Stronghold Crusader 2 (SHC2) is the successor of the 2002 game Stronghold Crusader and the latest installment in the Stronghold Series. It came out on September 23rd, 2014[1], with the game being available on Steam, getGames.com, The Humble Store and Amazon.[2]
New content[]
For more information, see this link: Crusader 2 Fact sheet
Stronghold Crusader 2 introduces a lot of new content while inheriting numerous features of previous games in the franchise. New features (excluding downloadable content):
- 3D Vision engine instead of a 2D engine, with similar tile-based placement of buildings and units.
- Steam support, along with friend lists and game invites between fellow users.
- An Arabic skirmish trail, resembling the Crusader Trail from Stronghold Crusader.[3]
- 8 AI characters with different play-styles and personalities.
- Recurring opponents: The Rat, The Wolf, The Caliph, Richard The Lionheart and Saladin.
- New opponents: The Shah, The Slave King and The Sultana.
- A selection of new unique units:
- European units: Sergeant-at-arms and the Templar Knight.
- Arab units: Whirling Dervish, Slave Driver, Sassanid Knight and the Healer.
- Siege engines: the Fire Ballista, the War Wolf and the Hussite War Wagon.
- Special abilities for some units: a whirling attack for the Dervish, a defense aura for the Sergeant-at-arms and the Slave driver(only affects slaves), and a charge ability for the Sassanid Knight, the maceman and the mounted Templar Knight.
- Multiplayer cooperative mode, which allows multiple players to work on the same castle (resembling the Castle Builder mode), in player versus computer games as well.
- Togglable dynamic events during battles, such as sandstorms disturbing vision, lightning strikes, fire, tornados and locust swarms.
- Units use tools to destroy walls instead of their standard melee attack.
- Refurbishment of the economic system.
- Unique Arabic and Crusader building styles, as players can choose their own AI character face in Skirmish mode.[4]
- New housing system based on distance from the keep (derived from Stronghold 3).
- Unit groups can take certain formations (derived from Stronghold 2).
Content (under construction)[]
Stronghold Crusader 2 Buildings | ||
---|---|---|
Castle Buildings | Fortifications | Walls • Gatehouses • Stairs • Mangonel • Ballista • Haybale launcher |
Towers | Small Tower • Medium Tower • Large Tower | |
Defenses | Brazier • Hoarding • Man Trap • Barricade • Wardog • Oil Smelter • Pitch Ditch | |
Industry Buildings | Stockpile • Woodcutter's hut • Quarry • Ox Tether • Iron Mine • Pitch Rig | |
Farm Buildings | Granary • Meat Farm • Dairy Farm • Apple Orchard • Wheat Farm • Hops Farm • Brewery • Mill • Bakery | |
Town Buildings | Hovel • Church • Apothecary • Well • Water Pot • Inn • Market • Chandler's Workshop | |
Military Buildings | Barracks • Mercenary Post • Siege Camp • Stable • Fletcher's Workshop • Artillator's Workshop • Poleturner's Workshop • Weaponsmith's Workshop • Blacksmith's Workshop • Forge Workshop • Armourer's Workshop | |
Related Articles | Keep |
Stronghold Crusader 2 Units | |
---|---|
Barracks | Conscript • Man-at-arms • Archer • Ranger • Crossbowman • Maceman • Pikeman • Swordsman • Templar knight • Sergeant-at-arms |
Mercenary Post | Slave • Arabian bowman • Horse archer • Oil pot thrower • Arabian swordsman • Assassin • Slave driver • Healer • Whirling Dervish • Sassanid knight |
Siege Camp | War wolf • Mantlet • Catapult • Trebuchet • Burning cart • Fire ballista • Battering ram • War wagon Mangonel • Ballista • Haybale launcher |
Stronghold Crusader 2 | The Rat • The Wolf • Saladin • The Caliph • Richard The Lionheart • The Shah • The Slave King • The Sultana |
DLC | The Princess • The Pig • The Templar • The Duke • The Emperor • The Hermit • The Jackal • The Khan |
Stronghold Crusader 2 Game Modes | |
---|---|
Single Player | Skirmish Trail • Custom Skirmish • Sandbox |
Multiplayer | Skirmish |
Merchandise and debut[]
Stronghold Crusader 2 has been available for purchase on Steam. The game could be pre-ordered before release, in which case ordering players received the product at a reduced price, the 'Justice' and 'Freedom Fighters' mini-campaigns, ten unique crests and a Power Pack for Stronghold Kingdoms.
