"Overall Crusader is a great game, but not without some flaws."
Before I get into gameplay there is one thing I want to address to avoid confusion: this game is Stronghold Crusader, not Stronghold Crusader Extreme, which is the most recent rendition of this game to be released. Stronghold Extreme is a much more difficult version of Crusader, and unless you are a glutton for punishment you will not want to seek out Extreme. I wanted to clarify the differences between the two games because regardless of sharing the name "Stronghold" they are very different experiences. Now back to Stronghold Crusader. The game is all about dominating the map in every mode and you must do that by creating a castle that will stand against your enemie(s). You start off in every game with a keep which is where the lord of the castle dwells. The keep is invincible to attack and with good reason: if the lord goes down so does his castle and all of his subjects. So needless to say it is imperative that your lord is well protected in time of siege. The castle funtions three ways: economically, socially, and militarily. Each element must be used effectively in order for your castle to function, and one cannot be used without the support of the other two. This aspect is a simple concept to grasp because it is logical. You need food/homes to support people, you need people to support castle functions such as making weapons and harvesting food/resources, and you again need people to create a strong military. Each one ties into the other in some way and they even overlap. Imagine one big circle. And of course other variables are involved such as happiness, living space, comforts, and if they are not provided people may begin to leave your castle. This can be fixed by building more homes to support more population, by building a tavern, by creating a church, or even by setting up flower beds around the castle to make your subjects feel better. And the neat thing about the flowers is if you set up enough of them your troops will receive up to a 25% combat bonus, but your workers will become lazy because of all the nice things. And naturally, it can go the other way too. There are a number of fearsome contraptions you can set up to increase fear and again, if you set up enough of those your castle's economy will function up to 25% more efficiently but your military will get penalized. I suppose the one single thing you will always need is people, because without people you will not have food, weapons, and resources. The general term "peasant" is a person who does not have a job within a given castle, but when you recruit new units like an engineer or an archer the peasants become those units. They can be trained to become other units such as swordsmen and crossbowmen. Each unit has its own strengths and weaknesses such as the crossbowmens' strength against other archers because it wears armor. The castle building itself is a fun and enjoyable experience because you have complete freedom concerning how you want to structure your fortress, providing you have enough room and resources. Aside from walls, towers of various sizes and shapes can be erected and specialized equipment like ballistae can be place on top of them to shoot at the enemy from a distance. Other things you would expect in a castle building sim appear such as spike pits, boiling oil, and moats. Each one of these elements adds to the defense of your castle, and once in place they will do wonders against enemy forces. The spike pits are absolutely lethal against anything that has the misfortune of crossing over them, and there is no defense against them. The boiling oil can be dumped over the edge of your walls during a siege to roast enemy units from breaking through your walls. The oil also causes a nice fire that spreads along the ground to set fire to other units. The moat is a useful tool because enemy troops move considerably slower while walking through it. Though the moat can be filled by the enemy it takes time, and if you have ranged units within view you can attack them. My point is each element works like it should as it would in a true siege. There are really no countermeasures against the aforementioned castle defenses I mentioned. Castle economics work like this: you build the workers' buildings, after that the workers are drawn from your available peasants, and they go to their job and begin to produce either food or weapons. After those conditions are met you can begin to build a military for further castle defense or to mount a siege of your own. Crusader features a few modes that will appeal to almost anyone because each one offers a completely unique experience. There is one mode that takes you through a long collection of battles and each one has its own set of variables such as foes and alliances. Another mode is the basic skirmish mode where you are able to select the map you play on, what opponents you face, etc. A third mode just allows you to build your castle in peace without anyone else on the map. This mode is cool because you can choose from a set of special options to initiate an attack if you want some action. Crusader's gameplay is tops but the game may not appeal to everyone out there. It is a difficult game that takes some getting used to.
Graphics in Crusader look good for the most part, but from time to time you might see little goofs like things clipping through other things. These goofs are nothing considerable and can be ignored but they still can be seen clearly. The game is set during the Crusades, and thus you will be fighting in mostly arid and sandy locations. A map or three will often have a water source of some kind whether it is a little river running through the region or a whole waterway that separates opponents from one another. The maps will also feature other geographical things like an oasis or three and rock formations. Castles themselves are impressive sights with their towers and walls, and when you stick a moat around it it actually looks pretty intimidating. And each character builds his castle in his own unique way such as how "The Snake" builds his castles in the shape of a large "s". Various units in the game are rendered well but they sometimes come across as blurry. Their shape and equipment allows them to be easily identified whether it be the rotund and bald tavern keeper or the bald and husky macemen. And the worker units will actually go inside their respective buildings and you can actually see them working. It is cool to watch a worker brew ale or an engineer boil up some steaming siege oil. A castle that is fully functioning is very detailed and it is fun to watch how the castle's wheels turn. The high point of any Crusader game are the sieges you will either partake in or be on the receiving end of. Sieging one on one is fun but unspectacular but when two or three players are sieging one player things get hairy-- and exciting. With projectiles flying through the air and a horde of swordsmen storming the walls, you will almost feel like you are there. It is very easy to get caught up in the action. The game's damage effects are designed pretty well because debris will fly and walls will crumble. And the one thing that is especially fun to watch is when something within an enemy castle catches fire and spreads, engulfing buildings and people alike. The large sieges are fun, spectacular, and very satisfying regardless if you are successful. They are definitely the gem of Crusader's graphics. Overall Crusader offers a decent presentation and a crisp appearance.
Crusader's music is a mixture of some very catchy Arab sounding tunes that are easy on the ears. The music is smooth and mostly instrumentals only with the exception of one or two tunes. They work well with the game's theme and add to the overall environment. The game features some voice work and often it is humorous depending on how you rule. Military units feature some very good voice work and they will sometimes comment on how far away you take them with a disgruntled, "What? All that way?" Aside from voices SFX in general is very good. Combat is matched with a faster and more urgent instrumental tune. During combat there is a myriad of sounds like the distinct "snap" of an arrow or the sound of metal clashing. The other aspects of a siege like flying rocks make an appropriate crushing and crashing sound as it smashes into walls and buildings. And should some unfortunate unit be in the path of a flying rock you will hear a satisfying "squash" sound. Overall sound is great in Crusader.
Crusader is a superb game if you are into building sims, and if you like castles then you should definitely consider Stronghold Crusader. It has several modes that offer a wide array of modes that are appealing to most peoples' likes. This game will appeal to those who like a challenge and to those who just want to play in peace. Though, as I mentioned earlier this game may not be for everyone because it is a tough game to be good at. And the thing is each AI character has his own strength and weaknesses. An opponent like "The Rat" is meat for a neophyte character because he has NO method to anything he does and his castles are a mess. On the opposite end of the spectrum there is "The Wolf" who is a very tough opponent. And since each one of them employs the same thing each and every battle, and if you can look by that Crusader is definitely worth your money and time. Overall Crusader is a great game, but not without some flaws.