#STRONGHOLD WARLORDS DIPLOMACY SERIES#

Most obviously, Warlords explores a new Asian setting. In determining the worth of Warlords, what matters is what is missing from the older games, and what has been added this time around. This is arguably the game’s critical weakness – it makes a poor justification for its own existence, when the early games are dirt-cheap and still play very well indeed. If anything, this new instalment seems too similar to its forebear. In gameplay terms, Warlords replicates almost every element of the original game and its much-loved sequel Crusader. All the while, combat in the original game is relatively simple, with few unit types – but watching an enemy’s cherished castle crumble before their eyes is intensely satisfying. As the population responds positively or negatively to their liege’s actions, a memorable adviser reports with a number of quotes which are seared into the memories of experienced Stronghold players. The game makes few pretensions to historical accuracy, but relies on bizarre characters with animal epithets like “The Pig” and “The Rat”. In this game, success depended not only on amassing an army but also on managing a sophisticated economy behind the lines, and constructing elaborate fortifications behind which peasants could cower, away from the mud and blood of the battlefield.Ĭrucially, Firefly also added what has been a tremendous asset to many of the best British games over the years – a rich and anarchic sense of humour. While Stronghold had numerous elements in common with games being made by big hitters like Westwood and Blizzard, it stood out due to its inclusion of city-building elements.

At the time, the RTS was just coming down from its frenetic 1990s heyday, when new hits were being released seemingly every other week. Its principal selling point was an intriguing fusion of two related, but distinct genres – the city-builder, and the real-time strategy. The original Stronghold was genuinely novel upon release. Truthfully, nostalgia is the biggest plausible draw to the game and its potential to win new converts is limited. Its distinctiveness is quite modest, however – this time around, Firefly bring relatively little that is new to the table, outside of settings in Asia and a dubious “warlords” concept from which this entry takes its name. Warlords is, depending on how you count, the eighth distinct game in the series.

#STRONGHOLD WARLORDS DIPLOMACY SERIES#

Their castle-building strategy series has become as difficult for them to escape as an expertly-made medieval dungeon.įor over 20 years, relatively little has changed in Firefly’s approach to the series, as its core mechanics were well-established by the first instalment. Repeated attempts to break away from the series over the years have met with failure, compelling the team to produce a long sequence of sequels, updates, and re-imaginings of their original hot property. However, Stronghold has also proven to be something of a millstone around the company’s neck.

The original game in this venerable franchise was released in October 2001, and became a million-seller which provided Firefly – then a newly-founded outfit – with financial stability. For the small British developer Firefly Studios, this has been true of their flagship Stronghold series. It’s a well-worn saying that success can be both a blessing and a curse.

Stronghold warlords diplomacy