rusted blade by youtube user, Sparky668, could be considered the foil to this argument, simply on the grounds of the engine that he works with. Mount and Blade: Warband. save for spectating a large map in multiplayer creating any sort of production using this game would be one uphill battle after the next. Which is what makes this series a brightly shining supernova amongst dull white dwarfs in the universe that is the Machinima relm.

The story focuses on Martin Herrick, a hunter from the damp hills of northern England , he is forced to work off the dept his father had incurred by not being able to pay that month's tithe. The narritve is fantastic, the music fits the story like a good glove, and the cinematography....just yes! The audio mixing could use a little work, as in some portions of the videos I had a hard time discerning what he was saying as the music reached a climax, and at later times a buzzing noise is constantly or his voice is too low.

While the series may be narrative heavy, that isn't to say that there are no battle or action sequencies, on the contrary, there's one in every episode, however, their main purpose isn't to catch the attention of the shaky cam, automatic rifle, and explosion crowd, it's to allow you to understand the internal fight that the protagonist is going through and to empathise with him as he changes from a boy, to what the world considers a man.

I do feel that the earlier episodes were cut off a bit too abruptly, however that could just be my inner writer speaking, also, one could argue that there was an over use of the panoramic camera, however I would be willing to forgive that on the grounds of the type of production that it is.

I wouldn't reccomend this to those that have a large affinity towards action shows or movies, but if you enjoy a good novel or just an enthralling story I can't reccomend this highly enough.