4/30/2023 0 Comments Stronghold warlords previewIt’s rich in detail, but it looks dated at the same time, if you know what I mean. Visually, Stronghold: Warlords is not a very impressive game – it surely tops the Stronghold Crusader II from 2014, but that’s like saying that cobblestone beats mud as road-building material. On some maps, building space is pretty scarce, so that’s one more obstacle to consider. On top of everything, you need to make sure that there is enough housing for all those peasants you need for an efficient economy. More advanced units have more requirements, like lances, armor, and horses for the strongest cavalry type. For example, if you plan to upgrade your ranged force to include archers, you will need a fletcher workshop. Some resources, like wood and iron, need to be further refined for combat use. Apart from food, you will need wood and stone for building the pieces of that noble chain, and later, iron for the units more complex than basic spearman and blowpipe skirmisher. Happy peasants can be taxed more heavily – gold is necessary for the most potent military units and several important buildings, so setting up the “chain of happiness” that enables influx of cash is the priority. Food is needed to boost your workforce’s morale, and each additional variety besides rice (meat, vegetables, tea…) pumps the happiness up. The economic part feels like a game of its own. This “scripted strictness” is the major flaw and those rigid campaigns often feel like extended tutorials that prepare the player for skirmish and multiplayer, modes in which you or the multiplayer host sets up the limiting factors. You will rarely have the opportunity to do things your way, either because the mission objectives lead you on the predetermined path or because the arsenal of units and buildings is strictly limited. Campaign missions almost always follow the script of goals and engagements, offering very little free-form gameplay and freedom of choice. Engaging with warlords is rarely optional – they often provide the materials you lack (stone, iron…) or much-needed reinforcements that you’ll desperately need to overcome the main challenge in each mission. There are several types of warlords, each providing different resources or services as a tithe – „Mouse“ warlord, for example, can supply rice and other foodstuffs. Their vassalage can also be obtained by peaceful means, investing diplomatic points in a bidding war with your primary opponent, but those points are usually needed for „buying“ the resources and reinforcements from other warlords you already own. On most campaign maps, there are several mini AI strongholds that are initially neutral once you or your opponent plow thru their (meager) defenses and subjugate their warlord that chills on top of the keep, their allegiance will be secured, which translates into an occasional influx of building resources, combat reinforcements, diplomatic boost or something else that can be used. Apart from those campaigns that span 1500 years of history, there is also multiplayer, skirmish, and a free building mode for the zen-minded castle builders.Ī second significant new thing for the franchise is the concept of warlords. The fifth campaign is purely economic, devoid of combat and conquest, and fully oriented to economic matters, supply chains, and tight schedules. From the proto-Vietnamese civilization of u Lạc and the early Qin empire, you will transition to Gengis Khan’s Mongols, ending up in Sengoku era Japan for the grand finale. Instead of a medieval European setting, the game covers several major empires from the far east, offering five single-player campaigns. The first new thing here is the focus on east Asia.
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