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Venom's Stronghold Crusader Extreme Review....
Hey guys, Venom here, coming at your from his new connection :). I have had a chance to test out the new Stronghold Crusader Extreme game made by FireFly Studios. To be honest, I actually really like the game, have played a ton of it the last few days, testing out all the many settings for it and found it to be actually alot of fun. I have not played the single player version yet, nor did I ever play much of the Stronghold Crusader single player version, so I can't review those at this time, but I give a thumbs up to this new Extreme. Give it a chance and it will grow on you if you are already a fan of SHC. You can make all kinds of rules to fit your style, like no special powers inside keep, etc. Just like we all play no fire in SHC, same thing, just cause its part of the game doesnt mean it has to be used. I have heard from a few of you that "I dont like the game", or "its stupid", well give it another chance, play the mutliplayer version and it will grow on you, rest assure. They are great wars of mayham and destruction and I can't stop laughing during most the games because I am so bad at it. Remember, its not supposed to be exactly like the original Stronghold Crusader, just like Stronghold Crusader was not just like Stronghold. CHEERS GUYS !!
June 10th, 2008 :
Hello everyone, as you all know by now SHCx (Stronghold Crusader Extreme) is out in stores and there is a room in GameSpy Arcade for it. Also many of you know that Venom hasn't been able to run this site the last month due to his home situation and lack of computer and internet, but have no fear he will be back in a couple weeks, with a new connection. Also this site will be expanding to cover the new FireFly Studios game and we will be adding new forums and sections for it in the coming weeks once Venom is back. Stay tuned for upcoming details on Events for SHCx and SHC and also news..[/color]
May 5th, 2008 :
Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone, have fun and do not drink to much. Great news, there is a new release date for SHCx, aka, Stronghold Crusader Extreme, and thats now MAY 13th, 2008 according to GameSpy Site sources. Thats only a week or so away, lets all get off out butts and support it by buying shall we?
April 30th, 2008 :
Everyone here at the Stronghold Crusader Web Portal is still awaiting the release of Stronghold Crusader Extreme. Should be coming out May 27th, 2008 from what I hear. Congrats to this site for being up and running now 4 months. With over 120,000 hits in that short time it has quickly zoomed up the Google site list, now on the top of the 2nd page of searches for "Stronghold Crusader" and "Stronghold Crusader Extreme", soon we will be on page 1. We have over 200 registered users who browse our forums, downloads, and arcade games every day. We encourage individuals to email the Wizards of Gamespy in hopes of starting back up the Official Stronghold Crusader Events.
April 20th, 2008 :
The Event for today has been postponed, look for further details soon, sorry.
April 7th, 2008 :
The 2v2 Event for April has been changed to th 20th. Please pm me in IGZ or GameSpy or on this site if you are interested in playing. also there is more news about SHCx, looks like its being released May 27th, 2008. Here is a recent article about it.
...by...Jason Ocampo of IGN...
April 1, 2008 - Stronghold Crusader was a fairly engaging strategy game when it was released six years ago, but six years is an awfully long time for the PC platform. Crusader was the second game in the Stronghold series, which are medieval-themed strategy titles that task you with creating a viable economy that allows you to raise and maintain large armies. Unfortunately, the series stumbled with Stronghold 2, a buggy 2005 game that introduced a 3D graphics engine, and it hasn't really recovered since. So what to do if you're developer Firefly? The answer is that you apparently team up with publisher Gamecock and prepare Stronghold Crusader Extreme, which is essentially a repackaging of Crusader along with new content that is geared toward hardcore fans of the series. This is a release that's basically being aimed at two opposite crowds: those who have never played Stronghold Crusader before and would like to get a package that includes all the content produced for it, and those who are so gung-ho about Crusader that they're willing to tackle "Extreme" content that consists of highly-challenging scenarios designed not for the faint of heart. The "Extreme" content in this package is very daunting. For example, the very first scenario puts you head-to-head against a much larger foe, and you only have a minute or two to prepare before they attack. However, you're only given a handful of archers and pikemen for defense, and there's no time to even establish the basics of an economy. Even if you did have time, you're positioned against the edge of the map, so there's barely any room or resources to exploit. Before you know it, dozens of slingers are assaulting your position. It looks like an absolute no-win scenario, and this is just the very beginning! We have no idea of even how you survive this onslaught, as we tried a number of different tactics that all failed. Odds are then that you'll probably turn to the regular Stronghold Crusader content. If you've already played that game, then there's nothing new here. If you're a newcomer, there's certainly interesting gameplay to enjoy, though the production values for the game are very dated at this point. The graphics are all 2D in nature, and the preview code we played with only offered two resolutions: 800x600 and 1,024x768. That means the game looks very pixelated, especially on large, widescreen displays.
