Nubius said:
yeah got a blistering 5.9 on gamespot lol......that's alright, I played mortyr 2 and I think that got like a 6 
They're not exactly known for giving the best ratings.
The higher the hype, the higher the rating.
Stronghold 2 pretty much slipped in under the radar, so there wasn't much hype about its arrival, thus GameSpot didn't give it as high a rating.
In reality, the game is probably one of the best medieval castle-builder/country-builder games available. Save for the lack of massive army sizes (although you can do it in free mode) and comprehensive army commanding, the game hands-down beats M:TW. It's also been noted that Stronghold2 is the most realistic medieval city-builder game ever, and I'd have to say I believe it. Not only do the buildings, maps, castles and functions of the two operate as they should, but the feudal quarreling between the lords, king, and peasants is very well portrayed, mirroring reality quite well (even if the animations do not).
Just about the only thing I don't like is how the cut-scenes are all done using the gameplay models. While this is better than most games, including M:TW...Stronghold2 has some well-done animations for the opening scene, so I know they had the ability to do better. Why they didn't, I haven't found out yet. Usually it's a money thing (which BTW almost always comes from the lack of sales from the last game the company put out due to piracy).
If you're an avid Lords-of-the-Realm or Stronghold fan, I would definately recommend buying Stronghold 2. It's worth it!
