A classification of a game this grand is hard to find, it's too damn good!

User Rating: 10 | Mount & Blade: Warband PC
First off, I'll start with the singleplayer.

I won't list everything Mount & Blade had aswell, so I'll just delve into what's new.

The singleplayer is much of the same from the first Mount & Blade, they've tweaked it to be a little more immersive, you now start off in a quest at a city you chose in the character creator (You are on a caravan headed to X city.)

The recruitment of recruits is still identical, training them is exactly the same discluding that you now pay an upgrade fee for them (10, 20, 40, 80, 120)

Also, one new kingdom in the desert part of the map that was added in, Sarranid Sultanate. They are heavily based on archer infantry and light cavalry, somewhat useful for sieging but I still haven't found where they fit in just right on a battlefield. Their archers are not as good as Rhodok crossbowmen but the Sarranid infantry does have the bamboo spear which is longer than most spears (Spears, not lances or polearms).

You can now create your own kingdom if you hold onto land, you get to name your kingdom and issue you as marshall and king. After that you need to get the other kings to "accept" you as a king and after that you just need to find lords who are unhappy with their king and let them join you, give them land and they'll fight for you.

Including is a better politics system, where you can scheme and plot to your hearts content to overthrow the current king of said empire along with more, you can marry into a big family to strengthen alliances. Enemy NPC "mobs" on the overhead map now spawn around "Hideouts" to which you can attack and loot.

That roughly is what's new in the singleplayer part. Now on to the Multiplayer!

You do not get to be the ever conquering hero, you're but a simple soldier in the faction that is in play. For an example, there's a map playing out with Swadia vs. Nord. If you join the Swadia faction you get to pick between Crossbowman, Infantry and Man at Arms. Join the Nord faction and you get to pick between Archer, Huscarl and Scout. After that you get to choose your gear, each 'class' is focused around what you're supposed to use. Archers do not get 2h greatswords, but instead can choose what kind of bow, arrows and 1h weapons. Man at Arms gets more variables in melee weapons, 1h swords, 2h swords, shields, varieties of lances, what kind of horse, et cetera. Archers get the choice between lighter armors while huscarls are clad in chainmail or something heavier.

When teamwork is used in multiplayer, the effect is almost instant. A good example is Rhodok vs. Khergit Khanate (Horse archers, horse lancers) in a small arena. The Rhodok do not stand a chance and are nailed down instantly by arrows from many directions and some horse lancers. Suddenly they regroup, form a shield wall in a corner and their crossbowmen fire between the cracks in the shield wall. Any horse that wanders too close to the shield wall gets assaulted by the spears that the infantry are using.

All in all, it's the best fun I've had in a competitive multiplayer game. It's a must have for those that like medieval combat