Giddy... This game has won over my heart from the get-go. Beautifully done and flawless from installation to getting my butt whipped online, Stronghold by Firefly Studios is a medieval fans dream. Build a castle, build an army, man the walls, or lay siege to your enemies: this is what Age of Empires: Age of Kings should have been.

Play involves building a local economy and constructing a castle for common defense. Castle walls can be thick or thin, topped with merlons, defended by towers, equipped with gatehoues complete with drawbridges and moats. No medieval economy works without peasants! Construct building for your peasants, keep them well fed, don't tax them too much, and they will happily build you aprosperous economy.

The graphics are very well done. Most buildings are manned by peasants who go about doing their daily work, collecting materials, and taking their goods from building to building. It may take a combination of buildings to create certain goods that a medieval lord may need: i.e. bread (food): farm for wheat, mill to grind wheat into flour, bakery to make the flour into bread. The army is somewhat limited to basic troop types, but there are still a few surprises in store for an invading army.

While the single player AI isn't very smart, some of the scenarios are fun if not challenging. Its all about building your defenses. And oh, the pride felt in building a majestic castle....