I've been playing Mount and Blade.

I've 'beaten' this game before, defining beaten as bringing the entire map into a single kingdom. I've never been much of a replayer when I feel like I've really 'beaten' a game, unless there is some other unique goal to pursue...and M&B doesn't really offer one.

I'm playing again. Picked a different kingdom and will probably play until I bring the whole map under their rule, but really it isn't much different.

My army has reached the 'forty day flood' stage...just days, thanks, I've got the forty knights. Actually more than forty. Knights being the fully promoted most dangerous troops. Enemy warlords get pounded so frequently that their armies usually don't have any knights. In fact they are usually about half raw recruits. Battles primarily consist of peasants with pitchforks being mowed down by a wall of steel clad horseflesh moving at high speed.

Individually my archery skill is so high that a head shot is a one hitter quitter on pretty much any opponent. A sweep of my axe will drop pretty much anyone in a single pass as well if my horse is carrying much of any speed, and my horse runs over most enemies without really slowing down much. My castle has twice the garrison of any other castle on the map, and my garrison force consists of fully promoted marksmen and sharpshooters. If they get besieged and I don't get back in time to drive the invaders off it is unlikely that an entire enemy kingdom put together would be able to take them.

There is literally no challenge in this game.

But I find that it is absolutely great fun to play. It's weird.