TeAM YYePG

Another big problem with the A.I. is that
it tends to stand around while nearby
allies are getting pwned.
Sometimes it’s the little things that grab you:
Note the fact that this pack of deer is led by a
single stag, and check the nice water effect. If
only the actual gameplay enjoyed the same
amount of care.
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ed into a central stockpile, from which they are
then picked up by the processor, taken to his
shop, and used to create second-order goods.
These, in turn, must be brought back to the
stockpile and doled out to “end users.”
Everyone must share raw materials, and no
one can be given preference—kind of a Dark
Ages version of art class. While this might be
attractive for an anarcho-syndicalist commune,
here it only makes long-term urban planning
virtually impossible (you can’t know early on
which structures should be located closest to
the stockpile) as well as largely irrelevant
(other than the stockpile, it doesn’t matter
what buildings are next to each other).
Stronghold 2 allows you to retain your towns
and fortifications from mission to mission,
rather than starting over with a blank slate.
> In
While this sounds sweet, it actually ends up
being a major bummer, as your stockpiles will
forever be closest to buildings that were important
for the previous mission. And just to further
oxidize your chain mail, there’s no way to shut
down an individual shop if it’s sucking too
many resources (which the shops closest to the
stockpiles naturally will). Your only options are
to raze the culprit building or shut down the
entire industry in which it is involved. I can’t
believe this amazingly lame design decision
ever got past QA.
KING FOR A DAY
But hey, it’s not all bad news. While the A.I.
may not be the smartest head on the pike,
playing against other humans via multiplayer
can be entertaining simply because they make
the end, there’s just
not enough fruit underneath
all the rind.
REVIEWS
While the enemy A.I. doesn’t always thrill with tactical acumen, the
uniforms at least make for colorful battles. The pink knight always
triumphs!
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THE COMFY CHAIR!?
CRIMINALS IN STRONGHOLD 2 ARE
(unfortunately for them) subjected to a
very authentic reproduction of medieval
law-enforcement techniques. Marcellus
Wallace would be proud of the wide variety
of options a lord has for getting
medieval upon the asses of the slackers
in his midst. Your “torturers guild” can do everything from slapping a humiliating
donkey mask on a transgressor to introducing the back of his neck to
a battle-ax. Hell, you can even force criminals to form human pyramids
while your soldiers give the thumbs-up sign. No, not really. But the game
deserves props for its willingness to treat medieval “justice” realistically.
much more effective use of the diverse structures,
defense mechanisms, and units. And the
graphics, when they’re not lagging, are colorful
and highly detailed, conveying a real sense of
being there.
In the end, though, there’s just not enough
fruit underneath all the rind. If it’s an all-in-one
medieval strategy game you’re after, just Alt-
Tab really quickly between Medieval: Total War
and Castles II—that’ll come closer than
Stronghold 2 does. / Eric Neigher
Lots of potential; lots of
disappointment.
VERDICT
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