Anyone play this game? If so, is it any good?

It is a brilliant game in my opinion, it's also pretty barebones. The graphics leave a bit to be desired and it doesn't have a storyline, it's sort of like a Medieval simulator with solid combat.

So you'd recommend I buy it?

It's a really entertaining game, I've put over 100 hours in it and I'm not bored yet.
The combat is amazing, which can also be a bit sad because you end up comparing combat in other games to it.
The only thing that can turn some people off is the graphics, but I don't mind them.

I think it's an aquired taste, but you can always try the trial which lets you play until you hit level seven.

It's fantastic, and there's some really good mods out for it as well, for when you get tired of the basic game. But that is unlikely to happen in the first few dozen hours.

The multiplayer mode is shallow, but the singleplayer mode is very fun even though it lacks a proper story. I've dumped well over a hundred hours of play time into that game over the years.

Anyway, if you've ever played Sid Meier's Pirates! then you should enjoy this game.

It's definitely a game you'll either love or hate, not really an option to be in between. It has absolutely no set quest line or storyline, you just drop into the game alone, and then it's up to you what you want to do.

My brother likes to build his army quickly and then lay waste to the countryside.
I like to build my army slowly, make lots of money, and fortify a single area.

It's completely up to you.

The mutliplayer is pretty silly though. We only use it when we're extremely bored and my brother and I go head to head to see who can get more kills. (Which is always me, cause I'm sneaky like that. ) I'd also suggest doing the trial version and seeing if you like it before buying. The trial totally hooked my brother. (much to my sister-in-law's joy...)

Have any of you tried the Fire and Sword expansion? Looks like better graphics.

I really enjoy the game. It has gameplay unlike any other in that you can command armies of hundreds of people, and yet literally be apart of the action, in the middle of it all, swinging your sword. Its RPG elements are a little light, so you really just play it for the adventure and unique combat, in my opinion. There are a lot of mods that improve the game too, my favorite being Prophesy of Pendor which was a complete overhaul and total conversion to a fantasy world of the author's making (I don't like the vanilla nations and geography very much).

You might also try Mount and Blade: With Fire and Sword, which is an updated version of Mount and Blade Warband, set in a historical period of Eastern Europe and it has a lot of extra features like more mercenaries, guns, and merchant caravans that you can participate in.

I haven't but my brother has, and he says it svcks. It's a stand-alone game by the way, and from what I've heard it's built on the original Mount&Blade, not Warband, so a lot of the new stuff that got added in Warband isn't in there. May explain why it apparently isn't very good.

It's good too, but it's not the same.
It's not really a medieval setting your crossbow is replaced with guns (that are extremely powerful, so if you get shot on a low level you're toast), and your throwing weapons are replaced by grenades. I basically like the setting of warband more.

I think that the biggest graphical issue in Warband is simply the utter lack of facial animation for the characters. Nobody blinks or even moves their mouths when they shout.

Warband might be my favourite game of all time: excellent combat system and good overworld gameplay. I really like the graphics too, even though they aren't exactly the most advanced. I disagree with the Multiplayer being shallow though, especially using mods such as Vikingr or cRPG.

Ugh. It just looks so dated. I will try the demo.

I haven't played them, but I've almost bought them like 500 times.

I can't really sympathize with anyone who cries "dated", though.

I have 1,000+ hours into it...

In my opinion the combat is unparalleled. I play a mod called cRPG that is ridiculously addicting and adds a persistent character progression to multiplayer and a thing called Strategus that is like campaign multiplayer.

The spouse is a little bit obsessed with this game. Seems to have a bit of a learning curve but a lot of attention to detail and historical accuracy. They have a good http://forums.taleworlds.com/ that even I browse for the historical info.

Fantastic game.

If you like realistic style combat over arcade style, then no other action-RPG even comes close in my opinion. I consider it the standard for how combat in action-RPGs should be done. It's very involving and enjoyable for the player, while still maintaining a lot of emphasis on the character and their abilities rather than just player skill.

What the [censored] are you talking about? Warband is the best multiplayer game ever made. I've played over 300 hours (most good players have 1000+ and the combat is fantastically complex and skillful. It also has the best online community out of any multiplayer game I've played (at least, the Aus/NZ community is.)

http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,87133.0.html

Read this. Also note that it is an old guide and there are much more tactics and playstyles that were not discovered at the time it was written.

Floor Below, I know perfectly well how to play the game. Thanks.

I said that the multiplayer mode is shallow compared to the singleplayer mode because there's no character progression. Forgive the comparison, but it's sort of like Counter-Strike with horses, swords and bows. While I imagine it can be quite entertaining when played with a good group of people, ultimately everything in multiplayer boils down to a WYSIWYG formula, and no multiplayer game like that has ever been able to hold my interest for too long.

By the way, in my experience the American community is much worse than anyone you've played with. Few people are willing to play the game properly.

I saw a bundle deal on 3 Mount and Blade games(probably 1,2 and 3. Warband was noe of them) for dirt cheap(250NOK. A new game costs about 500-600 NOK). Should I try to get it before it is sold out?

Yes, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6ALySsPXt0

Yes, unless you can get Warband by itself cheaper.

The original Mount & Blade is completely redundant after Warband, and With Fire and Sword was a little disappointing in my opinion.

Well not entirely redundant. There's some mods for the original that haven't been ported to Warband, so if you'd want to play those you would need a copy of the original game. I think that LotR mod is one of those. Not a very big issue, but if you can get all the games in a bundle...