For a game with a zoom-in feature, there is certainly not much to zoom in on, with flat-textured characters and embarrassing animations. Starting up the game is like a trip to the medieval era of gaming, however, where 3D games were just finding their footing though a large step up from the 2D world, the graphics are objectively bad. This new addition to the series supposedly adds a new 3D engine with up-to-date physics to make it closer to a re-skin of the old titles. Stronghold Crusader II, like its predecessors, is a little bit Total War and a little bit Sim City, certainly a combination with lots of potential. Battle lions, heathens and the challenges of maintaining a population on the way to ultimate castle domination, but more interesting is developer FireFly Studios’ battle to build on a series long past its prime. Stronghold Crusader II seeks to provide excitement with the harsh realities of the situation: a lord at the behest of a king, trying to maintain and build up a castle in the face of many obstacles. You could be a knight, and slay a dragon or a king imbued with magic powers. The medieval times used to be the coolest era to thrust one’s imagination on.
