Stronghold Crusader II

Stronghold Crusader II is a real-time strategy video game, developed by Firefly Studios, part of the Stronghold series. It was released on September 23, 2014. It is the sequel to their 2002 title Stronghold: Crusader.

Stronghold Crusader II
Developer(s)Firefly Studios
Publisher(s)Firefly Studios
Producer(s)Paul Harris
Designer(s)Simon Bradbury
Programmer(s)Matt de Villiers
Tony DeLibero
Artist(s)Benjamin Lloyd Thomas
Writer(s)Simon Bradbury
Composer(s)Robert L. Euvino
EngineVision
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseSeptember 23, 2014 [1]
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

The first gameplay demo was given to journalists at E3 2013 and the first gameplay trailer, showing pre-alpha footage, was released at Gamescom 2013. Both the demo and trailer showed off several new aspects that the game will introduce to the series.

Features
Stronghold Crusader II gameplay

The game is the first of the Crusader series to feature a 3D graphics engine, but will not retain all of the elements of the original 2D game while adding new features such as "new units like the cruel Slave Driver, new beefed up AI opponents, dynamic on-map events like the Locust Swarm",[2] as well as "new visuals, a new battle interface, and engine enhancements including effects, animations, and real-time physics."[3] A brand new feature to the series is co-op multiplayer, in which 2 players take control of a single castle to share units and resources while fighting against common enemies.[4] Crusader II will feature both a Crusader and Arabic historical single player campaign at launch.[5] The game will mainly be based around skirmish gameplay, similar to the original Stronghold Crusader title.[6] This will include, as with the original Stronghold Crusader, skirmish trails; in which players need to fight through linked skirmish maps with different set-ups in a particular order.[7] The game is expected to be based more on warfare with little but substantial government.

Extras

As with previous titles in the series, there is a full map editor for users to create and share custom maps for the game.[8] Robert Euvino, who worked on previous titles in the series, composed an all new soundtrack for the game.[9][10]

Critical reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic65/100[11]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot6/10[12]
PC Gamer (US)64/100[13]

The game received mixed to positive reviews on release, as of 29 November 2014 garnering an aggregated score of 66% on Metacritic, based on 28 critics' reviews. It has been praised for striking a good balance between the economic and military aspects of the game and staying true to the series and its strategy roots. Conversely, some critics labelled the latter as "nostalgia" and felt it lacking in some areas, in comparison to contemporary strategy titles.[14]

gollark: Although I think that performance on older devices getting worse is *generally* because of software developers getting used to having more power to throw at things, not a conspiracy.
gollark: Apple was documented as doing that, although for battery life reasons.
gollark: I mean, "governments do mass surveillance lots" and "some companies will say false/misleading things to sell you stuff" are not very conspiracy-theoretic at this point.
gollark: I mean, for the individual CPUs, yes, but probably not the whole server.
gollark: €$250£?

References
  1. "Release Date Announced". 2014-05-27. Archived from the original on 2014-05-27. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
  2. "Stronghold Crusader 2 and the Quest for the Holy Crowdfund". Thesixthaxis.com. 2012-08-30. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  3. "Stronghold Crusader 2 announced, coming late 2013". Vg247.com. 2012-08-30. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  4. "E3 2013 - Stronghold Crusader 2 Eyes On Impressions". Co-Optimus. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  5. "Stronghold Crusader 2 Getting Arabic Campaign at Launch". 2013-10-24. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  6. "Building a sequel: Firefly's blueprint for Stronghold: Crusader 2". IncGamers.com. 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  7. "Stronghold Crusader 2 - Community Q&A Part 3". fireflyworlds. 2013-07-11. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  8. "Stronghold Crusader 2 - Community Q&A Part 2". fireflyworlds. 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  9. "Stronghold Crusader 2 - Community Q&A Part 5". fireflyworlds. 2013-09-19. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  10. "Stronghold Crusader 2 - Music and Sound FX". fireflyworlds. 2013-09-10. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  11. http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/stronghold-crusader-ii/critic-reviews
  12. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/stronghold-crusader-2-review/1900-6415894/
  13. https://www.pcgamer.com/stronghold-crusader-2-review/
  14. "Stronghold Crusader II for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-29.
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