Make sure to Subscribe and Like!Facebook http://www.twitter.c. The game will mainly be based around skirmish gameplay, similar to the original Stronghold Crusader title. This will include, as with the original Stronghold Crusader, skirmish trails; in which players need to fight through linked skirmish maps with different set-ups in a particular order.

Stronghold: Crusader is the successor to Firefly Studios's 2001 real-time strategyvideo gameStronghold.^[2]Crusader has much in common with the original Stronghold, but differs from its predecessor in the fact that the game is no longer set in England, instead being set in the Middle East during the Crusades.^[3] Another prominent addition not found in its predecessor is a skirmish mode in single-player, allowing customized battles with AI opponents instead of the linear campaign. The game was also released as Stronghold Warchest. This version was a compendium of Stronghold and an enhanced version of Stronghold: Crusader, containing additional characters and an additional Crusader Trail.

Stronghold Warchest was only released in a limited number of countries (e.g. USA or Poland), meaning players in the rest of the world have never encountered the second Crusader Trail, or second set of characters. This changed when an updated version of Stronghold Crusader, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme was released in early 2008.

Campaigns[edit]

Stronghold Crusader features several real-time strategy campaign strings. These document the First, Second and Third Crusade, as well as conflicts within the individual Crusader states. Each campaign comprises several battles, such as Nicaea, Heraclea, siege of Antioch, Krak des Chevaliers and the Siege of Jerusalem. The game also features the Crusader Trail, a series of 50 linked missions against various opponents. Stronghold Warchest adds one more Crusader Trail, consisting of 30 linked missions.

Gameplay[edit]

The gameplay is similar to the original Stronghold, the major difference being that the game is set in the Middle East. As a consequence, farms can only be built on oasis grass, which leads to rivalry among players for limited farmland and resources. The game adds new AI opponents (the number depending on the version of the game) and several new Arabian units purchasable from a mercenary post. The colour of the player's units have also been changed from blue to red in order to match the colours of the Knights Templar. Other than farms there are other resources such as iron ore, quarry (for stone), and marshes (for oil). These resources are deposited on the stockpile and the player can choose to either sell or use them for defense purposes. There are two ways to build an army; either make the weapons and then spend a little gold to turn peasants into soldiers, or turn them directly into soldiers using more gold via the mercenary post.

There are historical chapters (mostly fictionalized) which are to be completed using the resources given to the player at the start of the missions. Along with that there are 50 levels designed with increasing difficulty. In each level, the player must defend the kingdom and defeat one or more Kings. There is an option of three chickens at the start of the game which the player can use to skip a particular level.

There are 30 additional levels added by the developers in the form of an additional Crusade Trail. The design of these mirrors the original 50 levels with the difficulty raising as the player progresses through the levels.

Characters[edit]

The game contains several different characters that all appear as AI-controlled lords in the Skirmish mode, available to be selected as allies or enemies. One unique aspect of the game is that the characters have individual binks (small short videos) by which they communicate with the player, asking for goods or help if allied with them or, if they are the players' enemy, taunting them when attacking or expressing worry when under siege. These videos were absent for Stronghold 2 but returned in a new form for Stronghold Crusader II.

In the base game, eight AI lords are available, including the opponents from the original game (The Rat, The Snake, The Pig, and The Wolf), as well as new Arabian and Crusader lords (Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, The Caliph, and The Sultan). With the Warchest edition, eight additional lords were added. Three of these (Emperor Frederick, King Philip, and The Sheriff) were made available by Firefly as a free download, but the five others - The Wazir, The Emir, Nizar (based on the real-life Hassan-i Sabbah), The Marshal (a repurposed Sir Longarm from the original Stronghold), and The Abbot - had to be obtained via buying the Warchest package. These additional lords were, however, properly included within the game's later release on Steam at no extra charge.

Reception[edit]

The game received 'generally favorable reviews' according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[4]

According to Edge, Stronghold: Crusader sold at least 100,000 copies in the United States, but was beaten by the first Stronghold's 220,000 sales in the region. Total US sales of Stronghold games released during the 2000s reached 590,000 copies by August 2006.^[14]

Stronghold: Crusader Extreme[edit]

On January 28, 2008, Firefly Studios announced an expanded version of the game: Stronghold: Crusader Extreme. It boasts 'new AI opponents and maps', a 'new crusader extreme trail', 'battles featuring over 10,000 units' and Windows Vista compatibility.^[15] It was released in June 2008.

It also contains an updated version of the original Stronghold: Crusader, which includes everything except for outposts, the god powers and the Extreme Crusader Trail. However, if the official HD patch is installed, outposts can be built on maps on the original Stronghold Crusader part of Stronghold Crusader Extreme.^[16]

Reception[edit]

The Extreme version received 'generally unfavorable reviews' according to Metacritic.^[17] It was criticized for its extreme difficulty, lack of new audio, and not having graphical quality up to par for a game released in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Sequel[edit]

On August 30, 2012, Firefly Studios announced Stronghold Crusader II, a sequel to the original Crusader game. The company said that the game would be self-published, with additional funding to be sourced via crowd-funding site Gambitious.^[23][24][25] The game was released on September 23, 2014.

