User Reviews (1 - 11 of 47)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Fabulously addicting

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 53 / 53
Date: October 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Anyone who likes real-time strategy (Starcraft, Age of Empires) will love this game too. Especially if you were the kind of defensive player who enjoyed putting up walls and towers more than mobile armies (although both have a role in Crusader).

The economy is significantly more complex than most of the previous games in this genre, so it will take some practice to get good enough at building a stable economy that you can concentrate on warfare. (E.g. training crossbowmen requires: you are popular enough to have free peasants; you have crossbows, and leather armor; having weapons requires an armory to store them; crossbows require someone to make them, who in turn needs wood from woodcutters; leather armor requires a tanner, who needs to get cows from a dairy farm. Any one of these links can be broken, especially during warfare, and suddenly you can no longer make more crossbowmen.)

Compared to their first release (Stronghold), the minor tweaks have improved the game. A mercenary camp lets you build an army at the beginning, instead of waiting until the midgame. Trees and potential farmland are now limited to an oasis (this being the middle east instead of England), which has the effect that there are now resources to fight over from the very beginning.

But don't just take my word for it. Firefly/GOD offers a free demo (of both Stronghold and Crusader) with a few very playable, very fun levels. Get the demo and try it out! You can decide yourself whether you like the gameplay enough to purchase it.

This game is UNBELIEVABLE!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 37 / 39
Date: June 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is the greatest game Ive ever played bar none. When I was in highschool I loved Civilization 2. I recently got a computer and wanted a good game. I bought Civilization 3 and it seemed to have lost something. I cant put my finger on it but it just didnt have the soul. Or maybe I have changed and need more exitement. Well anyway I took a chance on Stronghold Crusader and havent stopped playing since. This game is simply amazing. You build up a castle(kind of like sim city). You have to build houses for the people and cathedrals. The graphics are simply beautiful. The battles are very INTENSE. And strategy changes on each skirmish. What worked in one, dosent get you anywhere in another. This game has the soul I was talking about earlier. I really feel angered when my castle is getting burned down. I take it personal. How many games emmerse you to the extent that you get so involved in the game. I havent ever taken a game so much to heart. Take a chace on this one. Its not very expensive and has kept me at it for many days. Very addictive. And the thrill of beating a lord who has been given you a hard time. That thrill of victory is priceless. Go out and buy this game. NOW!

Better Than The Original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: April 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Endless hours of gameplay is all I have to say. I have yet to tire of this game. You have to be concerned with all of the micro-management of the original Stronghold. You're opponents are more challenging. One aspect of this game that is very challenging is that most areas are arid (desert) regions, so finding areas to grow food can be difficult. Don't worry, that's what makes it more fun. Resources are scarce and enemies are plentiful and vicious. The Wolf, the Rat, the Pig, and the Snake are all back, along with a few new characters to get on your nerves, in a good way.

For those who may have not played the original, you will want to buy this after you have played Stronghold, or you may be disappointed. You don't have to play the original to appreciate this game but it helps.

For those who are new, the idea is simple: keep your people fed, protected, and happy, and they will serve you well. Build an army, make sure there is enough money in the treasury, keep an eye on your rations, maintain sufficient resources on your stockpile, stock your armory with weapons, and eliminate your enemy. It is a wonderful real-time war game, that requires you to focus on more than war.

The regular one-player story mode has about 50 missions, so it will take you a while to complete that aspect. All of the other modes will keep you occupied if you get bored with that, and if you are totally bored, create your own maps and scenarios. I use the term bored losely because it is almost impossible to do with this game.

The best strategy game ever!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 19
Date: August 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

When I installed the demo, I thought this will be just another one of those boring strategy games. But I was 100% wrong...

This game is simply amazing to the highest degrees. And extremely fun and DANGEROUSLY addicting and time consuming. I know that the full version will have more features, but still the demo is awesome. You only have 3 options in the demo: Very Easy, Easy, and hard. It took me a whole week to beat all 3 difficulty levels. Richard the Lionheart was the most difficult to fight. It has features from Caesar II (the fire and mini video clips) and from Pharoah (tax control)...

It has a variety of characters, things to build, events, unexpected enemies, and a whole lot of new stuff that does not appear in any other RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game...
Enjoy...

Excellent game. Dangerously addicting

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: January 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The gamer who gave 2 starts to this game obviously has no clue of good games. I agree only on the part that rotation could be better. Thats it, the rest is awesome.

Graphics: 9
Sound: 8
Concept: 10
Difficulty: 9

You have ability to build your stronghold castle the way you want it and this game requires you to think every move you make to crush your enemy, otherwise you'll loose it fast.

