Stronghold HD

The original and probably still the best in this franchise- lots of time absorbing entertainment and it still stands up in terms of graphics. Quality gaming and congrats to GOG for making this available, download and play now and make sure you have nothing pressing to do!!!!

Imagine being the Lord of a Castle and controlling your subjects at will with the only goal of making you the best (or worst) ruler of them all. That's what Stronghold is all about, designing and managing your Castle keep and lands, carefully observing what your workers need in order to produce high-end goods through real manufacturing processes and building up an army capable of protecting you against foreigner hazards.

The best part about the game is how easy and intuitive everything is, from designing your castle, to managing resources. It's hard, and the story is actually decent and often quite amusing. This game is a solid buy for any strategy gamer, and will provide more entertainment for the buck than you expect.

I remember playing this game years ago and becoming addicted to the economic campaigns and missions. I bought Stronghold HD on special during the DRM-free sale for the princely sum of $1.79 and I must say, the magic is still there. It's like I never left my old computer. Well, except for the fact that the graphics have definitely been fine-tuned for newer computer systems, and the load times are instantaneous. Phrases such as, "Your popularity is rising" and "People are coming to the castle, my Lord" still give me the greatest buzz. I love that this game is DRM-free, so that I can pop it on my laptop for when I'm travelling.

So to start off, Stronghold HD is basically a castle-and nearby areas- simulator. It is a strategy game, but it's neither a game like Civ, where you control whole regions, neither like AOE where you basically control citys /towns and neither is it Real Time Strategy. I would most closely compare it to AOE, but it's still very different. You have to take care of a much smaller space, you don't really have to explore and the map is relatively small, but you are also set pretty close to enemies on the map, so combat happens quite often. It's a mix between townlife management and Real Time Strategy, basically. And a really good one at that. The game is just good all around, sounds & visuals are perfect for a game like this, atmosphere is spot on, combat/management modes are all handled with great care, and the whole bunch of gamemodes give huge amounts of replay value. Instant Classic.