After Warband I was expecting something more - a similar leap in quality. I suppose I was expecting too much...
Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm missing some sort of certain 'way' to play the game. I've tried to charge right in and whack a bunch of dudes, I wound up shot and dead. I tried kiting on horseback and slowly taking out a few guys while staying at range. I wound up shot and dead. I tried doing the mindless quests and building up, slowly. I wound up bored, and while traveling to get some taxes, I wound up shot and dead, again. This is the first game I've played in ages that I consciously selected the 'easy' setting - wounding my pride in the process. I still wound up shot and dead.
Warband was infinitely more accessible and a lot more fun. Loading up a musket and watching it miss drew a sigh. As I walked around and saw tons of musketeers and the like garrisoned in the towns, I chalked this game up to a big miss. I don't need instant gratification, but after slogging through the game for a whole day and repeatedly running into failure, I can't say I really feel the need to jump in again.