2001's Stronghold was a mediaeval real-time strategy game about constructing and destroying beautiful castles. Series developer Firefly Studios are now putting out the game's second re-release with Stronghold: Definitive Edition, releasing on November 7th.
The even newer edition features the original game's two campaigns alongside a new one designed by studio co-founders Simon Bradbury and Eric Ouellette. The fresh campaign takes us across the "devastated English hinterland," while presumably doing what you'd expect from the series: gathering resources, managing your economy, building stuff, and waging war. Here's our first look:
]]>From our first years we know what it means to build. As babies we're given clacky wooden blocks and colourful Duplo bricks. We are architects long before we are capable eaters of raw carrot. If you're anything like the staff of RPS, you've not outgrown the habit of child-like town planning. Yes, building games often take a managerial approach (at least many on this list do), but a sense of play is always present. It's there when you draw out a road in Cities Skylines, just to watch it populate with toy-like traffic. When you brick up another hole in your mighty Stronghold to fend off enemy swordsmen. When you painstakingly dig a trench for water to flow in Timberborn, just like you did all those years ago on the beach, in an effort to stop the tide washing away your sandcastles. You'll find all these games and more on our list. So here you go: the best building games on PC.
]]>With Stronghold: Warlords recently announced at E3, now seems as good a moment as any to look back on the game that kicked off Firefly’s seemingly endless series of castle ’em ups back in 2001. In fact, I’m genuinely astonished to learn that Warlords will be the ninth game in the series, as despite loving the first instalment, I’ve managed to play precisely none of the rest. Stronghold was a very literal tower defence game, with some light-yet-satisfying citybuilding and management elements. It also had the vague feeling of being a 14th century take on Home Alone, as you would build up your castle, then surround it with concentric layers of horrid traps in order to thwart waves of pikemen, macelads, swordboys and horseblokes.
]]>A new edition of Stronghold 2 [official site] is coming to Steam with some fresh textures, a nicer interface and, most importantly, fully restored multiplayer – a feature that has been missing since GameSpy Arcade collapsed and died in 2013, rendering matchmaking impossible. The new edition will also be free for anyone who already owns the Stronghold Collection, say developers Firefly Studios in a video explaining all the small licks-of-paint and changes to the game. A video which you, my friend, can find ↯ dowwwwwn theerrrrrrre ↯
]]>Stronghold Crusader 2 skips away from the muddy fields of Wales (I assume most castles are in Wales because I saw one there as a child), returning to the dust and deserts of the Holy Land (not to imply that Wales is the Unholy Land). I think of the first Crusader spin-off as being a more traditional RTS within the Stronghold mould and what I've seen of the sequel backs that up. The main difference between this and the first may well be the actual castle construction, which looks like it'll allow some creative thinking. Slightly dodgy voiceovers aside, the latest trailer has some appeal and the new details on the skirmish mode suggest it'll be easy to escape the constraints of the campaign.
]]>Buy three Strongholds, get one free? No, no, that's not right at all. It's 'buy Stronghold 3, get Stronghold 1 free.' Because that's what happens should you pre-order Stronghold 3 on Steam: you'll get to re-dabble in the beloved 2001 castle sim. But when does it happen, I hear you ask? (I didn't hear you ask anything,actually. I'm not a psychic or a madman who hears voices. I did hear a seagull go 'qwaaaark' in the distance however, and I'm pretty sure he meant 'but when does it happen?' Then he insulted my mum.)
This is when it happens: it happens RIGHT NOW.
]]>Promising build'n'bash'n'badger game Stronghold 3 has moved first from a Spring then to a Summer and then September release date and now to a nebulous 'Autumn' release date - which is bad news for anyone who, like me, is currently reading A Dance With Dragons and was hoping for a bit of brutal castle sieging afterwards. However, the change in date brings with it a shiny new trailer, and news that it bears a whole new publisher.
]]>I went to see Firefly's long-awaited strategy sequel Stronghold 3 last week. It's a game about constructing some castles and destroying others, and it looks rather jolly. But jolly in a 'squalid medieval life and constant war' kind of way. Here's some details, impressions and even some trailers for you...
]]>The Stronghold news is twofold:
]]>2011 will bring a second sequel to the castle-management series which famously outsells GTA in Germany, publisher Southpeak Interactive has announced. Firefly Studios return to the development chair for a title about which little has yet been revealed, bar "a significantly improved graphics engine and new gameplay elements." This is presumably in addition to the previously announced MMO, Stronghold Kingdoms. If you don't know anything about Stronghold, enlighten your brain with Kieron's Making Of feature from a couple of years back.
Press release below, not that it's super-illuminating. So I've thrown in a Stronghold Crusader Extreme video for good measure.
]]>[Way back when Firefly were revealing Stronghold 2, I had a chance to talk to Simon Bradbury about the genesis of their big-in-Germany management RTS and its demi-sequel, Stronghold: Crusader. As usual, this originally appeared in PC Format. All sales stats referenced are circa then.]
It’s easy to underestimate something like Stronghold. We shouldn’t. As far as a games go, it’s been an incredible success. Ask our colleagues in Germany about it and you’ll receive a voluminous response. Over there it outsold Grand Theft Auto. It did it with nothing more than be a good idea (i.e. Make a castle, defend it and knock down someone else’s), well executed. Unique enough to attract an audience yet familiar enough not to confuse, it’s no surprise that it found an expansive and devoted fanbase. However creators Firefly have a far longer history, whose lessons directly contributed to their later successes.
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