Stronghold Crusader 2: Special Edition can also be ordered for more content. This order involves the above content, plus a digital artbook, a library of the game's soundtracks and a free copy of Stronghold Crusader HD on Steam. [5]
Development[]
For the development history, see the game's development log.
Stronghold Crusader 2 has been in development since 2012 by Firefly Studios. The staff continuously collected community feedback and gradually revealed game information for 2 years before its release, in order to provide the best user experience possible. In Spring 2014, Firefly Studios pinpointed a release date of September 2nd, 2014, however bugfixes and other adjustments delayed it until the 23rd. Various bugfixes and balance changes have been released since then, mostly based upon user criticism and feedback on the official forum.
Stronghold Crusader 2 includes few expansions subsequent to the initial release, giving access to new AI characters to compete against, skirmish trails and two mini-campaigns:
- Princess and the Pig (March 20th, 2015)
- The Emperor and the Hermit (May 13th, 2015)
- The Templar and the Duke (July 1st, 2015)
- The Jackal and the Khan (November 6th, 2015)
- Stronghold Crusader 2: Delivering Justice mini-campaign (December 18th, 2015, initially remained exclusive to those who pre-ordered Stronghold Crusader 2 or those who purchased the Ultimate Edition)
- Stronghold Crusader 2: Freedom Fighters mini-campaign (Initially remained exclusive to those who pre-ordered Stronghold Crusader 2 or those who purchased the Ultimate Edition)
Videos[]
Gameplay screenshots[]
Concept arts and wallpapers[]
Requirements[]
Minimum | |
---|---|
Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo or higher |
Processor | 2 GB, 2 cores |
Video Memory | 512 MB |
Hard Drive Space | 6 GB |
Operating System | Windows XP/Vista/7/8 |
DirectX Version |
v9.0c |
Connection (for multiplayer) | Broadband |
Note: from NVIDIA cards, at least GeForce 8800GT is needed. For ATI/AMD cards, at least Radeon HD 2900XT is needed.
External links[]
Stronghold Crusader 2 Related Websites
Articles and Interviews
- 2013.01 interview with Hooked Gamers
- 2013.03 interview with Strategy Informer
- 2013.03.25 interview with RTSguru
- 2013.04.23 interview with fwd.lt (in Lithuanian)
- 2013.06.18 article on Polygon
- 2013.06.25 article on gamer.nl (in Dutch)
- 2013.06.27 article on RTSguru
- 2013.08.27 article on Hooked Gamers
- 2013.09.04 video about the Caliph
- 2013.09.17 article on The 6th Axis
- 2013.10.18 pre-alpha footage: Lord Seraxia
- 2013.11.12 article on Gaminglives
- 2014.01.14 article on GGSGamer
- 2013.06.13 community Q&A video part 1
- 2013.06.27 community Q&A video part 2
- 2013.07.11 community Q&A video part 3
- 2013.07.25 community Q&A video part 4
- 2013.09.19 community Q&A video part 5
- 2013.12.19 community Q&A video part 6
References[]
[]
Stronghold Franchise | |
---|---|
Main series | Stronghold • Stronghold 2 • Stronghold 3 |
Crusader series | Stronghold Crusader • Stronghold Crusader Extreme • Stronghold Crusader 2 |
Standalone games | Stronghold Legends • Stronghold Warlords |
Other | Stronghold Kingdoms • Castle Attack • Castle Attack 2 • Crossbow Commander |