I don't know about you guys, but i found MTW one of probably one of the best games i've ever played, because its just so diverse and anything could happen really, like the faction reappearances, your king dying from old age too early, civil wars, the like.

I didn't buy the game that long ago, but now i'm hooked :D I find that the range of battles and the range of troops makes the game interesting, so many things can happen. (and i've gone a long way from my first battles... lol. i still remember when i accidentally routed my generals unit because i walked him from the enemy too much while repositioning him )

I'm still playing the vanilla MTW, but i find that on Normal/Hard, its more than a challenge enough for me, and still interesting. I'd probably get RTW when i get a bit more cash, and so can afford it.