I enjoyed the game but found some technical problems and bugs kept it from being a truly memorable gaming experience. First off the graphics and sound were adequate. The swaying trees and miscellaneous animals roaming around as well as the peasants going about their daily lives. Very nice. Hearing pikemen and bowmen scream their heads off as they get blasted off the wall by a trebuchet ... Freackin awesome. However, the lag issue is a problem ... which occurs even if your above the recommened requirements and play on a lesser setting. That sucks. Plus the forced micromanagement I saw someone else write about is definately a downer. I like being able to manually pick peasants and decide where to send them or what to build ... not build the building and have them go to it with no option for changing his job later. Oh and the biggest one ... not being able to build buildings or walls in lands outside of mine that I capture ... THAT really sucks. Makes it almost impossible to defend unless you send a huge army to EACH estate. Not feasable. Anyway. Maybe some of the concerns and issues we have will be implemented in a Stronghold 3 perhaps? hmmm? Better storyline ... better AI ... increased building and peasant control ... yeah I like the sound of that.… Expand

I loved SH and thought SH2 would be great. It started well, but very quickly the dreaded lag came in and now its just a pain to play. The enjoyment isnt worth the pain of the lag. I have wasted my money on a lemon.

This game has soooo much it could be/do. However they released it way to early and its just a waste. Would be an awesome game if they would fix the bugs =/

i thought the game was superb when i bought it but i realised when i got further on the missions were so long and then I CANT EVEN PLAY IT BECAUSE IT SAYS DEFEAT AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING AND I COULDNT EVEN GET ONTO A MISSION OR PLAY ANYTHING so i traded it in

This game started out well, I enjoy playing the game itself, the game isn't horrible graphically ( though a bit dated by todays standards) runs very well and has only one issue. Unfortunately for this game, the issue is large enough for me to dwindle it's potential to a 4. The lack of AI players makes the possibility of reaming computers with your buddies makes the game fall flat. I like strategy games, and own most of them, but single player doesn't make up the joy that I miss from being able to squash the AI personally. Oh well, good game, needs multiplayer to be fixed.… Expand

If you can look past the minor bugs and glitches this game is one of the rare gems that mix warfare with economics. Not only do you have the manage resources but you must make the populace happy so they join the workforce or the military. People who shun this game know no real simulation when it is right in front of them. It isn't a 10 but surely isn't anything less than a 7.

I bought the entire collection, stronghold, stronghold crusader, crusader extreme, legends, stronghold 2 from walmart for 20 bucks, I believe playing them for a hour has actually taken a few years off my life. --- WORST RTS to exist

Stronghold 2 isnt quite as good as stronghold 1, but is still actaully a pretty good game, the graphics are good and I really enjoyed the campaign. i play the multiplayer LAN alot and I love it. Stronghold 2 is one of my favourite games and is a must-have for strategy enthusiasts.

I can't even install it. It installs Disk1 for several minutes, and then sees disk2 as corrupt or not there, even though I can view the contents! Their tech support is absolutlely worthless!

This is an extremly good game but crahes occurr too many times. I reckon with another 2 months work from the team (instead of rushing it for customers) they could have had a perfect game with really gamers really happy. I enjoyed SH:C and enjoyed SH2 aswell if they could possibly make a patch that would stop the crashes it would be a 10 out of 10 from me.

Excellent game.

There can be only ONE(best game),and this is it!!!!

Yup, the lag is terrible. Multiplayer is not something to start with (it could take days with the lag). Singleplayer allmost same thing. Graphics not so good. The graphics from Stronghold Crusader were better! This just looks like a: "Lets try something 3D!" Its not worth the money.

they really need to work on the concept of finishing the game completely before releasing it to the public. ive waited for weeks for the last patch and thier still not close to fixing all the nagging bugs. a simply sloppily made game. not worth the money to buy new.

Patched twice but no problems sovled. The game is unplayable as it crashes constantly. Too bad, it looked ike it coud have been a good game.