References[edit]

1. ^Parker, Sam (September 19, 2002). 'Stronghold: Crusader goes gold'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
2. ^ ^abChick, Tom (October 3, 2002). 'Stronghold: Crusader Review'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
3. ^'Stronghold: Crusader'. Firefly Studios. Archived from the original on December 24, 2006.
4. ^ ^ab'Stronghold: Crusader for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
5. ^'Stronghold: Crusader'. Computer Games Magazine. theGlobe.com. January 2003. p. 83.
6. ^Luo, Di (January 2003). 'Stronghold: Crusader'(PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 222. Ziff Davis. p. 110. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
7. ^Brogger, Kristian (December 2002). 'Stronghold: Crusader'. Game Informer. No. 116. GameStop. p. 149. Archived from the original on August 11, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
8. ^Abner, William (November 3, 2002). 'GameSpy: Stronghold: Crusader'. GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
9. ^Giacobbi, Kevin 'BIFF' (October 3, 2002). 'Stronghold: Crusader Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
10. ^Polak, Steve (October 8, 2002). 'Stronghold Crusader'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
11. ^'Stronghold: Crusader'. PC Gamer UK. Future plc. November 2002.
12. ^Peckham, Matthew (December 25, 2002). 'Stronghold: Crusader'. PC Gamer. Vol. 9 no. 13. Future US. p. 85. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
13. ^Pratchett, Rhianna (October 18, 2002). 'PC Review: Stronghold: Crusader'. PC Zone. Future plc. Archived from the original on September 21, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
14. ^Edge staff (August 25, 2006). 'The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century'. Edge. Future plc. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
15. ^'Stronghold: Crusader Extreme'. Firefly Studios. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008.
16. ^ ^abTodd, Brett (June 23, 2008). 'Stronghold Crusader Extreme Review'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
17. ^ ^ab'Stronghold: Crusader Extreme for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
18. ^'Stronghold Crusader Extreme Review'. 1UP.com. Ziff Davis. June 3, 2008. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
19. ^Hollingshead, Anise (July 21, 2008). 'Stronghold Crusader Extreme - PC - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on January 20, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
20. ^Ocampo, Jason (June 10, 2008). 'Stronghold Crusader Extreme Review'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
21. ^'Stronghold: Crusader Extreme'. PC Gamer UK. Future plc. August 2008. p. 74.
22. ^'Review: Stronghold: Crusader Extreme'. PC Zone. Future plc. September 2008. p. 72.
23. ^'All Game Projects'. Gambitious. Archived from the original on September 3, 2012.
24. ^Davey, Jamie (August 30, 2012). 'Firefly Studios announces Stronghold Crusader II for PC in Late 2013'. GameWatcher. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
25. ^'Firefly Announce Stronghold Crusader 2'. Firefly Studios. August 30, 2012. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2018.

External links[edit]

• Official website via Internet Archive
• Stronghold: Crusader at Firefly Studios
• Stronghold: Crusader at MobyGames
• Stronghold: Crusader Extreme at MobyGames

Stronghold: Crusader is the successor to Firefly Studios's 2001 game Stronghold.^[1] Crusader has much in common with the original Stronghold, but differs from its predecessor in the fact that the game is no longer set in a pseudo-Europe, instead being set in the Middle East during the Crusades.^[2] The game features several new Arabian units that can be purchased in a new building, the mercenary post. Though the Arabian troops do not require any resources to produce, they are rather expensive. The game was also released as Stronghold Warchest. This version was a compendium of Stronghold and an enhanced version of Stronghold: Crusader, containing additional characters and an additional Crusader Trail.

Stronghold Warchest was only released in North America, meaning players in the rest of the world have never encountered the second Crusader Trail, or second set of characters. This changed when an updated version of Stronghold Crusader, Stronghold Crusader Extreme was released in early 2008.

Campaigns[editedit source]

Stronghold Crusader features several real-time strategy campaign strings. These document the First, Second and Third Crusade, as well as conflicts within the individual Crusader states. Each campaign comprises several battles, such as Nicea, Heraclea, siege of Antioch, Krak des Chevaliers and the Siege of Jerusalem. The game also features the Crusader Trail, a series of 50 linked missions against various opponents. Stronghold Warchest adds two more Crusader Trails, one consisting of 30 linked missions and an Extreme Trail consisting of 20 linked missions.

