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