Love the SH games, but this is a disappointment. Running on an AMD 3000+ XP, with 1 gig ram and a 9800 Pro... I can run sims like IL2 and Silent Hunter 3, Doom3, Half Life 2, Rome: TW, etc, etc but this game has serious problems with framerates. 32 peasants, a few archers, not even a completed castle, and it slows to a crawl. Shameful.

I own it, but haven't had a real chance to play. It ALWAYS crashes after 5-30 minutes. The game has so much potential and someone should be getting fired.

Could have been my most faviourate game ever but instead it is so craptacular due to lag that i had to give it away.

This game was anticipated by me and friends for a while. I was surprised to see it on the shelf at the store last week, so I bought it. Biggest purchasing mistake I have made in recent memory! The game is super laggy, even on a dual AMD MP 2800+ w/ 2GB PC4000 RAM, RADEON 9800 Pro and a 0/1 320GB RAID array! You cannot throw any more raw computing power at a peice of software (unless you work at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories and have access to their super computers)! I wrote an email to customer support about the lack of an option to add AI players in a multiplaer game, and they wrote back: "AI was disabled due to a fault found, it will be restored in a future patch for the game, but at this time it is not possible to add AI." - Take2 tech 'support' What a shame, this used to be one of my favorite games! I knew I should have downloaded this gme instaed of buying it. Take2, you suck!!!!! PS - How could anyone rate this game above a 5? The people who rated it a 10 must have a financial interext in this crappy game right?… Expand

I've played a lot of RTS in my time, and this one takes the cake as the worst. I've played free text based games that had more depth, and entertainment value than this. The publishers need to be put on the rack. Firefly...well, they need the humiliation mask. For shame.

I loved Stronghold and Crusader. Two of the best games I've ever played. They rock! So, being a lover of the these two, I decided to give SH2 a go. Frankly, I was very excited to play it. The screenshots looked awesome and the information on the game was quite appealing, especially all the extras they added to buildings, Lord control, feasts, crime and punishment, and much more, however, shortly after installing the game, I was VERY disappointed. The graphics are horrible, loading times are slower than the molasses in January, and even if you are running a top of the line system, the game lags really bad. The game is also quite buggy even with the latest patches. It runs worse than Morrowind, and that's bad enough. The developers should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such dribble. It just goes to show you that sometimes, sequels are not as good as the originals. I still have the game, but am taking it back tomorrow for a refund. I reinstalled Stronghold and Crusader, and will stick with those. I heard Legends is just as bad. What a shame... All in all, I give SH2 a two thumbs waaaaay down. Save your money. Bah! Crypts… Expand

I bought this game at version 1.41, where most technical problems are resolved. So seeing it at this late point I can say without bad feelings: this game is perfect. Though the campaign is a little hard sometimes it is perfectly entertaining. The graphics are stunning, AI works fine and there were no crashes at all I while I played it, and I play it a lot. Pitty that there are so many disappointed customers here, I understand Stronghold 2 was quite buggy when it came out - but that over now. So download the update, grab a sword and a few catapults and go kick some medieval *%& !… Expand

I like the game soo much.

The game is absoloutely fantastic until your castle gets to a certain size, frame rates die. There will need to be a rather serious patch. Should have scored a 9. Needed to use an ugrade system instead of mass building deployment.

It's the best RTS game i've ever played in ma LIFE .. every other RTS sux in Front of it..!! I LOVE THIS GAME!

Buggy as heck. Lacking almost all the humor of SH & SHC. No taunting animations. No developer interaction in the community.

I haven't had any problems with crashes at all. But its true the framerates drop when there is a lot of units on screen. But i havent tried setting the detail down and that might help. This game is really nice.

The game slows when your castle exceeds more then 30+ buildings at any setting. There are no longer any "stats" when you beat an opponent (such as kills, losses). And there are AI bugs (such as random troops walking through walls or teleporting across the map, persistant crime) But even with all of these flaws... The game still has a ton of fun in it. With a few heavy patches this would be a 10.

