Stronghold 2 (PC CD)

Game play 9 /10
Graphics 10/10
Sound 10/10
Last ability 9/10
Overall 9.5/10

The gameplay would be 10 but the game slows down when too many troops on map.

2 full story line capaigns, King maker (you and up to 7 AI lords), prebuilt seiges, free build, custom senario map maker and Multiplayer

All stronghold and most stronghold crusader troops plus 8 new troops including axe men, thieves (steal from enemy's treasury), out laws, new mounted unit and Pictish boat warrior (carries mini boat).

2 new siege equipment: Straw wagons (to set on fire) and cats (massive arrow shields on wheels) plus giant seige towers as well as small

Army formations and Knights can mount/dismount

The king can be healed from the apothecary and mount/dismount as well

New towers, gatehouses etc including a sally port(a hidden gate)

All in 3D

MY MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There is also lots more economics like crime for which you have to place guard posts, a courthouse, dungeon, torture guild and of course torture equipment of which there is a vast selection. Also honour plays a huge amount in stronghold 2 as you need it to rise up the ranks from free man to Duke and also affecting the number of knights you can create. You gain honour by setting up jousting tournaments running churches, feasting (for which you have to set up several more food chains including eel farms) and having lots of different types of food in your granery. You now have to make candles to run churches meaning as well as cloth for clothes. Perhaps most important is the disease aspect with gong (rubbish)needing to be carted away and falconers to be hired. As well as all the economics there are more ways of crushing your foe and defending your castle from your enemies, including rolling burning logs ofer your walls and dropping stones on their heads. Now you can also conquer or buy nutral or enemy lands as the map is devided into realms.
So all I can say is this is a brilliant sequel, no matter what anyone else might say. If you liked the original or just like combat rts combined with castle sim you will love this game!

Oh and another thing: each map is divided into sections with castle areas and village lands which you can buy or capture (if your enemy owns them) and then set them up to cart resources to your castle. (but you must defend the village of course!)

The game goes into so much detail that you can even bet on jousting tournaments you set up!

However, not much has changed from the previous Stronghold titles. You still have to hunt or grow food using the same equipment, create hovels to accommodate your peasants etc...but now you have the advantage of purchasing estates to expand your territory using the honour system. This relates to your popularity and how well you are doing. The more honour you have, the more you can expand, providing you have an adequate army to invade your enemy first.

You can now also host royal banquets, depending on the size of your keep. The more you invite increases your honour too.

Another nice touch is that if you don't take proper care of your land, eventually rats will infest your area, creating havoc, not to mention a crime rate rising. However, you can keep this under control from either being a gentle ruler, or an oppressive tyrant...the choice is yours.

In my opinion, the best part of the game is getting to view the absolutely epic battles and sieges available in 3d. Truly magnificent, and it certainly keeps you on your toes.

There's a basic tutorial for complete beginners to the stronghold mechanics, but if you've already played the previous versions I'd suggest not bothering.

Overall I'd say that Stronghold 2 wasn't the revolutionary experience I'd hoped for, but by no means is this a bad game. It does offer new challenges and I will keep coming back to this, especially with being able to create your own maps once again.