This is a great combination of fun, education (you never know when you might need those siege tactics in Tesco's) strategy and resource management that is a fantastic addition to the sim stable.
The best and only real time strategy game for me. After playing this masterpiece I wasn't able to enjoy other strategy or economy games like Age of Empires, the Anno series or **** reason is simple. The balance between economy and the military part is perfect for me. All goes hand to hand. The developers managed it to create a game with a great accessability for new players, but it is also complex enough for veterans of the genre. The build mode, where you can create your own big castle is fantastic and a relaxing game experience which works perfectly for me to relax after a hard workday. The games everthing you want from conquering and defending historic castles, a great military campaign with four unique antagonists in their own way to a relaxing building mode.
I played it in my youth and I am looking forward to play the definitive edition again. Simply a masterpiece and all time great for me, which keeps up with my other all time game Metroid Prime.
A real time strategy game set in medieval England. It has a well balanced economic and military system and quite an addictive gameplay. Story setup: The King was captured at war in a foreign country and is hold hostage there. This was a good opportunity for 4 nobles to usurp the power. The player-characters father was loyal to the king and lured in a deadly trap. It is the mission to retake the land, free the king by acquiring enough ransom money and stop the usurpers. You start in a remote shire with the weakened resistance. Gameplay: It is mission based and you see a map of England between mission showing who rules the different shires(Linear story). In most mission you develop a Stronghold and defending it against enemy troops while in a few missions you have to capture the enemy Stronghold yourself (The later are painful and hated by many players). The gameplay mechanics are interwoven and well thought out. You can test it but the game does a good job teaching you the mechanics (more and more is unlocked later in the game). Basically you harvest resources, build buildings and structures. Wood and stone are for buildings and deference structures while wood is also used for weapons together with iron. You need the right buildings. For example: To get archers you need a woodcutter hut (wood), barracks (recruiting), armory (storage for weapons) and a fletchers workshop (produces bows or crossbows). Now you can recruit archers. As you can sees the set up is logical. Stronger / better units need more or different buildings. Of cause you need peasants to do the work. These need food and so you must build farms or hunters posts. There are multiple farms available. Dairy farms also deliver leather for leather armor but the most effective are wheat farms. However these need also a mill and a bakery to produce bread (2 farms and 1 mill are enough to supply 4-6 bakeries). The two disadvantages are less available space and that more peasants are needed in the production chain. Of cause more peasants mean more food consumption. This is a fitting transition to the tax and satisfaction system. Basically higher taxes mean that the people dislike you (Nothing has changed sine that times;-). There is a rating for this. It can reach 100 and if it drops below 50 you are losing peasants as they are leaving your stronghold (Higher satisfaction means faster immigration). To counter these you can do multiple things. Increase food rations (= more consumption), have multiple food sources (the more the better), lower taxes or have special buildings like Inns (serve ale but you need a brewery and a hops farms) or churches (chapel up to cathedrals). It is often needed to raise taxes to win missions so you need to balance things out. Military: You are defending your settlement by building a stronghold. Walls stop enemies, towers give archers and crossbowman advantages, moats slow down enemies etc. Melee units come in various varieties and all units have their purpose. Be warned I was sure to handle everything with masses of archers in good defense positions and I was a fool for this (Works well in the first third of the game). Later on you have many more options as gradually new buildings, units and weapons unlock. The military campaign is excellent and challenging. I only dislike the missions were you don't have a stronghold and after some research found out that this is a common complain and those missions are hated. There is also an economy campaign, some scenarios and mode where you can build freely. There is also an editor to create your own maps and it is praised but this is just hearsay as I never tested it. Graphically it was really good back then. Today it is acceptable for me but you easily spot that it is an older game. The soundtrack is fine. I want to praise the antagonists. These are such likable stereotypes already nicknamed as rat, snake, pig and wolf. Overall this is an excellent game. The gameplay mechanics are well thought out and interwoven. This is truly enjoyable. I give a 10/10 but the already mentioned weaker missions nearly prevented this. In hindsight this is viewed as best game in the series with Crusaders. A recommendation for fans of strategy games and medieval settings.
Aside from some interface and control issues centered around the actual building of your castle walls, this is a fun and exciting entry into the RTS market that many of you should really be able to make love to. That's right, I said make love to. So I'm a pervert, what do you want from me?
Stronghold is a very interesting game; a game which has no equals, not because it’s that outstanding, but because there’s been so few games that can fight for the title of castle sim champion.
It's been years since a game let you pour boiling oil on invading hordes, and Stronghold simulates castle sieges well enough to recommend it to those who are interested in the premise. But it's a hesitant recommendation, due to a poor interface and mediocre campaigns.
I LOVE this game since my childhood, and even today nothing changed. The scribe, granary and increasing taxes is still a meme in my country. The Polish localization was very well done, adding more to the awesome experience.
Тупо шедевр.Сюжет в игре с её персонажами весьма интересный,местами и забавный.И строительство,и бои,и экономика-всё отлично продумано и сбалансированно.Одна из лучших RTS.
Интересная система развития замка. Реалистичная боевая система. Интересная экономика. Красивая музыка. Дух средневековья. Неплохая сюжетка. А самое главная - полная воля для креатива в партиях.
SummarySet in medieval Europe, players establish settlements, build and manage castles and engage in siege warfare. The game incorporates much more building and "community managing" than a traditional RTS, yet allows for a more intense combat experience than city builders have featured in the past. [GodGames]