What a deception ! This last opus is currently the same game as Strohghold I with 3D added. Unfortunately, graphics are very poor, back 4 years ago and the game is bugged. AI is prehistoric and after playing few hours, you still don't have fun.... Stronghold and Stronghold crusader were really good game but this new one is terrible. I'm just upset about myself having bought the game without looking at the evaluations on internet....save your money buy something else !… Expand

The first Stronghold rocked and Crusader was excellent as well. So what happened? Were the guys who programmed and coded this game drunk? The lag is so bad it makes the game NOT fun to play. I installed it, played until I experienced a few dozen bugs, uninstalled it and threw it in my junk CD drawer in my file cabnet. My machine runs Doom 3, Rome Total War, Far Cry and other graphics intensive games smooth as silk. But not this game...hmmm.… Expand

It SHOULD be a good game. It looks great. It's an interesting idea. But ... Iso far I'e installed it twice, played for an hour or so at a time, then uninstalled. .. even with every setting low, there's too much lag! My system has a gig of ram, a radeon 9700 pro with 128 meg ram, and 300 gigs of hard drive space .... and it still lags, lags, lags .... tand yet the graphics are only mediocre, not cutting edge. far cry, which has graphics superior in every way, runs fine at 1024x768 ! The engine in this software ruins the entire game, it just can't handle it. Shame.… Expand

Stronghold 2 is the worst example of a prematurely released game since Vampire Masquerade. What was a funny, charming and challenging series pays a tragic price for the obligatory transition to a 3d engine. An even greater sin are the many softball reviews that hide the simple truth that this game is unfinished, unplayable and falls far short of being a competitive RTS with any replay value. Shame, shame.… Expand

This game is good, except the frame rates and lag issues are horrible, ive waited for a long time for this game to come out, im really disappointed.

Yes, the game itself is wonderful, worth to die for. But the bugs and the crashes, shame on SH2 team. Two patches created, still no results seen. Actually you cant blame the team, its the publishers who rushed the team too hard. The random crashes during MultiPlayer, sometimes transfers me to the main menu, sometimes closes the game and shows me the error report send message on StrongHold2.exe. Sometimes when I start a mission, it says "Defeat" at the start of the game! I mean the graphics, are lovable, the game itself is great! I would rate it 11, but sadly no. Ill give it a sad 4. The most amazing thing I have ever seen in a game is, that SinglePlayer lags even more than MultiPlayer.Someone should sue the games creators, as we didn't get the quality as promised, not our money worth.… Expand

This game is horrible. the lag blows, and way to expensive for such a badly planned game like this one. don't waste ur time and money.

What a tease. Such a disappointment. Insane lag and frequent crashes. I give it a one.

SH2 Is a great game. I have no doubt about that.You see... When thousands of impatient people bug and bug and bug for a game to be released asap, and actually criticize the production team for taking a while, you get what happened to SH2. The game now, is virtually bug free, and most things have been fixed. Though, this took many patches. I have a great computer, 2gig ram, and an 8800 video card, and SH2 is graphically flawless for me. So before you jump to blaming the game for your crappy computer, stop and think about it. And as for crashing... I don't think iv ever played a game that didn't crash at least once. Even consoles freeze. The people at Firefly did an excellent job at creating an excellent game.… Expand

this game is a good game. their are some small bugs like the seige towers and castle estates(they actully allowed you to have two castles in Story mode but not in free play so this REALLY bugged me.) but it's still smoth on my computer. if they fixed these two bugs it would be a 10 for me.

Wonderful fun, great strategy, great building, great character.

I would have given a 7.5 but there is no such selection. very good game. but graphics are not as good as they could be, also the crummy AI is kind of a set back to. but other than that pretty good game.

Painfully long loading time. and in game lag is unbearable. they really need to rethink this game from the bottom up. i believed in the first stronghold more so than this one. hopefully the third one, if they make one, will be alot better than this. this game has so much potential!!!!

