Stronghold: Crusader II

 PC
Stronghold: Crusader II Image
Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 249 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: When it was first released in 2002 Stronghold Crusader put a unique twist on the gameplay of the original Stronghold by focusing on skirmish gameplay and replayability above all else. Recently Stronghold Crusader HD gave the game a new lease of life, offered as a free update for existingWhen it was first released in 2002 Stronghold Crusader put a unique twist on the gameplay of the original Stronghold by focusing on skirmish gameplay and replayability above all else. Recently Stronghold Crusader HD gave the game a new lease of life, offered as a free update for existing owners of the game and made available for purchase on GOG and Steam. Crusader 2 has been on the mind of Lead Designer Simon Bradbury since the release of Stronghold Crusader in 2002. It is only now, having become a fully independent studio, that Firefly feel comfortable delivering a worthy sequel to their fans’ favourite game. As a developer their mission is to recapture the addictive, intense gameplay that made the original Crusader a classic. Players can also expect new visuals, a reworked battle interface, new AI characters, environmental threats, new units and real-time physics. … Expand
Buy Now
Buy on

Trailer

Play Sound
Please enter your birth date to watch this video:
You are not allowed to view this material at this time.
Stronghold Crusader 2 - Community Q&A Bonus Round

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 30
  3. Negative: 3 out of 30
  1. DarkStation
    Sep 26, 2014
    90
    Stronghold Crusader 2 was a rare game that I got lost in. I started playing and before I knew it, it was six hours later. Who can resist a game about castle building, economy raising, and taking on large castles full of troops and hazards?. Especially when you can soften up the numbers by launching diseased animals over castle walls.
  2. Game Revolution
    Sep 23, 2014
    80
    Firefly Studios hasn't quite made a new classic RTS game here, but they were extremely close.
  3. Hooked Gamers
    Oct 9, 2014
    80
    I would not recommend it as a single-player game. It simply doesn’t have enough flesh on the bones to be played that way for more than a few days. Fortunately, Crusader was never meant to be played alone.
  4. PC Gamer
    Sep 24, 2014
    64
    The Stronghold series isn't like Total War, doing a hundred different things; it just needs to get the castles and combat right. On the evidence of Stronghold Crusader 2, Firefly is moving in the right direction, but it still has a way to go.
  5. Games.cz
    Dec 3, 2014
    60
    Blast from the past when real-time strategies used to dominate the world. The creators took the concept of the first part almost completely and besides the updated visuals there is no extra value added to differentiate the sequel from the original.
  6. Gamer.nl
    Oct 10, 2014
    60
    Stronghold Crusader 2 is not what we’ve hoped: right now the game doesn’t come close to its great predecessor. Still, there are some original ideas to be found here, but thanks to all the bugs it feels like this game has been released too soon.
  7. NZGamer
    Oct 8, 2014
    40
    The game is an anachronism, proving that transposing ideas from the past (without thinking critically about how they should be represented in the present) doesn’t always work.

See all 30 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 64
  3. Negative: 27 out of 64
  1. 15Moopy96
    Sep 23, 2014
    10
    Exactly what I wanted out of the game. If you enjoy the original stronghold crusader this should be equally as addictive. I have put about 6Exactly what I wanted out of the game. If you enjoy the original stronghold crusader this should be equally as addictive. I have put about 6 hours into the game so far. At first I was hesitant but after I progressed through the campaigns I found that this game possesses everything that made the original fun and more.… Expand
  2. scavenger1
    Sep 29, 2014
    10
    Great! Better than crusader 1. It has some bugs, but gameplay is still brilliant and worth money spent for it!

    Graphics aren't as good as    Great! Better than crusader 1. It has some bugs, but gameplay is still brilliant and worth money spent for it!

    Graphics aren't as good as in other 2014's productions, but It's stronghold series, graphics is not important!    … Expand
  4. Sjalka
    Sep 26, 2014
    8
    8/10

    why? - cause i love stronghold crusader. - it is fast, simple RTS. crusader 2 feels pretty much like the original - with better    8/10

    why? - cause i love stronghold crusader. - it is fast, simple RTS. crusader 2 feels pretty much like the original - with better visuals. the changes are few or very subtle, or so it feels. it is still the good feeling of building sandcastles and stomping on your enemies castles.

    but not all is better. - the whacky enemies are less so, the tone is a bit more serious, the AI seems not to have made even small leaps since the original much.

