FireFly Studios' Stronghold 2

The Good
Let's Talk Game play : The length of the first few missions felt appropriate, there was definite pressure to do things in a timely fashion. I liked dealing with the peasantry and the interface for the town.

Let's Talk Graphics: For the time, the graphics are fine. The FMV's are well done and set the mood well. The buildings are recognizable without being bland. Animations are smooth (see graphics in negative section).

Let's Talk Sound: The voices are well done - not pitch perfect cockney accent's, but well spoken and clear. Good narration.

Final Points: I paid $20 for this game, and the initial 30 hours or so was fun. This is usually what a game offers us.

The Bad
Let's Talk Game play: The difficulty curve is steep, it seems to double on one mission and just keep climbing. The need to balance military and economics makes this feel like 'Stalin's Dilemma' (look it up). Soldiers also have no sense of 'personal space', if you want your archers to form efficient formations you are going to spend a lot of time individually ordering them to a spot.

Let's Talk Graphics: No clipping, look at the screenshots - that is very disconcerting. When your avatar overlaps some enemies and you're staring at a strange Vishnu like being with flailing arms... That's not exciting.

Let's Talk Sound: As with any strategy game, the answering calls of troops quickly becomes grating. In particular here the gushing “Your royal archers!” will have you grimacing the first time and swearing the fiftieth.

Final Points: I paid $20 for this game, and I was very let down after the 30 hour mark. The troops don't seem to work well together, it doesn't feel well thought out. I'm sure they put a lot of love into this game, but they missed the mark with me.

The Bottom Line
Stronghold 2 does a very fine job of atmosphere, from the voices to the peasants mumblings to the simple and comprehensive industry that takes place in your castle/stronghold. In some missions there are Monastery’s outside that produce warrior monks, and other nice medieval touches. They certainly did their research into period, they just don’t seem to have given the engine the polish that I am accustomed to.

Your Avatar (always in full plate - whether attending church, going for a stroll, etc) makes the game fun. You can slay a goodly number of men in single-combat, but not so many that it feels unrealistic.

Building also feels well executed, the 'placement' mats for buildings and walls (especially after patching, where you can build extended walls instead of single sections) work well.

If you are truly a strategy nut, you might like this game. My biggest qualm is that the economy and military aspects don't mesh well. I had fun playing 'village' with the peasants, but the invaders and rival castles are off-putting, your main distraction will always be industry rather than warfare. A little like playing Civilization where you are trying to achieve literacy and industry and a computer player keeps sending Dragoons at you every two minutes or so.