Fans of medieval combat simulators (or RPGs) will be pleased to know that one of the most highly-anticipated games in the genre - Mount & Blade: Bannerlord - has received two all-new 6-minute gameplay videos at E3 this year.

The gameplay showcases two full-scale field battles, with the player acting as a "sergeant" in the command of another medieval lord. Throughout the video, the commanding lord in question can be seen shouting out on-screen commands for the player, who can then choose to follow them or make their own decisions.

In addition to the commander system, several other improvements have been made to the battle system in-game. For example, players can now take advantage of advanced battle formations such as shield walls and complex cavalry charges.

Enemy (and allied) commanders have also received significant AI overhauls - they are now capable of executing the same complex tactical maneuvers that the player can, creating much more intense encounters. Taleworlds has said that they drew inspiration from many historical tacticians such as Alexander the Great when developing these systems.

Combat itself has also seen a number of improvements. To name a couple, players are now able to chain attacks together (allowing for quick follow-up blows to catch enemies off guard), or even take advantage of shield bashing to keep their enemies on their toes. Combat also looks much nicer, thanks to vastly improved animations for horseback riding, archery, and melee attacks. There's a blog post at Taleworlds' site going over these improvements in more detail.

Unfortunately, despite roughly 5 years passing since the game's announcement in 2012, a firm release date has yet to be disclosed, though Taleworlds did mention in an interview with PC Gamer that they would like to get the game in the hands of players in "some form" by the end of 2017.