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70 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lego meets 'Braveheart', 10 Nov 2001
By A Customer
Stronghold is an interesting game, chiefly because its the first one I've ever played that
successfully combines AoE type combat with Caesar style construction and economic management.Unlike AoE and Warcraft, the medieval villages and castles in stronghold do a pretty good job of
looking and behaving realistically. Thanks to the excellent design of the game the added spice of economic management is less of a chore than in other similarly 'deep' titles. The presentation is outstanding. The isometric 2D graphics engine widdles all over the latest 3D RTS graphics, with smooth unit animation, trees that blow in the wind and some of the best animal animation I've ever seen in a game (watch the wolves hunker down when shot at, or the hunting dogs sniffing the ground, and gasp). When a villager (say, a fletcher) enters his workshop, the side of the building becomes transparent and you can watch as he goes through the various processes involved in making a bow. Sound is equally good. With proper recorded medieval mandolin and vocal music.. which adds loads to the atmosphere. I'd have to say that anyone with an interest in the middle ages will *adore* this game for its ability to immerse you in the sights and sounds (but thankfully not smells) of the time. There is also a healthy slab of slightly gritty humour throughout too.. which is more than welcome. Battles are suitably chaotic to watch, there doesn't seem to be a limit on the number of units that can be present on-screen, and again, the sound effects are extremely effective at communicating the carnage of battle. A full-blown siege in Stronghold feels very much like a scene from the film 'Excalibur'. What the game has in depth it predictably lacks in scope however, there is a relatively small selection of infantry and archer units available, and the action takes place in a very small historical time-frame. There is no open-field warfare either, despite the engine being more than capable. Nor do the military units have a complex stats system that gives them bonuses against certain other units (the classic 'rock-paper-scissors' of many of the popular RTS titles). The action revolves entirely around castles.. building them, attacking them, defending them.. This is where some gamers may be put-off Stronghold, and others will really warm to it.. The fact that the units are badly mismatched forces you to best use the terrain and to design your castles to best utilize the units you have. Take archers.. these are pathetic units that suddenly become deadly when put in the right places in your turrets or on your battlements. The decision to make infantry capable of demolishing stone walls has come in for some criticism, its just not very realistic. However,
realism does not a great game make. In reality, castles were nearly impossible to penetrate, even with just a handful of soldiers in them, and most sieges were prolonged affairs were starvation was often the deciding factor. By making the castle walls penetrable, the game designers have balanced the game toward the attacker, so that the defender has to utilize as many soldiers as he can muster to end the siege quickly. Likewise many people would want to see a game mode where opponents can build castles on the same map, and others would suggest that doing this would make the game descend into the usual 'grab the mines and build more men' of just about every other RTS on the planet. Another point of contention is the number of bugs in the game. Its true there are a number of bugs.
However, I've not yet encountered a really nasty one and a patch is due for release any day now
which should hopefully address them all. The fun in stronghold battles is in the careful preparation of your defenses, followed by a
period of sitting back and chuckling as enemy infantry are burned to a crisp by your pitch ditches, skewered by your pit-traps, savaged by your war-dogs and mowed down by your arrows. Of course, things don't always go so smoothly, there is a bewildering array of siege weaponry available for attackers to use against your carefully placed ramparts.. including the classic 'cattle with plague' ammunition. ..And thats about it, theres an (excellent) 21 mission campaign, a dozen 'economic' missions for those who balk at battle, another dozen or so missions of a similar style to those of the campaign and a choice of nine (not twelve, unless your one of the lucky few that pre-ordered from the US) historically accurate castles to either attack or defend. Oh yes, and theres a free-build option where you can build the biggest castle you possibly can without the threat of invasion (yawn). As it stands, Stronghold is good value for money and is great fun, but it needs some additional meat before it gets on my 'favorite games' list. I can't see a random map generator working, but there is a map editor.. its a fair prediction that there is going to be many many more scenarios available for download over the internet, and I reckon this will give the game more lasting appeal. The only other thing that might possibly go into a patch would be some way of 'testing' the castles you build in the free-build mode.. an 'attack now' button with maybe the option of the strength of the attack would be a great feature (hint hint). I also detect the
distinct scent of expansion packs too...
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