I sought this game out a couple of years ago, after having played the Robin Hood game made by the same people. Both games are some of the most fun I've had without a 3D graphics card.
I didn't like Myst because of the clumsy interface, and this game is the same. Pre-rendered 3D: a terrible dissosance for the senses - giving you the sense of free-roaming, but in truth a very limited ability to navigate. The story is also rather weak, but interesting enough. For the $2.99 I paid, it was worth it - a welcome diversion, but its not a keeper.
I play this game over and over. The major weakness of Stronghold is they didn't make a whole bunch of expansion packs - instead, they made Stronghold 2 and Legends which are rubbish. At least Crusader was the same basic game, and was also super fun. The graphics are awesome. So you can only rotate in 90 degree increments - I hardly ever rotate the camera anyway! 2D games had artists doing the graphics - not 3D modellers!
This was the first time I ever played this game (2010) and by todays standards its still a good game. It plays a lot like a Knights of the Old Repulic or Jedi Academy, but not quite as complex as far as inventory goes, and battles are more like FPS real time, even though its 3rd person. I honestly found it to be a bit boring for long parts ... especially with all the travelling back and forth you have to do, and the save system is frustrating and buggy (you only have 8 save slots, and the names dont always update when you save over an old slot) Because of the long time it takes to walk anywhere (and you can't take your twon-ha everywhere you'd like) I found I lost interest in the side-quests ... 20 minutes of my time to just help someone out and maybe get a medikit for the trouble, just didn't seem worth it. Thus I only got a 40% score for bonus quests. The graphics would have been amazing at the time, especially the water effects, and hold up well today, but are rather pixellated. Still, it far outshines any 3D games of the time which all felt like you were playing in paper-cutout world. The voxel engine gives it a feeling of richness and complexity that early 3D games just couldn't create. The story was interesting enough ... actually above average for a computer game, and the voice acting was really good ... considering how pathetic most voice acting in games was. IMO, if you're looking for a Sierra type adventure ... this is nothing like that. But if you like action adventures like KOTOR, then this will definately please.
But beware new gamers. I found the space quest series, especially these later ones, to be a bit slap-stick, illogical and sometimes just plain stupid and irritating. That being said, you must still buy them and play them, because they're still some of the best adventures there were!
slow to start, but a MUST play game! Good story, puzzles are logical and fit the story. The main character HAS character and is believable. This is a serious contender with Pandora Directive. Bad points - a few "pop out of nowhere" puzzles and a few pixel hunts. You will find the story and puzzles flow really well most of the time, and you only get stuck a few times on some rather obscure puzzles. Have a walkthrough handy, but resist reading too far - it will spoil it. Sound is bad, nothing seems to fix it. But it is bearable overall.
I dont agree with all the praise heaped on this game. I found it mediocre. Puzzles were either obvious or were needlessly convoluted. On Zombie Island, some screen exits were pixel-hunts in themselves. The plot felt like it was written by a 12 year old. Why do you have to hang around a movie set, and why is it such an unbelievable scenario - a poor attempt at humor, maybe? I didn't get the joke. Why does George embark on this quest to find these mythological stones? Is he, unbeknownst to the player, really a Mayan himself - a believer in this crap? Why must he walk to "certain death" at the end - surely he doesn't believe this nonsense about some Mayan god returning? And then, the elevator next to the temple?!! I just didn't get any Indiana Jones type feeling playing this game - imagine Indy in the Temple of Doom - with an elevator! Yeah, couldn't sustain my suspension of disbelief and "get into" the plot. Finally, the game felt very linear - VERY linear. It is compartmentalised into very small "scenes". You can't travel back and forth between scenes. This made the puzzles extremely easy, even when they were totally illogical. (except for the time-based branch-jumping, boar shooting puzzle) Compared to Fate of Atlantis, there is no comparison. In FOA, the plot is believable, consistent and engaging. The characters have depth, especially the player-controlled character (Indy), unlike George Stobbard who has no personality. And finally, in FOA, you spend MOST of your time in exotic locations doing interesting things. In BS2, you spend most of your time in boring locations doing boring things. There are no hot-air balloon rides in THIS game! Finally, the game would take about 5 minutes to play, if it wasn't for the SLOW animation, unskippable cut-scenes etc. At least you can double (or is it triple, or double-double) click on screen exits to exit immediately instead of having to watch you character saunter along. Still, its worth playing, but it certainly doesn't belong up there with LucasArts' games