    This game is MUCH better than the other stronghold games, - but i do have to admit, it is not exactly more "fun" than the original ( or for that reason the HD version of that ) - it looks better, but feels too similar.

    it could have been more, but it is worth the asking price - for those who liked the original or HD version (... and do not expect more than practically an expansion pack with new visuals ) - so in the end, it is not "more" than the old crusader. ... but still fun    … Expand
  5. Doc_Hopwood
    Sep 23, 2014
    5
    For the reviews that say Crusaders II "possesses everything that made you love the first game" they are 100% correct. It's 2002 again and ifFor the reviews that say Crusaders II "possesses everything that made you love the first game" they are 100% correct. It's 2002 again and if you bought this game you are the proud owner of a $50 copy of Crusaders 1. Break out your Sony Walkman, crank the Limp Bizkit, and grab yourself a can of Surge (which they're also re-releasing this year).

    Your walls are made out of chalk and disintegrate into powder at the first sign of trouble. The big battles you see in previews? Those don't happen... instead your mob of cheap units crashes into their mob of cheap units. Formations and all that stuff are meaningless. You can build a big city in the sandbox game and play around a little and that's alright but then you're just putzing around collecting resources and decorating a screen.

    I don't typically care about graphics but the only thing I can point to that is different from the 2002 release from this series is a barely perceptible bump in graphics quality. Everything else is pretty much the same dated game with bland mechanics. I really wanted this to be a good castle sim but it isn't.. small maps, ho hum AI, dated everything... and I fell for it again.

    And for $50?!?!?!. I'd give it a 6 or 7 for a price tag of $15 but this game is priced in the same neighborhood along with really good new releases.. save the $50 and get Age of Empires II HD or buy the HD version of one of the old Stronghold games (because that's essentially what this is). Unless you just love Stronghold Crusaders and want to play it with a couple new NPC lords (which changes almost nothing really). In which case, go for it.    … Expand
  6. aecsuter
    Sep 5, 2022
    4
    My review is based on my experience playing today!
    I didn't find the campaign fun, it's very difficult to see things in the scenario even    My review is based on my experience playing today!
    I didn't find the campaign fun, it's very difficult to see things in the scenario even after playing for a while.
    For those who liked the game and for nostalgia ok, but buying to meet today I didn't think it was a good experience.    … Expand
  7. masterleaf
    Apr 7, 2017
    3
    Eu ainda não consigo entender como uma produtora pode destruir um game que tinha tudo para ser um clássico isolado na indústria.

    O game é    Eu ainda não consigo entender como uma produtora pode destruir um game que tinha tudo para ser um clássico isolado na indústria.

    O game é um retrato da incompetência, IA extremamente burra e cheater, campanha single player feito de qualquer jeito, menus confusos e com péssimo desing.

    O que mais decepciona é que aparentemente você vai ter a mesma experiência do antigo CS1 mas é só a IA começar a trabalhar que você percebe q ela é Cheater e que não importa qual estratégia vc vai tomar ela vai usar de tudo para te exterminar. A única maneira de vencer é única, usar estratégias nada divertidas de Famar e comprar mercenários.

    O jogo se torna maçante e vc n pode criar seu castelo, produzir armas e utilizar soldados diversificados, não, você será obrigado seguir aquela receita, farmar X comprar mercenários e atacar.

    Péssimo.    … Expand
  8. Ashkanniazi
    Jan 21, 2021
    0
    big disappointment so bad its not a stronghold game
    Dont buy this game so many bug, crash and low fps in any case
    bad story, gameplay is    big disappointment so bad its not a stronghold game
    Dont buy this game so many bug, crash and low fps in any case
    bad story, gameplay is ruined for bugs    … Expand

See all 64 User Reviews

Trailers

Awards & Rankings

70
#70 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
30
#30 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Current PC Games

Full List »
93 Dwarf Fortress
92 Resident Evil 4
91 Chained Echoes
89 Portal with RTX
89 Pizza Tower
89 Hi-Fi Rush
88 Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
87 Dead Space
86 8-Bit Adventures 2
86 Kynseed
86 The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure
86 Returnal
86 A Space For The Unbound
85 Meg's Monster
77 Contraband Police
76 System Shock
75 Atomic Heart
75 Dead Island 2
70 Storyteller
69 Firmament
All Current Games »