In order to keep things running smoothly, you also need more than just the usual grain silos and armories. In order to fix the problem you’ll have to choose between lenient methods that take a long time, such as time in the stocks, or prompt but brutal methods, such as chopping their heads off. Every once in a while, peasants will choose to drop the field they work in and turn to a life of crime instead. Interesting game mechanicsĪlthough Stronghold 2 features relatively simple AI that makes fighting against it predictable, it does have some fairly interesting game mechanics, especially on the “peace” side. Stronghold 2 is similar to Stronghold Crusader, but with more non-combat options. Choose the warpath, and you’ll be faced with war.

If you choose peace, you’ll be faced with economic problems, such as reviving a neglected economy and trying to make it prosperous again. This decision is pretty much what it sounds like. At the beginning you’re given a choice between peace and war, and which you choose will decide what sort of game you play. Stronghold 2 is a castle building strategy game that allows you to live the life of a feudal lord. The medieval period has captured the imagination of the gaming world since its inception. That being said, you can use bugs and weaknesses in the AI to exploit it quite easily. Units will sometimes get stuck inside of buildings, causing it to glitch. On top of that, the pathfinding of your units can lead to a lot of frustration. Sometimes my units would simply abandon the instruction I gave and would wander away from battle. The game’s AI is truly at fault here as they will have you pulling your hair out in some instances. That was a strong point of the first game, and you would hope it would be continued here, but unfortunately, it falls a bit flat.

Sir, What End of The Spear Do I Use?Īt the end of the day, most players are jumping into a Stronghold game to build an army a lay siege other castle. Keep in mind that this isn’t just an issue in the game’s campaign, but also in skirmish and multiplayer maps as well. This wouldn’t be that big of a deal if there wasn’t an enemy fort literally right down the cliffside. Due the new layers in gameplay, you’ll find yourself micromanaging your land to fit everything in. However, that brings me to the biggest issues of Stronghold 2: space. These aren’t too difficult to learn and adjust to thanks to the plethora of buildings that were added to help with these. You will now not only need to keep track of your food, weapons, and resources, but also your land’s happiness, crime, and cleanliness. Where Stronghold 2 really starts to show its growing pains is in the additional layers that were added to the game. New buildings such as the bed chambers, beehives, and vineyards all add to your society, thus helping your Stronghold grow. Previous Stronghold games were a bit lacking in the variety of buildings you could build. One of the major additions to the game is the number of buildings that can be created. For a game that tries its hardest to immerse you in the world, the voice acting sure does its best to push you away. It seems a bit over dramatic and, in some instances, a bit annoying. While none of the game’s sound effects are impressive, the voice acting will at least be memorable, if all for the wrong reasons.

Unfortunately, the sound design and voice acting aren’t quite up to par – especially the voice acting. They fit the medieval vibe of the game perfectly, helping add to the feel that you’re actually the lord of a castle. Many of the original tracks were brought over from the first game, but you’re also treated to new tracks as well. Now if there’s anything Stronghold 2 does right in terms of graphics and audio, it’s the game’s music. You could argue that this fits the era precisely, but in all honesty, it’s just plain dull. The castles themselves look impressive, as well as is some of the detail in the buildings such as the estates.

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