I'm sorry, but this review is incredibly unprofessional and I had to comment. A low score is fine, and M&B is not everyone's cup of tea, but to fling insults like "an anorexic Oblivion set in a budget version of Tolkien’s Rohan" warrants a response. "Essential prisoner management skills" comes close as well. I hope the reviewer takes equal liberty when reviewing, say, Fallout 3.

Continued...
It also seems as though the reviewer had a lack of understanding of some core mechanics. First, damage with melee weapons depend on the speed the weapon as it hits the enemy. It is not "random". Second, to describe archery as "largely ineffective with large numbers of enemies" seems a little off-topic and irrelevant when you could be discussing how the archery mechanic works. Third and fourth (these are minor points) the battles are described as having "more than 50 units" when the biggest I've fought has been around 1000 units, and the taverns don't provide much in the way of "local gossip".

Again, M&B is not everyone's cup of tea, but as someone who's followed it since .808 (not all that long ago) and seen the incredible improvements to what might be one of my favorite games of all time, I had to voice my opinion.