Like a city-building strategy game, the gameplay revolves around establishing economic chains that can support a larger society. You play as a medieval lord with domininion over an area. Your subjects need to eat, so you've got to make sure that wheat farms are created, orchards planted, cattle herded, game hunted, and so on. This requires raw material, so you need to make sure that woodcutters, stone cutters, and miners are at work in the countryside. As you accumulate raw material, you must employ crafters, smiths, and artisans to refine them. When you have enough weapons and armor, you can equip soldiers, which can then be used to crush your enemy.
Still, essentially rereleasing a six-year old game at this point strikes us as a bit of a strange move. We're not quite sure how many hardcore fans of Stronghold Crusader there are, though again, this seems like a decent package for those with very low-end systems, in other words, almost everyone with an integrated graphics chipset. Stronghold Crusader Extreme ships in May.
March 27th, 2008 :
IGZone site is back up and running, so go to www.igzones.com to register IF you are having problems registering let me know on the FORUMS here or PM me on this site. To let you guys know the FORUMS for IGZone take a different account, so if you want to particpate in those you need to have another registry for that, it can be the same id or a different one. I am also still looking for some moderators for this site, looking to expand it to other games including SH. Check out the forums and apply to help run this site under "Application".
March 25th, 2008 :
There will be a Stronghold Crusader Event coming up on Saturday April 20th, 2008. This will be a 2 vs 2 Event, so start finding your partners now. Any skill level is welcomed and you do not have to be in a clan, but you MUST have a partner. The Event will be held in the IGZone Stronghold Crusader Lobby. The map and rules for the Event will be posted in this website in the next week or so, they will be listed under the "EVENTS" header to your left, and the map will be under the "Map Vault-Event Maps". IGZone site is still down, they will have it up soon, you cannot use IGZone unless you have registered, and you can't register until the site is back up. It should be working soon.
March 23rd, 2008 :
IGZ has now patched their client for Stronghold Crusader and it works GREAT ! They have some really cool features that GameSpy Arcade does not, including built in Clan managing, NOBODY can put tags on unless the Clan leaders approve it under thier accounts, (Dont you hate when GameSpy players pretend to be in your clan?) well this stops that, they also have some other great features, some download the new .106 Client IGZ .106 Client HERE . I am also still looking for some moderators for this site, looking to expand it to other games including SH. Check out the forums and apply to help run this site.
March 20th, 2008 :
International Gaming Zone Client is .105 right now, like gamespy's 2.0.5 you could say. It includes a SHC Lobby and Room. .106 update will be coming out very soon, I have heard maybe even tonight. So keep check www.igzones.com to see if its posted. That update will allow us to start using the game rooms in the SHC lobby. Keep checking back here for updates.
Also in other news SHCx (Stronghold Crusader Extreme) has a few video's out there right now, the game is looking pretty cool and should be alot of fun. With a release date in May. Check out www.ign.com for those videos, search "Stronghold Crusader Extreme".
March 17th, 2008 :
Hey guys, great news, the International Gaming Zone release .105 for their client, which INCLUDES now SHC into their lobby system, come join us there , download it here Download !!! it works just like gamespy with rooms and game lobbies. You need to register just like gamespy to get an ID. Register here REGISTER Ok guys, we asked for it, we all voted, they made it, now lets use it so then they might add SHCx to their lobby system also when that comes out in May.