Gameplay[editedit source]

The gameplay is similar to the original Stronghold, the major difference being that the game is set in the Middle East. As a consequence, farms can only be built on oasis grass, which leads to rivalry among players for limited farmland and resources. The game adds new AI opponents (the number depending on the version of the game) and several new Arabian units purchasable from a mercenary post. The color of the player's units have also been changed from blue to red in order to match the colors of the Knights Templar.

Characters[editedit source]

The game contains several different characters, available to be selected as allies and enemies. The opponents from the original game make a return, as well as new Arabian lords and crusaders being available.

• The Rat(Duc de Puce): The Rat was raised as an only child in lands belonging to the de Puce family. The duke showed his mother favour ensuring that she never paid taxes and always had enough to get by. One day a messenger came by and it was revealed that his father was the same Duc de Puce whom his mother had once worked for as a serving wench. Due to an unfortunate accident the entire de Puce family had been lost at sea whilst returning from holiday leaving the Rat as next in line to inherit the title of Duke.

• The Snake (Duc Beauregard): The Snake was once governor of some of the richest provinces in the homeland where he made an extremely fruitful living from underdeclaring the taxes he collected but, when the king found out, he had him posted here to the 'new colonies'. During one of his first military encounters, he went up against the Lord’s father losing an eye to him in combat. On that day the Snake swore he would not rest until the decapitated heads of your entire family were lined up on spikes outside his keep.

• The Pig (Duc de Truffe):When the Pig was born it is rumoured he looked so hideous that his parents abandoned him in the street. Whatever the case, it is known that he was taken in by a group of traveling bandits who raided small towns and villages throughout the homeland. Whilst growing up with this small army of rogues he was vastly underfed; however, after developing a crude but effective understanding of basic military tactics and being nominated as their leader, the Pig made sure that he had first call on the best foods after each raid and has overeaten ever since. He is quite tough, and won't go down without a fight.

• The Wolf (Duc Volpe): The Wolf's past is shrouded in mystery and what is known of his history is mainly patched together from stories and unreliable rumours alone. This aside, it is believed that both his parents died from natural causes in close succession shortly after his eighteenth birthday.

• Richard the Lionheart: The Lionheart has a reasonable grasp of the region's economy for a soldier, but it is in the field of battle where he is in his element. Brave and fearless, his ability to siege a castle is second to none.

• Saladin: More than any other Lord, Saladin dominates the desert economy. He will be in no great rush to lead his forces out into the field, but when he strikes, it will be from a position of power.

• The Caliph: Cruel and vindictive, the Caliph is skilled at bringing misery to both his own people and to yours. If he can get his tyrannical act together, his underhand methods of fighting will prove a constant thorn in your side.

• The Sultan: The Sultan is more...say...a poet, than a warrior, preferring feasting to the humdrum matters of running his own castle. In short not the sharpest sword in the desert. His people love him, however, and his soldiers will fight well to defend him.

The following characters only appear in Stronghold Warchest (though the first three are downloadable from the main site)

• Philip II of France:King Phillip seeks glory and prestige from his desert adventure. His reckless insistence on the use of his knights as his main fighting force is more often than not, his undoing.

• Emperor Frederick: Emperor Frederick is perhaps the best all-round strategist in the desert. There are few weaknesses in his armour and left alone he will over time become a mighty force.

Stronghold Crusader Fansite

• The Sheriff: The Sheriff is the cruelest lord in the land and easily the most underhand. He will use Arab or Crusader alike, along with every dirty castle defense he can lay his hands on, to further his own self-interest.

• The Nizar: The Nizar may catch his enemies by surprise if caught unprepared for his swift and silent tactics. His island like castles are only effective on low ground and can be tricky to attack.

• The Wazir: The Wazir is a mean spirited leader with a fiery temper. His persistent use of horse archers make him an annoyance, although his siege technique leaves a lot to be desired.

• The Emir: The Emir is a kind hearted and easy going Arabian leader. A good all rounder who manages his economy effectively as well as his attack tactics...which he does...in force!

• The Abbot: The Abbot considers himself entrusted with the defense of his faith. His vindictive monks will continually amass in vast numbers to pull down the walls of their enemies.

FireFly Studios

• The Marshal (Sir Longarm from the original Stronghold): This retired fighter tends to play things a little more cautiously than he once did. The sight of his knights sallying forth from his castle is still a warning to anyone however.

Stronghold Crusader Extreme[editedit source]

On January 28, 2008, Firefly Studios announced Stronghold: Crusader Extreme. It boasts 'new tactical powers', 'new AI opponents and maps', 'new crusader extreme trail', 'battles featuring over 10,000 units' and Windows Vista compatibility.^[3] It was released May 28, 2008.

References[editedit source]

1. ↑Stronghold: Crusader Gamespot review
2. ↑Stronghold: Crusader official website
3. ↑Stronghold: Crusader Firefly Studios' official Website for Stronghold Crusader Extreme

External links[editedit source]

• Stronghold Crusader at MobyGames