Don't Buy Game Big Waste of Time and i payed over $50. Online play is the worst scam since Watergate. Trust Me. Multiplayer is a joke and thats what makes a game like this worth buying. Just Research Strongholds notorious lags and crashes suffers from memory leaks and it dosen't matter how high tech of a rig your running you computer junkies 64bit or 32bit multiplayer loaded with issues Firefly Studios i wll say, almost the best game ever developed hand down, loved Crusaders. Tthat Stronghold 1 to you newbees. But you really blew it with this one, didn't you! Yea you know you did. With all the frustration this game has caused me you could stick it. Becase thats what all you corporate basterds did to me. Why dont you finish what you started your pathes suck. Whats the matter didn't you do your homework spend the money now and fix your mistakes you cheap sons of bitches. Don't just cut your losses. Are you trying to give your company a bad image. Firefly Studios you guys should strike next time the big wigs start breathing down your neck. Hast Makes Wast Just Show Them Assholes This if they can't reshedule their deadlines.… Expand

I loved the original Stronghold. While it could tend to be a slow game its' technical drawbacks did not impede game play. Once you get to a certain point, it matters not if you've accumulated an adequate "force" to complete missions because the technological drawbacks make the game like a DC-10 with no tail control... practically impossible. Firefly should be ashamed for selling a product where the engine controlling scrolling, for instance, does not function. Avoid wasting your money on SH2.… Expand

This game is so friken messed up. It pisses me off everyday that you can't even play multiplayer half the time without it locking up, and yet the company will not make any patches for it even after a year. They are now making a 3rd game and im afraid stronghold 2 is just going to go down the drain.

ZOMFG WHY ARE PPL GIVING THIS GAME ONES!!!!!????? THIS IS THE BEST PC GAME IVE EVER PLAYED!!!!!!! IVE HAD IT FOR THREE YEARS AND ITS STILL ENTERTAINING IT NEVER BUGS FOR ME AND HASN'T CRASHED MORE THAN ONCE!!!!!!! PPL THAT SAY THIS IS BUGGY AND CRAPY JUST HAVE A BAD COMP THAT GLITCHES BY ITSELF OR YOU DIDNT DOWNLOAD THE RIGHT SOFTWARE!!!!!!!!!! AS FOR BAD GRAPHIX YOU PROBABLY DIDNT EVEN LOOK AT THE GRAPHIX MENUE AND PUT STUFF ON HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CMON PPL HONESTLY, YOU REALLY DONT KNOW WHAT YOUR SAYING AND HAVENT GIVIN THE GAME A REAL CHANCE WHEN YOU GIVE IT A 5 OR BELOW!!!!!!!!! (ive never accourd any type of bug exept crash and it was once!!!!) this is a must have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!… Expand

I bought it at Wal-Mart for 15$ in the bargain bin. I like it, great game, the combination of city-building and warfare is the closest to Age of Empire's. While it's not a substitute, I find the single player campaign a lot of fun, and multiplayer with my friends is great too. (Although there's not a ton of people online, there's some) The connection sometimes screws up on some games and that makes it very annoying. i don't have this problem with other games so I figure the problem is with the game itself. Conclusion : Buy it, especially if it's in a bargain bin. :D… Expand

I honestly think Stronghold 2 was a pretty good game. The main issues i had with the game is that the combat SUCKED, siege equipment is very over powered, and theres no option to put in npcs in multiplayer. Despite that the things i really liked about this was the micromanaging and the castle sim part of it. I loved watching all my peasants working around the castle doing all sorts of various jobs, having my servants cook a feast for my lord, and all that stuff.. i really liked it. Despite this, it still needed a lot of fixing up but still has its ups.… Expand

This game deserves a much higher score - and once the developers get the bugs worked out I'll come back and revote. But for now this is what it's worth. What's finished is high in quality and style, but it's still full of bugs, lag, and crashes - released too early for my tastes.

HELP!! READ THIS!! i install i start it like any other game i use it on reccomenced setting (got massive good comp!!) i start a game its all fine in 3d no lagg the game starts and theres no castle the lord is flying in the air, and my units have no weapns and what should have benn my castle looks like ruins i can play the game tho but every building or siegeweapon i get/build look like something is very wrong only the storage house look a little like a house but the ox-techer almost fill out whole my screen!! please e-mail me and help me out!! e-mail: andreas@kenns.dk PLEASE!!!!!!!! i tried it on my parents comp it worked but they wont allow me to play on that comp so please!! ps. no lagg everything works its oly my buidings, wepons, towers and ox-techers except my walls!!… Expand