Stronghold: Crusader is the successor to Firefly Studios's 2001 game Stronghold.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. 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.In Stronghold, the player takes the role of a lord in a kingdom. The goal is to create a stable economy and a strong military to defend against invaders, destroy enemy castles and accomplish the mission objectives.Stronghold contains several modes of gameplay, with both combat based and economic missions. The main game mode is the military campaign, which is based upon a map of England. The backstory to the campaign begins when the King invades a barbarian enemy, where the King is captured and held for ransom. Four Lords take control of the Kingdom, dividing it into their personal territories. The player is represented by a young, inexperienced commander, whose father is killed in an ambush by one of the villains, helped by two lords remaining loyal to the king. The player then has to regain control of the Kingdom, re-gaining control of one county each mission. The player has to defeat each of the four Lords in the campaign, receiving help from the King once he has been successfully ransomed mid-game. An economic campaign is set after the main campaign, where the player re-constructs parts of the Kingdom. The player is set goals to complete against a variety of obstacles, such as bandits and fire.Other game modes are one-mission combat and economic scenarios, where the player has to complete either military or economic goals. A Siege mode is included in the game, where the player may attack or defend several historical castles. Free build mode is another game mode; here the player has the option of building a castle without any objectives. More scenarios can be created for the game using the built-in map editor.Screenshoots :
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