A review of Stronghold Crusader 2 should be read by each player before buying or downloading a game to a computer. This project is part of the line of the same name in the genre of strategy, which is not very popular among the masses, but has its fans. All details are present in this material.
Background
The Stronghold Crusader 2 review should mention the history of the entire line. The developers of FireFly Studios after the release of the first part made a pretty good reputation, and the Crusaders addition became even more successful. After that, company employees issued sequels one after another, but their essence was the same. They took the old concept and transplanted it to a new game engine. At the same time, in graphic terms, not very high-quality work of designers was felt. After long attempts to prove himself in the fantasy genre, the creation of MMORTS and other things, the developers decide to return to the roots. That is why the second part of the “Crusaders” appears in the world in 2014.
Graphics
In the new century, for every fan of the gaming industry, visual appearance is an important component, and therefore, in the Stronghold Crusader 2 review, this aspect should be mentioned.
The developers in this regard have taken the perfect step. They improved the graphics and at the same time left the style at the same level. Without sharp corners and sharp colors, the picture looks many times more pleasant, but fans of the ancient first part will not remain disappointed.
Familiar elements that return to the atmosphere of the original project are literally visible everywhere. In the design of buildings, those very barns, warehouses, huts and much more are recognized, only with an improvement. The lord constantly looks down on his settlement on the central town hall. Peasants out of work gather around the fire to warm themselves. This decision should appeal to the most “old” fans of the series, as well as newcomers. The developers tried to please everyone, and in this regard a very successful decision was made.
Plot and walkthrough
In the review of Stronghold Crusader 2 it is necessary to mention that the game came out in a narrow genre category of urban simulation. That is why the plot is completely absent here, as it was in the first part. Users can single-handedly build their settlement and fight enemies controlled by artificial intelligence.
Such an activity bothers for a couple of hours, and the multiplayer saves the situation. Fighting on a big map with real players is difficult and fun at the same time. Fans of the story campaign can be upset, as there is no way to go through it.
The concept of the game remained the same. The player begins his journey from a clean field, where he must build a real fortress with the help of peasants and his thinking. The gameplay can be divided into economics and military operations. The first component is needed in order to arm the maximum number of people and attack neighbors.
Balance in your settlement
A review of the game Stronghold Crusader 2 can not be done without mentioning how to develop the settlement. The welfare of the fortress is affected by the general level of satisfaction of residents, as well as the production of resources. Here the player can not focus on one direction, sacrificing another.
If there will be a lot of food in the barns, but the peasants will run away from the castle due to a low standard of living, then the result will be only negative. It can happen, and vice versa, when people get lazy to such a level that the production of resources becomes almost impossible. Too joyful peasants instantly fall victim to natural disasters, are not protected from attacks by neighbors, and work incredibly slowly.
Production processes are displayed according to the example of the first part. For example, to obtain bread, it is necessary to collect wheat, send it to the mill, and from there the obtained flour to the bakery, where the final product will already appear. Logistics also affects gameplay. If you place production on the outskirts, then the products will go to citizens for a long time.
Military component
In the review of Stronghold Crusader 2: Special Edition, it is necessary to describe the second part of the gameplay, which is war. Own settlement must always be strengthened. The soldiers are peasants who arm themselves through uniforms in the barracks. It must first be forged, otherwise there will be nothing to fight.
Walls remained one of the main problems of the game. If you enclose the entire settlement, then a point attack with a large detachment will quickly break through such a fortification. When defending the central part with a thick defensive structure from enemy raids, the open part of the settlement will regularly suffer. In any case, the player must take care of the presence of a tower with archers, cauldrons with boiling oil and ammunition. Without this, any settlement will be destroyed at first. Artificial intelligence is not very smart, but such a blunder will not forgive.
A number of significant disadvantages
Any review of Stronghold Crusader 2 in Russian or other languages will report one huge minus - a small amount of content. All of the above aspects are of interest in the first two to three hours. After that, fans who are familiar with the first part of the game will only shrug their hands.
The developers not only did not add any new ideas, but also cut out a significant part of the pleasant game mechanics. For example, the system of influence on the mood of the population is too simplified. Many buildings that provided entertainment or intimidated people simply disappeared from the list. There are no gallows, shameful pillars, statues, gardens and much more - the creators of the continuation of the cult strategy got rid of this. As a result, the atmosphere of the Middle Ages is no longer felt in full. The player does not have enough mechanisms to influence his own locality. The gameplay was simplified, but because of this it became boring and monotonous. This is the main disadvantage that the developers did not notice or decided to lose sight of.
Summary
In Stronghold Crusader 2 passing in the form of a single storyline campaign is completely absent. The developers relied on multiplayer competitions and gameplay. At the same time, they failed to provide the player with a sufficient number of interesting mechanics who would be forced to return to the project again and again.
It would seem that they should understand that the overall impression is a collection of smaller points. For example, people look alive when they stop in front of statues or gallows on their way, and after a while they rush to business again. There are no new ideas in the gameplay, it was simply completely transferred from the first part and made some simplification.
Even the reception with the assassins, who in the first minutes kill the enemy lord, did not want to fix it. For the first part, such moments were excusable due to innovations in the genre and year of release. The continuation, however, unsuccessfully exploits all the ideas and can drag on several fights with other players, but no more. It is enough to study all the mechanics, and nobody will want to act regularly according to the pattern, but there is no other way out.
System requirements
If the user decided to still try the game Stronghold Crusader 2 on his computer, then he should be aware of the system requirements. Despite years of release, the operating system may be Windows XP with the most recent updates. A standard 2 GHz Intel Core2 Duo processor and an NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT graphics card with 512 megabytes of memory provide comfortable entertainment.
These technical details can be replaced with those from the manufacturer AMD, the values are only specifications. The game occupies six gigabytes on the hard drive, DirectX of the ninth version is required as additional software. System requirements are incredibly low for the year of release, and therefore, in the absence of the opportunity to try new products in the industry, you can join the second part of the Crusaders for several hours.