Therefore, your success depends on food supplies, religion(building church or temple), tax rates in order to grow your population (HINT). In addition, stone, iron and wood supplies
will allow you to build strong castles with all kinds of towers and add armory and other buildings. The more people you have the faster army you can build and you have to keep them happy(again enough food, good tax rates and bless them with your priest), otherwise they leave your castle and you loose it.

From Archers to Horse Archers, from Swordsmen to building Catapults with Engineers to knock down enemy castle you are in control of your battle.

I have 1MHz Pentium III Dell machine with 384MB of RAM (PC 133) and decent 64MB geForce 4 TI 6200 video card and DO NOT HAVE ANY technical issues especially controling the characters.

The bottom line get it, enjoy and ignore bad reviews. Those people cannot run todays games on 16MB video card and 64MB or RAM. I dont have top-of-the-line PC, however yes I recently added more RAM and good video card and enjoy it since.

IS YOUR MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 24
Date: February 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I've played several real-time strategy games and this is without a doubt, one of the best. I didn't believe the original Stronghold could be outdone--but it was by Crusader.

The large maps provide an excellent backdrop and challenging scenarios. Crusader has the first thing I look for in any game, the opportunity to build my own scenario maps. The graphics are so well done and detailed, that I am going to use the scenario builder in home schooling my daughter for a geography project. We will use it to build maps, creating various land and sea structures to make topology fun and exciting.

The super scenario editor, coupled with the in-game scenarios help to produce endless hours of medievilism. The 50+ scenario campaign takes you through the entire Middle East to attempt Christianizing the populace. The editor allows the oposition to be an unbeatable seven enemies at once on the same map. Besides the Age of Empires trilogy I know of no other map-building, real-time strategy game where this is possible (excluding those fantasy games, which I stay away from). If you are not in the mood to fight, you can build without a threat in the free-build map.

I have only made it through the first 10 scenarios in the giant Middle-Eastern campaign and already have had to restart a few individual scenarios more than once to try again. After finally getting through it in several settings, I looked on the score card and discovered I had spent anywhere from 7-9 hours on that particular scenario ... unbelieveable. I have a family, do I want to invest the time and energy in conquering the Middle East that Crusader demands ... YES! When I'm through I plan to replay the campaign in defense of the Middle East.

Crusader is not just a game. It is a time consuming hobbie that could cause a divorce if you let.

Good Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: January 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Stronghold: Crusader, the follow up to Stronghold, does a good job fixing things that did not make sense in the first game, and bringing a whole new look to the second version. The idea for battling in new terrain is excellent. The challenge is to fight for every spare inch of irrigated land for your food, without it you are dead. The new units such as Arabian Horsemen and Fire-Throwers are excellent. One pick with this game is why is there no level selection? You can only play on one level, and on the first version you could choose between many different levels of difficulty. Also, there should be an easier way to look at the entire playing field instead of just being able to turn on 90 degree angles for viewing. But overall, this game is done well and you will be playing for hours. Almost a perfect comination castle simulation and city/economy simulation. B+

Joseph Dworak

this game is awesome!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: October 31, 2002
Author: Amazon User

this game is awesome especially for people who like age of empires or the first stronghold which is not as good but still fun.I highly recomend you buy this game and if your not sure then just play the demo.this game is from a helocopter point of view except not that far up and theres lots of things you can do.This game rules with diffrent traps that you can use against the enemy thats trying to get in your casle.PLEASE advice that this is not easy and YOU will need practice which is another reason i like this game.Its all that and a bag of chips.

Simply the best rts game to date.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: September 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I am very particular about the games I buy, This is without a doubt the best stradegy game I've ever played. This game is not only good , but will keep you entertained for guite a while because there are so many options to choose from. I agree with some of the other reviewers, I played this game for 8 hours, never got bored,because the time just seemed to past by, highly addictive. This game just keeps you so in to it, you don't want to stop , just remember there are 4 main objectives, to getting you going in this game,taxes,food protection, and religion. Make sure your popularity stay above 70 until you get your castle established pretty well. I kept the tax level to no taxes, until I got every thing going to my advantage, then you can go up to above mean taxes if you wish. Try this game out , I seriously don't think you will be disappointed.

stronghols crusader; more than just an expansion

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: July 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

stronghld crusader is not merely an expanison, this could be whole nother game. you have at least as many new units as old, plus four new oponents. you can have aliies now, and trade goods with them. the campiagne is much more challenging then in stronghold,so you shoulld becaome prettty weel oreinted before you play it. the custome game opption is a lot of fun because you set wich aponent you are playing based on your skill level. if you like games where you actually have to think about what you do, and enjoy building up your base before atttacking, this game is for you

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 Next 

Actions