Stronghold
Published by Firefly
Genre Sim-meets-RTS
Similar to AoE with turrets
Rating (1 - 10) 9
Reviewer Richard Egan
Review date June 2002

If you like your real-time strategy historical, stop reading this and go buy Firefly's Stronghold.

Now.

If the shops are closed, fetch your credit card and follow this link now.

This is the best game I have played in ages. OK, it took me a little longer than usual to settle, but after that ... thank you for the recommendation, Mr Cudmore.

Stronghold is a real-time strategy game (good start), where you build, defend or besiege castles. Sounds like a small bit out of (hushed tones) Age of Empires? Yesssss .... but in this game the development and deployment of your brewers, tanners, fletchers and farmers is so elegantly balanced, the whole so convincing with its witty sound effects, that it's more than one game in itself: military campaign, economic campaign, seiges and more. You want multiplayer? You got multiplayer. You want solo? You got fries with it.

Utterly charming, too. The spoken "Welcome, Lord Richard" at each gamestart made me smile, but the first time I was hit by a trebuchet-propelled cow, I was too busy grinning to win. And I didn't care.

Burning oil, moaning peasants, and you get a gallows to cow them into submission (trebuchet-cow them, if you want). There are priests, pits and drawbridges. Heck, it's just that good.

This is just about the first RTS to seize my imagination since ... well, since AoE. And let me tell you, I've played 'em all - Cossacks (OK), Seven Kingdoms (bad) and umpteen others my bank manager doesn't want me to remember. But this ... ah, yes ... I need to go play some more.

Tip: Firefly are in production on a Crusader expansion. "Oh! Extra rations ..."

Richard Egan

 


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