Customer Reviews

Stronghold

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This game has some of the best graphics on a strategy game I've played. I really liked the fact that you can zoom in on your screen. This makes placement of castle walls, etc. much easier.

The 'free build' games are fun, as there is no enemy trying to destroy you. The only limiting factors are you and your resources. I've played this for hours on end. The seige based games are fun as well, but difficult. It seems I'm never quite finished building when the enemy attacks. I usually get my [tail] kicked. One thing I liked with this game that didn't like with AOE is that peasants can and do fight when they need to. Even the hunter (who hunts with a bow) will fight when the enemy attacks. The wood gatherers are especially good, as they fight with their axes.

Unlike other medieval warfare games where castles may be just one of the many buildings available, or you may have many forts and cities, stronghold is truly a "castle sim"

You must build just one castle in each mission, but you better make it good! In the campaign stage, you will start by building log forts and just archers and rustic spearmen in your army. You will then be taught mission by mission to build better fortifications of stone, how to gather more types of resources more efficiently and how to keep on the good side of your people. You will also get more advanced troops such as crossbowmen and mounted knights

What I really liked about this game was the realism. Unlike other strategy games where the description "strategy" is a misnomer, in Stronghold you are forced to follow strategies that must have been followed in the Middle Ages. Your castle will be realistic and the methods of controlling the populace are also fun and realistic.

One small problem I encountered was that the player interface is sometimes hard to get used to. Also, the controls are a bit annoying. For example, you may wish to deselect one group of soldiers and select another, but instead you will end the first group to where the second is. But this can be overcome once you get used to the controls.

Any avid strategy gamer must buy this game to get a different perspective on medieval warfare than what Age of Empires and Warcraft offer.

If you are familiar with the 'Lords of the Realm' games then Stronghold will not be a stranger to you.
The basic gameplay revolves around the strategic defense and building of a castle. There are different options to choose from in te gameplay. You can start a military or economic campaign or simply pile straight into a predetermind skirmish or invasion. Or simply enter the free build option and create the medieval castle of your dreams! The campaigns have a story to drive them but in reality are quite linear. They are basically running tutorials that help you build up your knowledge of weapon making and food production.
The graphics are plain but very detailed, with some delightful little animations. The music and sound effects are very atmospheric and lend themselves beautifully to the medieval atmosphere.
As a fan of Lordsof the Realm I was looking forward to this title. I was not disappointed but I was surprised at the linear nature of the missions. Also, the economics are not nearly as complex as LOTR.
The castle building interface can be quite fidely at times. There are 4 angles of view and at times it can be difficult to see where to place walls. If you miss a gap the enemy comes straight through so you have to use the 'flatten buildings' view to see all hidden items.
To conclude, Stronghold provides a lovely medieval atmosphere and a fair strategic challenge. All the many assets one can use to aid economy and popularity are not always necessary and on occasions they seem superflous to requirements. There are many options and it can be great fun seeing your population increase and your castle grow. An excellent budget buy.

This is probably one of the best strategy games that I have ever played, and I played a lot. The real draw with Stronghold is that it's defensive oriented, so if you're the type of person that likes to design and build garrisons, then this is definately in you alley.

The way that it's design, strategy isn't just merely building up a large contingent of forces and then rush. To win you have to plan carefully and take advantage of terrain and know the strenghts of both your own men and the enemy's. Hence, there lots of ways to win a battle. You can have full fledge blood and guts battle, or opt for something more low key tactics.

For less than $10 dollars, Stronghold won't disappoint.

I haven't had too many castle sims, but this is the best one i've ever had! It has strategy, awesome castles, and all that. You build your own castle while controlling ur economy, it's sorta like Age Of Empires except more based on economy.(that and the towers dont fire arrows, you hafta supply the soldiers for all that stuff.) But be careful, the enemy has siege weapons, archers, crossbowmen, knights, and much more. With all this u hafta prove that ur castle is the best of all!

This game is fantastic. It's like playing Warcraft but in a much more realistic fashion. No magic or strange beasts. This is downright strategic gameplay at it's best. The graphics are incredible (you can see the trees blowing in the wind!). The micromanagement is fun and not too tedious. I can't wait to finish it, play it again and then get the Crusader follow up.
I only wish it was like the old Stronghold game (does anyone remember that?) based on Dungeons and Dragons, where you could hire four Lords besides yourself of different classes. But I guess you can't have everything. Maybe Take 2 can do something about that in the 3rd version of the game.

This is the first game I've bought for the computer. I picked it because I like medieval stuff, and I wasn't disappointed. The games are challenging enough to frustrate, but not so hard that you can't work them out in a fair amount of tries. I've pretty much played through this, I'm still going back and replaying my faves, and I'm ordering Crusader today.

Greatest game except Stronghold: Crusador. I got Stronghold: Crusador first and at first it was confusing but then I played the tutorial and I play for about 2-3 hours on that or Sronghold. Then I got Stronghold . I played the siege mode and I thought it was so cool that you could start out with an already made castle, manned, and a flood of men filling in your moat. I was very happy about that mode because it doesn't take 1 hour to build a castle and wait 20 minutes for the enemy to come. Unlike Age Of Empires where you can't man the walls but in Stronghold you can. I enjoy the building mode where I recreated Helm's Deep in the siege mode.

Graphics 9\10 (bad face graphics)

Availability of troops 9\10

Buildings 10\10

AI 9\10 (sometimes the enemy acts stupid)

Gameplay 10\10

Overall 9\10 (more modes would make this a perfect 10)

First of all, I am not a gameplayer. I liked SimCity the original for a while way back in 1990, and since then I've played almost no games at all. I happened on this game because Stronghold (#1, original) and Tropico were bundled, and on clearance for $2 at target. From the very first little mission, where you have to build a settlement and manage to make a bunch of bread for the king, I was rapt. It far better than simcity because aside from the nice graphics, it's very educational and diverse. The series of missions act like a non-obtrusive tutorial, letting you learn how to do each thing, and challenging what you learned before.



Stronghold 2 is better and more expansive than the original in many ways, and but don't miss #1! And especially don't miss Stronghold Crusader (my #1 #1).



After being so blown away with Stronghold 1 and Stronghold 2 and Stronghold Crusader, I wondered if I've been missing out all these years. I ordered a bunch of games in similar genre, and none of them interested me. Settlers, Pharoah, Cleopatra, The Guild, and others... I think age of empires 3 is nice (3 1/2 stars), and I'm delaying judgment on rise & fall and rome total war.



But stronghold is far and away the best game I've ever played.

I enjoyed playing this game as teen. Game revolves around you defending your castles against besiegers but also managing your castle's economy. As the game progress you begin to besiege castles as well. Once you beat the military campaign there are few economic missions revolving around rebuilding the kingdom. The game also features a few scenarios involving either military or economic goals. In addition to the scenarios the game also features a free build so that you can build the castle of your dreams.

The gameplay is enjoyable and the scenarios and free build add longevity to the game. The graphics are good for the when the game was released.