Stronghold Crusader 2 game exclusive on Steam

Firefly Studios has announced that Valve’s Steam platform will be required to install and play Stronghold Crusader 2 at launch. Ahead of the game’s planned release in Spring 2014, Marketing Manager Nick Tannahill revealed the news in a blog post on the game’s official website at www.strongholdcrusader2.com. Here he explains the developer’s reasons behind their decision:

Listing the benefits of releasing on Steam, both for the development team and players, Nick goes on to confirm a list of Steam features intended for inclusion in the game either at launch or through free post-release updates:

• Achievements
• Voice Chat
• Cloud Saving
• Workshop Support
• Game Invites
• Gameplay Stats
• Trading Cards

The main motivation behind Firefly’s decision is keeping development of the game on time, which has been a priority for all Stronghold titles since the company was founded in 1999. “The time required to create our own bespoke tools and systems for such features could end up delaying the game, which is something nobody wants… It sounds clichéd but this is win-win, we get to include the features fans of the genre expect without delaying the game or taking our focus away from core gameplay.”

Despite plans to integrate Crusader 2 with Steamworks, fans hoping to purchase a physical boxed version of Crusader 2 at launch can rest easy. Boxed copies of Stronghold Crusader 2 will be available at retail in a number of different regions, although they will require Steam to install and play.

Stronghold Crusader 2 will take fans of the series back to the desert for more RTS mayhem in the castles of brutal knights and fiery Caliphs. Building on the highly praised gameplay of the original Stronghold Crusader, Crusader 2 will define hardcore real time strategy with fiendish AI opponents, fast-paced skirmish gamplay and new troops, traps and castle buildings.

History

When it was first released in 2002 critics agreed that Stronghold Crusader put an interesting twist on the gameplay of the original Stronghold. Introducing a new setting, additional content and more focus on fast paced real time strategy, Crusader quickly became the fan-favourite Stronghold game. Since launch the game has sold over two million copies, with around 3000 user-made maps uploaded to one Stronghold fansite. In 2012 Stronghold Crusader HD gave the game a new lease of life, offered as a free update for existing owners of the game and also made available for purchase on digital retailers like GOG and Steam. A sequel was announced in the wake of Gamescom 2012. Promising new visuals, a tightly reworked battle interface, environmental threats and real-time physics, Firefly is aiming to recapture the addictive, intense gameplay that made the original Crusader a classic. Currently scheduled for release in early 2014, Firefly plans to digitally self-publish Crusader 2 on Steam.

Features

• Brutal desert warfare with stunning visuals and real-time physics.
• New units including the Slave Driver and brutal Templar Knight.
• Dynamic on-map events such as the Sand Storm.
• Devious AI opponents to outthink and outmaneuver.
• Full single-player campaign, skirmish mode and classic Crusader Trails.
• Classic Stronghold Crusader gameplay in 3D.