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Medieval Splendour

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 14 / 17
Date: January 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you are familiar with the 'Lords of the Realm' games then Stronghold will not be a stranger to you.
The basic gameplay revolves around the strategic defense and building of a castle. There are different options to choose from in te gameplay. You can start a military or economic campaign or simply pile straight into a predetermind skirmish or invasion. Or simply enter the free build option and create the medieval castle of your dreams! The campaigns have a story to drive them but in reality are quite linear. They are basically running tutorials that help you build up your knowledge of weapon making and food production.
The graphics are plain but very detailed, with some delightful little animations. The music and sound effects are very atmospheric and lend themselves beautifully to the medieval atmosphere.
As a fan of Lordsof the Realm I was looking forward to this title. I was not disappointed but I was surprised at the linear nature of the missions. Also, the economics are not nearly as complex as LOTR.
The castle building interface can be quite fidely at times. There are 4 angles of view and at times it can be difficult to see where to place walls. If you miss a gap the enemy comes straight through so you have to use the 'flatten buildings' view to see all hidden items.
To conclude, Stronghold provides a lovely medieval atmosphere and a fair strategic challenge. All the many assets one can use to aid economy and popularity are not always necessary and on occasions they seem superflous to requirements. There are many options and it can be great fun seeing your population increase and your castle grow. An excellent budget buy.

2nd Greatest Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: February 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Greatest game except Stronghold: Crusador. I got Stronghold: Crusador first and at first it was confusing but then I played the tutorial and I play for about 2-3 hours on that or Sronghold. Then I got Stronghold . I played the siege mode and I thought it was so cool that you could start out with an already made castle, manned, and a flood of men filling in your moat. I was very happy about that mode because it doesn't take 1 hour to build a castle and wait 20 minutes for the enemy to come. Unlike Age Of Empires where you can't man the walls but in Stronghold you can. I enjoy the building mode where I recreated Helm's Deep in the siege mode.

Graphics 9\10 (bad face graphics)

Availability of troops 9\10

Buildings 10\10

AI 9\10 (sometimes the enemy acts stupid)

Gameplay 10\10

Overall 9\10 (more modes would make this a perfect 10)

Fun strategy game with a medieval castle-based theme

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: March 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Admit it, you've seen those movies where armies fight to attack/defend a castle and wished you could somehow take part. Stronghold for the PC gives you the chance to lay siege or defend a castle of your choosing, as well as giving you the ability to build your own stronghold or map, or to just play through the intriguing campaign. Don't have time to play through the main game? Then play a quick single-stage game on any map of your choosing! You can opt for a combat-intensive (no resource management!), or economic-based game, or you can download hundreds of fan-created maps/castles if the main game isn't challenging enough!

Keep in mind that the main campaign is a typical strategy game where you have to do your fair share of micromanagement as well as keeping your citizens healthy/happy and employed. Your popularity meter plays a big part in your overall success, so manage this aspect well by adjusting taxes, food rationing, etc.

Stronghold is an engaging game. The difficulty seems to be set at just the right level. Some degree of trial-and-error may be required on some levels, but that's half the fun! No two games have to be alike! There's enough variety to keep novice and expert strategy gamers busy for weeks, and the graphical style and sound effects fit the mood perfectly!

What more can be said? Stronghold is affordable and may be just what you need when you tire of all those 3D FPS games!

Excellent Interface, Difficult Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: April 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game has some of the best graphics on a strategy game I've played. I really liked the fact that you can zoom in on your screen. This makes placement of castle walls, etc. much easier.

The 'free build' games are fun, as there is no enemy trying to destroy you. The only limiting factors are you and your resources. I've played this for hours on end. The seige based games are fun as well, but difficult. It seems I'm never quite finished building when the enemy attacks. I usually get my [tail] kicked. One thing I liked with this game that didn't like with AOE is that peasants can and do fight when they need to. Even the hunter (who hunts with a bow) will fight when the enemy attacks. The wood gatherers are especially good, as they fight with their axes.

