Mount and Blade has taken a turn for the worst. It's been god knows how many months since the last update (about 6 months I guess) and the end result is that they have released a game which is almost functionally the same (except a whole load of new bugs).
According to their site (right next to where you can choose to buy the game) they say there is supposed to be an update every few weeks.....
There is still no plot, NPC control is still just as cumbersome and there is no endgame, just endless killing of "mobs" as per a MMORPG.