I bought this day one of early access becuase of how much I love this series, but it's not the best in the series... But damnit it's so close.

It's good, I think the combat feels more fluid and impact heavy than Warband, shield bashing, bracing, couching, and all the directional swings and their tying animations look great. Sieges are also a large improvement over the first game, no longer will you only have one ladder that you're pushed off of constantly, now they're action packed and awesome affairs. This game is basically a visually refined Warband, most features are retained, some new ones are added. if you enjoyed Warband, you'll enjoy this. But... Early game and late game suck. The middle game is the only fun part, as early game has few too little ways to earn money and renown so you'll find yourself grinding the same four quests or doing hundreds of tournaments. And the late game really breaks down the AI. Sadly the modding community for this game isn't as expansive as Warband's.

For now, if you want a modding scene, stay with Warband as this has yet to have any full big total conversions release, (although there are some EA Warhammer, Samurai, and Rome ones, but not nearly as complete as warbands). It is a good game, just could be better.