Unfortunately, I suspect the smaller player base for M&B hurts its potential as compared to something like the call of duty series. I've had a hard time getting into multiplayer games since I had kids because my time is too unpredictable. I haven't played any of these yet, so I don't know if they are fun or not. Multiplayer Multiplayer maps were added to the game that allow you to play a single character in a larger online battle.

It helps that Steam had a good sale on Warband recently and probably will again for their Christmas sale. I think it does, especially for someone like me who only paid $5 for the original game. For those who already own M&B, the question is if it really adds enough new features to justify buying it. So, aside from finding the original at a bargain (I bought the original last year on sale for $5 from direct to drive), there isn't much reason not to buy Warband if it sounds like your kind of game. The map has been redrawn, but otherwise I can't think of anything that was in the original that is missing from the expansion. Stand-alone Expansion As a stand-alone expansion, someone new to the series can buy Warband without ever buying the original. I'm sure I'm forgetting lots of stuff, but here are the main additions that I can think of at the moment.

I think I will do my review in two parts, first a review of the new features in Warband for those already familiar with the game, then my actual review of the game (later, I'm out of time for now). It was discussed on this forum a few years ago (see link below), but that was before I had played it, so I have not posted about it previously.

For those that aren't familiar with it, Warband is a stand-alone expansion to Mount and Blade. I was talking to Simon recently about Mount and Blade Warband and have been meaning to do a review here, but haven't hade much time.

Mount and blade warband new features