Stronghold 2 is a real time strategy computer game released in April 2005 in which the player develops a stronghold in the Middle Ages. It is the sequel to Stronghold, released in 2001, also by Firefly Studios.
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Stronghold 2 | |
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Developer(s) | Firefly Studios |
Publisher(s) | 2K Games |
Designer(s) | Simon Bradbury |
Programmer(s) | Andrew Prime Will Wilson Warrick Buchanan Andrew McNab Bob Kang |
Artist(s) | Darren White Robert Thornley Jorge Cameo Jason Juta |
Writer(s) | Simon Bradbury Casimir C. Windsor |
Composer(s) | Robert L. Euvino |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
The game engine was enhanced over the original Stronghold to provide full 3-dimensional graphics. Other changes include new military and peace campaigns and the addition of crime and punishment, allowing players to torture unruly peasants. A number of new characters were also introduced.
In the game, players take on the role of a lord who rules over a medieval castle. With their available resources, players place buildings or features, including many different kinds of food production, industry, civil, or military buildings and defences. Available peasants automatically choose jobs whenever a building requires one, so player micromanagement is minimal; players mostly set up the various buildings in an efficient way while providing safety for their peasants. Military units are directly controlled individually or in groups, sometimes quite large with sieges or battles involving many hundreds on each side. One addition to the original Stronghold is the inclusion of estates that players can "buy" with their accumulated honor (gained by popularity, holding feasts, dances, jousting, etc.). Estates are semi-independent villages (without castle fortifications) that produce their own goods that owners can send via cart to their castle or allies.
The inclusion of fully 3D-rendered graphics allowed Stronghold 2 to include tower interiors as battlegrounds for units, and the ability to go observe castle inhabitants very closely, which is useful for the new features of waste and rat management. As in the original Stronghold, players can choose from several different play modes: Kingmaker, Siege, War Campaign, Peace Campaign, Freeplay, Custom scenario, and Multiplayer (Originally hosted by GameSpy). An extensive map editor allows the creation of custom maps.[citation needed] From 2014, multiplayer is not supported by the service GameSpy.[citation needed]
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | 63/100[1] |
Publication | Score |
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1Up.com | C[2] |
Computer Games Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Computer Gaming World | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Eurogamer | 7/10[5] |
Game Informer | 6.75/10[6] |
GameSpot | 5.9/10[7] |
GameSpy | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
GameZone | 8/10[9] |
IGN | 6.7/10[10] |
PC Gamer (US) | 84%[11] |
The Sydney Morning Herald | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[1]
According to Edge, Stronghold 2 sold at least 100,000 units in the U.S., but was beaten by its predecessor's 220,000 sales in the region. Total US sales of Stronghold games released during the 2000s reached 590,000 units by August 2006.[13]
Stronghold series | |
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Main series | |
Crusader series | |
Spin-offs | |
Companies | Firefly Studios |