Stronghold: Legends review

All three terrain types - dreary Transylvania, icy Germany and forest-y Camelot - can also be mixed together in the Map Editor, offering a somewhat lengthy and complicated, yet surprisingly fun, diversion.

Where Stronghold 2 had a fairly unchallenging AI, Legends' revitalized AI is a little too adept at quickly gathering resources and mounting particularly pesky attacks. It's a frustrating factor after the first few missions, resulting in many disheartening defeats.

The camera controls make viewing the battlefield very easy although zooming in on the action isn't always rewarding since the smaller characters are a bit chunky and possibly easier to control from a distance. Lucky for us the larger creatures and their magical attacks look great at every size.

If you have the patience you'll eventually progress far enough use really cool creatures instead of being their victim. Expect to admit defeat pretty early and often, restarting many missions to rebuild your fortress better, stronger and more economical than before.

Otherwise, head right to the customizable skirmishes and maximize all the resources. It will prove far less challenging but you will get to immediately launch massive raids and immediately use all the powerful attacks. Of course the most powerful attacks come with a hefty price, either a lack of that character's speed, time-restricted use or simply a lot of gold and resources to purchase.