Posted on: August 4, 2009
cpugeek13
Verified ownerGames: 43 Reviews: 2
Uh oh, here comes another cow!
Stronghold Crusader is a medieval geek's paradise. Not only do you get to build and siege castles, but you get to do it in ways that other games haven't even tried to explore. When I was young, I used to love books about medieval castles. To my delight, many of the cooler siege aspects that I had completely forgotten about were covered in this game. Catapulting disease-ridden cows--check, preparing and pouring boiling oil--check, you can even lay down pitch that you can light on fire with fire arrows. The combat in this game isn't perfect, though the realistic aspects (missiles have realistic trajectories, for instance) make up for limited formation options. As much fun as building walls and besieging them is there's many more layers of depth in the gameplay. Besides combat and defense, there is the whole economic aspect of the game. It basically plays like a simplified city building game like Pharaoh or Caesar with popularity and food being the most important resources. Also, there are optional "good things" and "bad things" you can place that affect your popularity, efficiency, and troop strength. Also, these things really help to spruce up and otherwise ordinary looking castle. Speaking of charm, this game has plenty of it. While not as graphically impressive as its predecessor, it really is fun to watch your city in action. The sounds are also well done, with voicing being occasionally corny and flat but still entertaining. When you first hear your soldiers yell out a battle cry before charging or your archers in your towers firing a barrage of fire arrows you'll get a warm fuzzy feeling that will warm your heart. The game features four campaigns, though they are basically extended tutorials. The real meat of the game is in the Crusader Trail and multiplayer. The former is a series of skirmishes that get increasingly challenging as your progress. While there isn't really a story for any of it, its great if you just want to sit down and build and besiege castles for an hour or two. I'm very busy nowadays, so this is the perfect kind of game for me. Oh yeah, and it has desert ninjas.
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