Stronghold 2 Review

[Centurion1]

Sounds like a good game ill have to check it out.

What would you estimate the replay value at, all strategy games must have very good replay value

[Hooahguy]

my friend has this game. looks good, and nice review.

[Achilleslastand]

When this game was released back in April of 2005...it was almost unplayable and one of the most buggiest games ive ever encountered. The game is somewhat better now after 4 patches.....as far as multiplayer goes there is still some lag/freeze ups occasionally....

[seireikhaan]

I played Stronghold: Crusader a lot for a couple years. Very fun game, though very simple mechanics. I heard over and over again that Stronghold 2 didn't compare, and I never played it.

[Caius]

I have the demo. Tired of playing it, but looks good. I didn't find the game in the local seller, so I can't get it.

[Prussian to the Iron]

What would you estimate the replay value at, all strategy games must have very good replay value

well, with 3 patches installed, there is an extra 'Conquest Trail', where you basically have to defend or attack a number of european castles, with troops given to you and neither side able to make more. its pretty fun. then theres the freeplay missions, where you do whatever you want, and the individual siege missions, where you choose to be either side and then go to the castle you chose.

so, all considered, its pretty replayable. plus you can make your own maps :D

When this game was released back in April of 2005...it was almost unplayable and one of the most buggiest games ive ever encountered. The game is somewhat better now after 4 patches.....as far as multiplayer goes there is still some lag/freeze ups occasionally....

i haven't encountered any real bugs so far, with 1 exception. in 1 of the missions, 4 burnt vikings were dead, but kept running aorund. they couldnt do anything, so it didnt matter. then in the same mission, the same thing happened with about 8 enemy spearmen. still though, nothing serious.

havent tried multiplayer yet, i want to get better before i try it.

I played Stronghold: Crusader a lot for a couple years. Very fun game, though very simple mechanics. I heard over and over again that Stronghold 2 didn't compare, and I never played it.

i liked stronghold crusader, but by the time i got it(i think actually i got it in '05 ironically) i almmost puked at the graphics. plus the fact that it was a bit difficult for a 10 year-old.

[professorspatula]

The best fun I have with the game is the freeplay option. Build up a huge castle, get loads of troops and traps and then set up a ton of enemy invasions and see how long you can survive the onslaught. The campaign itself is a bit of a disappointment. There are 2 options - battle orientated campaign, and one focusing more on building stuff and keeping order. Sadly it's all a bit linear. I was disappointed in the skirmish style battles where the AI is unable to make anything other than basic tiny castles. I was hoping for a mode where you are having to build up huge fortifications against the enemy whilst at the same time attacking his own. Instead you seldom have room to build anything but tiny fortifications and much of the space is taken up by dung collectors, watchtowers and torture devices, none of which the AI has to worry about.

I think the game had the potential to be excellent, but it's a bit watered down and cartoonish for my liking. It's alright but not got a massive amount of gameplay life in it.

[Prussian to the Iron]

which patch do you have downloaded? with a city of maximum size, i only needed i think 2 or 3 gong pits. thew secret is to cram as many buildings of the same type as close together as possible. then you only need 1 or 2 to clean up all your food production!!!

why is it sad that it is linear? most games are..................

[pevergreen]

So its an RTS, not a city building game? Because you compared it to R&F: Civ's at War, which is an RTS/FPS (sorta FPS) hybrid.

Ceaser II was a city builder, Phaoroh is a city builder.

I've been tempted by the Stronghold series a few times, but better games keep being there, like SF IV now.

[Veho Nex]

I played Stronghold: Crusader a lot for a couple years. Very fun game, though very simple mechanics. I heard over and over again that Stronghold 2 didn't compare, and I never played it.

It doesn't but its a great game. Its hard to find games that compare to SH:C though. Its like comparing Medieval 2 to Medieval

[caravel]

I've also only played the original SH and SH:C games. I heard SH2 was not much good at all.

As to SH/SH:C, to be honest I liked the artwork, the sound effects and the overall design of these games. The big part that ruined these games was the AI. Much like any RTS basebuilding game it simply trains units and sends them at you in batches with no real co-ordination.

It is very easy to outsmart the AI by building a honeypot trap:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

You simply leave an opening in the walls and line it with about 4 large towers - do not build a frontal gatehouse - to form a kind of open barbican. It's then just a case of filling the towers with archers and the walls with crossbows. The enemy will always come via that route and will be systematically shot down every time. They won't bring much if any siege equipment because they think they can simply walk in.

In all honesty you're better off with a game like MTW.

[Prussian to the Iron]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

You simply leave an opening in the walls and line it with about 4 large towers - do not build a frontal gatehouse - to form a kind of open barbican. It's then just a case of filling the towers with archers and the walls with crossbows. The enemy will always come via that route and will be systematically shot down every time. They won't bring much if any siege equipment because they think they can simply walk in.

the sad part is ive tried that before, and they still used ladders.......