Stronghold 3

Stronghold 3 for PC is an economical strategy set in the dark Middle Ages, in which our task is the development and defense of mighty castles. As it was the case with the predecessors, the key to victory is caring for the wellbeing of our subjects. Following the formula of the previous game, the gameplay is divided between military and economic campaign. Each of the campaign consists of series of missions featuring separate story. Stronghold 3 marks the return of the Wolf – villain famously known from the first game. This time, he gathered new allies and weapons.

Gameplay

Player assumes the role of a nobleman. At first, he only has a small castle and an neighbouring village at his disposal. The gameplay consists of creating and developing new settlements, building more and more powerful strongholds, and waging wars with rival lords. The game mainly focuses on the economical and building aspects. The castles can be freely designed. We can construct them from a number of pre-made elements (towers, drawbridges, secret entrances, pits, balistas, several types of walls etc.), in order for the castles to function as defense mechanisms, allowing citizens to live a peaceful life, even under a siege.

The settlement management offers equally rich possibilities. We can build houses, lumberjack cottages, markets, farms, etc., in short, structures which give work to our subjects, apart from the food and money. Of course, the game wouldn’t be complete without battles, in which the emphasis is placed on various siege techniques. During the battles, we utilize units such as engineers, sappers creating underground passages, soldiers, who storm the walls using mobile equipment (rams, shields, balistas, catapults, and powerful trebuchets).

Technical aspects

Aside from the campaign, Stronghold 3 for PC offers various multiplayer modes, such as sieges/defenses of historical castles, and a so called free building mode. Once again, soundtrack does not disappoint – aside from new tracks, the music from the previous installments (the first, the second, and Crusader) had been implemented. The game uses a completely new graphic engine, which introduces impressive lighting and shadow effects (especially visible during night missions) as well as equally interesting physics.

Last updated on April 25, 2016