Stronghold: Crusader

"A kickass RTS game..."

Let see, I first got this when my friend burned me a copy of his own Stronghold game. I played that, and he said he got a new one...Stronghold: Crusader. I asked him if he could burn me a copy of that too, and he did. He gave it to me and I LOVED it. Here we go...

Game's Idea

This game is almost exactly like Warcraft, Starcraft and many of the other RTS games. Defeat the enemy and protect your own fortress. Build an Army to protect and than attack.

Gameplay 10/10

The graphics are simply amazing! This game is very fast paced and rarely gives any lag (Or at least on my computer, which is kinda slow, but not really). This game can be very difficult at times, such as a Two versus One, or Three versus Two (Three versus Two is a little easier, as you have a partner, in my opinion). You get to play in the Medieval days. You get to build Castles, and an army of your own. You can make peasants with their own houses, so you can build Barracks or Mercenary Posts to make more soldiers.
The object is to kill the enemy Lord(s). You gain a amount of items and gold for killing them.
Your castles, can have anything from moats to extra enforced walls, to fire traps, towers, gatehouses, and more.
Also, your soldiers can range from Archers to Pikemen and Swordsmen. You can also have siege units such as trebuchets and catapults.

Next is...

Story 8/10

Story mode is also amazing (Aw what the hell. The whole freakin' game is amazing!). With over 50 skirmish games, A campaign mode with 20 missions (Four historical campaigns, 5 Missions each), a Map editor, and many more, where can you go wrong? Internet play is also quite fun. You can have Allies in the game, and up to seven enemies!

Now to...

Sound 10/10

Medieval Music Rules! There are different songs for each moment of play. There is battle music (Attacking, defending music), joyful music, sad music and many other types.
There is also amazing sound effects such as when the enemy and your own army are fighting, the sounds of the soldiers dying, arrows flying, swords clanking against the enemy armor, taunts and speech of each different soldier. Amazing sound...simply amazing.

Replayability 10/10

Literally endless. You can play ever map, through the entire campaign, with different amounts of enemies and allies or teams of enemies. You can make your own maps for even more fun, or download different maps from other people.

Buy/Rent?

My Opinion: BUY! This game is amazing. You will not be sorry for buying this. You will get every penny worth.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/03, Updated 06/12/03