WARNING: APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 17
Date: May 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you are looking for a medieval strategy game like the older
"Lords Of The Realm", or something even remotely linked with
the five-star gameplay of the legendary "Defender of the Crown"
you will be most painfully disappointed.

To begin with, this game has no storyline, no logical sequence
connecting the campaign missions, and most importantly, IT IS
NOT HISTORY-BASED LIKE THE "LORDS OF THE REALM" or the "DEFENDER
OF THE CROWN" WAS.

There is no hint of where exactly in Europe does the player
finds oneself, and there are no glorious campaigns against
the European powers of the Middle Ages. One certainly feels
like one is in some kind of Medieval Limbo, where one is told
to accomplish certain things for no apparent cause.

All in all, the game plays and feels as if it were some sort
of a creation of a group of computer programmers-obviously
fascinated to the extreme with the Middle Ages- to pass their
leisure time by buiding castles and keeps, just for the sake
of building castles and keeps.

To sum it up, the lack of historical campaigns cripples a game
which certainly could have some prospects. Also, the game sound
is distorted and choppy with Yamaha soundcards of the YMF family,
and the developers have done nothing to correct that.

I have bought this game from a UK computer store paying only
one-third of its original value, and I still regret it. Do not
waste your money on this title, but buy instead Stronghold
Crusader, which is a lot better.

Immerse Yourself

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: May 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is fantastic. It's like playing Warcraft but in a much more realistic fashion. No magic or strange beasts. This is downright strategic gameplay at it's best. The graphics are incredible (you can see the trees blowing in the wind!). The micromanagement is fun and not too tedious. I can't wait to finish it, play it again and then get the Crusader follow up.
I only wish it was like the old Stronghold game (does anyone remember that?) based on Dungeons and Dragons, where you could hire four Lords besides yourself of different classes. But I guess you can't have everything. Maybe Take 2 can do something about that in the 3rd version of the game.

Best Castle Sim EVER!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: June 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I haven't had too many castle sims, but this is the best one i've ever had! It has strategy, awesome castles, and all that. You build your own castle while controlling ur economy, it's sorta like Age Of Empires except more based on economy.(that and the towers dont fire arrows, you hafta supply the soldiers for all that stuff.) But be careful, the enemy has siege weapons, archers, crossbowmen, knights, and much more. With all this u hafta prove that ur castle is the best of all!

Too Much Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: August 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is the first game I've bought for the computer. I picked it because I like medieval stuff, and I wasn't disappointed. The games are challenging enough to frustrate, but not so hard that you can't work them out in a fair amount of tries. I've pretty much played through this, I'm still going back and replaying my faves, and I'm ordering Crusader today.

unusually good!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: November 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Unlike other medieval warfare games where castles may be just one of the many buildings available, or you may have many forts and cities, stronghold is truly a "castle sim"

You must build just one castle in each mission, but you better make it good! In the campaign stage, you will start by building log forts and just archers and rustic spearmen in your army. You will then be taught mission by mission to build better fortifications of stone, how to gather more types of resources more efficiently and how to keep on the good side of your people. You will also get more advanced troops such as crossbowmen and mounted knights

What I really liked about this game was the realism. Unlike other strategy games where the description "strategy" is a misnomer, in Stronghold you are forced to follow strategies that must have been followed in the Middle Ages. Your castle will be realistic and the methods of controlling the populace are also fun and realistic.

One small problem I encountered was that the player interface is sometimes hard to get used to. Also, the controls are a bit annoying. For example, you may wish to deselect one group of soldiers and select another, but instead you will end the first group to where the second is. But this can be overcome once you get used to the controls.

Any avid strategy gamer must buy this game to get a different perspective on medieval warfare than what Age of Empires and Warcraft offer.

"A stronghold of a game!"

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: March 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

this game is filled with action. you lay seige to youre foes while defending youre own keep. it not just for the war types either you can also play economic missions and simply deal with the problem of youre people being happy. all in all this is and cool game for the young mind.

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