The tanner marches to the cow pens, leads a cow back to his workshop, kills the cow, scrapes the hide clean and makes leather armor to carry to the armory. The second half of the title's appeal is the graphics, with each building, character, and livelihood in Stronghold exquisitely animated. There are a wide variety of items, both good and bad, to renovate any castle needing that special touch. For those of a more evil bent, "naughty" apparatuses like the hangman's gallows, chopping block, cesspool, and stocks will inspire fear and productivity, at the cost of popularity. Workers will appreciate the beautification, but productivity will fall from dilly-dallying. Additional "nice" items can be purchased, like a dancing bear, gardens, ponds, fountains, shrines, and so forth. Although Stronghold focuses more on military conquest than economy based missions, the only way to build the army is to make sure popular support back home is high, not always an easy task with the many threats to castle dwellers such as wolves, bandits, and fires, to name a few.īesides full stomachs, players can use ale to warm the spirits of the townsfolk, as well as religion to rally morale. Failing to fill cupboards spells disaster as workers leave for greener pastures. As any competent leader knows, a well-fed village will draw more people to the keep and help generate more taxes to fund the army. Half the game's charm is the balance between the need for economic prosperity and a military superiority. Stone and iron must be mined for walls and weapons, and raw materials transformed into goods such as baked bread, leather armor, swords, and more, obviating the need for a fairly decent sized task force. An infrastructure must be established to feed the peasants who will be fighting under your banner. Styled mostly after the Age of Empires games, you must decide where to locate a keep and granary, the heart of any fort. Stronghold breaks down the art of castle construction to the very bricks and mortar foundation. As a newly crowned lord, you must also protect and provide for the people - yours is an arduous task of building and battling before the final fight decides the fate of the land. As such a leader, you swear to avenge your father's death at the hand of The Rat, a spineless neighboring duke, and rid the counties of three others as well: The Snake, The Pig, and The Wolf. Peasants quickly swore allegiance to leaders who could provide protection in the form of castle walls. Fortunately, the game's balance and beauty will make it liked by players as well. At one point in Death of a Salesman, the main character, Willy Loman, sums up the key to success: "Be liked and you'll never want." Although the advice didn't serve him well in business, it applies nicely to Stronghold, where being "well liked" is crucial to successful castle building.
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