March 12th, 2008 :
Some great news guys, there are is now a new chatting feature built into this site. SHC Live Chat, look for it in the top left corner. Use the same login and pass for this site and live chat. To make this work we all need to use it. IRC people are destroying GameSpy. I can give lots of reasons why. Anyways. SHC Live Chat gives us many of the same features GameSpy does, without the annoying IRC users, GameSpy is still good for the game lobby rooms, but thats about it. Admins in this room can ban, kick, and get rid of people not willing to behave. Anyways, lets take advantage of this wonderful new feature.
March 5th, 2008 :
Hey guys, great news, from reading many posts of forums and news, I had come to the idea that SHCx (Stronghold Crusader Extreme) would be a single player mode only. Well that is not the case as I found out today, so it will indeed be awsome.
Here is a news article I found about it on IGN's site and I threw in some new Screen Shots, pay attention to the right site of the SS's, you can see the new "powers" used to kill large armies, pretty cool.
Getting Medieval with Stronghold Crusader Extreme
by Jimmy Thang
March 3, 2008 - Developer Firefly Studios is poised to improve upon 2005's release of Stronghold Crusader. Stronghold Crusader Extreme is a real-time strategy game that reportedly features more than 10,000 units on screen, tactics that allow the player to unleash super moves on the enemy, and a new Extreme Trail that will test even the most war hardened Crusader players.The game will feature a seamless mixture of city building and RTS combat. You are a sovereign ruler who sets out to lead, conquer, and expand. In addition, you will have to defend your lands from opposing kingdoms by using new tactical powers, such as bombardments.Stronghold Crusader Extreme will also have 20 brand new missions in addition to previous missions only released through limited edition packages. Harry Miller, president of Gamecock Media Group, had this to say about the companies' upcoming game: "Crusader Extreme steps up and delivers medieval mayhem on a scale previously unseen in the series. Firefly has nurtured their baby into a true, manic adult."Expect Stronghold Crusader Extreme to hit PCs in May.
February 25th, 2008 :
The Stronghold Crusader Gaming Lobby in GameSpy has been closed for chatting by the Admins of GameSpy. Most of the active players now use a Userroom set up for Stronghold Crusader players to chat, find games, join clans, and find people to help. To join this room open up GameSpy arcade paste this link in a lobby room " userroom://Stronghold%20Crusader " or click HERE , one of those should work. Take care guys.
February 14th, 2008 :
Happy Valentines Day to everyone from us here at the Stronghold Crusader Web Portal.
February 12th, 2008 :
Just to let everyone know, there are no events scheduled for right now, all have been delayed for the time being. I am waiting to see if GameSpy will continue events for Stronghold Crusader or not.
February 7th, 2008 :
April 28th, 2008, Stronghold Crusader Extreme is being release, we can't wait until this comes out. Stay tuned for details. It will be in stores and also available online via download at sites like IGN's D2D. We can only hope.
February 3rd, 2008 :
Congrats to WarriorWithin for winning the December to January 1v1 Event. Well done. Over 60 players participated in the Event. Thanks to all those who played and hope everyone had fun. Keep your eye out for upcoming Events. If GameSpy doesnt have an Event soon I will hold another one coming up then, most likely a 1v1 Event. Stay tuned for details.
January 31st, 2008 :
FireFly Studios has announced that they will be continuing the Stronghold Series* with 'Stronghold Crusader Extreme'. This is basically an add on to the game Stronghold Crusader. In 1st option of the game it plays just like the version we are used to today of Stronghold Crusader, but it is updated and is VISTA compatable. The Single Player Edition also add's trails and AI opponents. The 2nd option in the game is the 'Extreme' portion, in this mode you can fight with armies as large as 10,000 troops in a battle, so they say. This is gunna be great. The Game hits stores in April in the US, not sure about the rest of the world, for more info visit FireFly Studio's by clicking HERE.
