Journey to distant Arabian lands renowned for brave warriors and
fearsome weaponry in FireFly Studios' Stronghold Crusader. This
highly anticipated successor to the best-selling Stronghold combines the finest aspects of a City Builder and RTS. Lead a determined group of Crusaders, forged by centuries of barbaric foreign invader amidst the haze of the desert heat.
Now you have the chance to relive the historic Crusades in four
campaigns as Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, the Sultan of Syria. Attack the strongholds of fierce rival lords during the intense new "Crusader Mode". Conquer the "Crusader Trail" - 50 linked skirmish missions, each one more challenging than the last! Storm enemy barricades with over 25 units!
Create an awe inspiring fortress in the Castle Builder mode! Design challenging new scenarios with the full-featured map and scenario editor! Join for the ultimate crusade for the crown! Crush up to 8 friends in multiplayer Skirmish Mode via LAN or over the Internet!
This game has been patched to the latest official version: 1.2
Age requirements: ESRB Rating: TEEN with Blood, Violence. PEGI Rating: 12+ with Bad Language, Violence.
Minimum system requirements: Windows XP or Windows Vista, 1 GHz Processor (1.4 GHz recommended), 512MB RAM (1 GB recommended), 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended), Mouse, Keyboard.
Great game. I thoroughly enjoy building a massive army from the resources provided by a thriving economy inside my well defended castle walls. Had the first stronghold a while back but I prefer this one as it has some really cool new characters (archers on horses). This one also seems to play a little better than I remember the first time round, you tend to have to tweak your strategy... full review to win games rather than stick with the same approach each time.
Buy if: You want to get into RTS, you want a simple but compelling RTS, you're looking for a good sim game, you're looking for quick pick up games... full review
Don't buy if: You absolutely, unequivocally, despise RTS games
Stronghold Crusader is a game which is simple enough and properly designed to be very easy to get into. Newcomers to the RTS genre will find much to like in this title, which doesn't obfuscate gameplay with infinite amounts of units or magical powerups which suddenly swing the balance. It feels very much like a castle 'model' in the scientific sense, and this adds a lot to the final experience. The economy is simple and intuitive and you find yourself micromanaging in ways you'd have never thought possible for yourself.
Constructions become 'your own'. S:C plays to the nostalgia in its customers, who go back to the days of Lego fortresses.
The sandbox options are absolutely stellar. If you tire of having to fight enemies you have the option of simply building a castle in peace, bringing it to its full glory without the bothersome Arab raiders coming to wreck your achievements!
Personally, I prefer Crusader over the first Stronghold, if only because of the setting. The Crusader setting is not often used and the isometric graphics are quite simply beautiful, especially in the context in which it's set. The soundtrack accompanies the game well enough to convince you to keep the speakers turned on.
Overall, there is little to dislike in Stronghold Crusader. At times, the shortcomings of the isometric camera appear when fiddling with menial construction details, but these punctual and very specific snags do not appear often enough to subtract from the overall brilliant experience.
Slaughter your enemies and a Sunday Afternoon.
(by
DMorrone)
A fine balance of resource management and combat - what other game do you have to make sure that archers on the wall protect the bakers running to get flour to make bread to feed your archers?... full review
The AI of this game, though not exceptional, still does the job very well - and each "personality" has enough quirks where you'll start to look forward to going head to head with them.
This game is worthy to stand alongside the Age of Empires series, and I'd have to say Stronghold has that little bit more of a personality for me to choose it over that series when I want some old fashioned RTS goodness!
cootetom)
adricv)
DMorrone)