The Wargamer

More Bricks in the Castle Wall

There are several additions to Stronghold 2 that, on the back of the box, appear enticing. The game is now presented in full, rotatable, zoomable 3D, which in most cases is a big plus. Players can now move around their castle and examine its every angle, as well as admire the pastoral forest and field maps where most of the game is played. New graphical bells and whistles like scenic waterfalls and babbling brooks add considerably to the atmosphere that the game projects. 

There is a crime system that requires the aspiring lord to build guardposts, dungeons, and torture devices (everything from stocks to gallows) to keep the criminal element of his castle at bay. Criminals will steal food from the granary (and not, it seems, more valuable things like weapons or wine) and also contribute negatively to the sentiment of the people to the aspiring lord’s rule, which can eventually compel them to leave. 

There is also a new ‘honor’ system that gives the player points for giving out extra rations, holding feasts, jousts, carnivals and also building things like churches that everyone (at least in the 11th Century) enjoys immensely. These points are used primarily in the head-to head Kingmaker mode, which will be explained next. 

There are now two paths to choose: the path of peace, which concerns the player mainly with economic and building objectives, and the path of war, which focuses primarily on building massive, steel-bristling castles and raising hordes of units to thrash the enemy. This reminds me of the Caesar series of city-building games, which gave the player a choice for each scenario in the campaign to choose either a peaceful or military assignment, and it makes sense since many of the developers that worked on Stronghold 2 also lent their talents to Caesar and it’s sequels. 

Within each of these paths are a few different modes of play. The path of war features a Kingmaker mode that pits the player against several AI (or human, in multiplayer) opponents over a swath of territory divided into estates (think provinces) that can be conquered. As each lord expands, he builds up his provinces to gather more resources and produce more units, and attempts to conquer (by siege or by pitched battle) the other lords’ estates and castles. He who triumphs in the end is crowned king and spends the rest of his natural life feasting on roast suckling pig and drinking wine. But here’s the kicker; in order to gain control of estates, the player has to spend honor points. There’s no other way to convert neutral estates except by holding feasts and keeping the people happy, which, in my opinion, doesn’t make a single grain of sense.

What’s Old

The basic premise, despite all these improvements, is the same. The objective of the player in Stronghold 2 is to build an economically sound base, a strong castle, and defend his castle against all comers, while simultaneously expanding his own domain. It’s a tall order for a player new to the game, but the first few missions of the campaign are extremely easy, so the learning curve isn’t steep.

Even in the Kingmaker mode, the game strongly resembles its predecessor. With distant estates and the bonus they provide, the principles required for winning are the same. Only in the on-combat modes, where the player is required to build up a successful economy, does the formula change a bit. But, since economics in Stronghold 2 are mostly about building the right buildings, waiting for resources to accumulate, and then building more buildings, this part of the game grows boring very quickly, especially once the novelty of watching citizens go about their daily business fades away.

There is a single-player campaign. The story revolves around a young prince and his efforts to defeat an evil villain by building up his castle and eventually taking the fight to the enemy. I played the first few scenarios, then lost interest. Most gamers, given the poor storytelling and the general deficiencies of the game, will probably do the same as the plot is not compelling.