Stronghold 2

Stronghold 2 is a real time strategy computer game released in April 2005 in which the player develops a stronghold in the Middle Ages. It is the sequel to "Stronghold", released in 2001, also by Firefly Studios.
The game engine was enhanced over the original "Stronghold" to provide full 3-dimensional graphics. Other changes include new military and peace campaigns and the addition of crime and punishment, allowing players to torture unruly peasants. A number of new characters were also introduced.
Gameplay.
In the game, players take on the role of a lord who rules over a medieval castle. With their available resources, players place buildings or features, including many different kinds of food production, industry, civil, or military buildings and defences. Available peasants automatically choose jobs whenever a building requires one, so player micromanagement is minimal; players mostly set up the various buildings in an efficient way while providing safety for their peasants. Military units are directly controlled individually or in groups, sometimes quite large with sieges or battles involving many hundreds on each side. One addition to the original "Stronghold" is the inclusion of estates that players can "buy" with their accumulated honor (gained by popularity, holding feasts, dances, jousting, etc.). Estates are semi-independent villages (without castle fortifications) that produce their own goods that owners can send via cart to their castle or allies.
The inclusion of fully 3D-rendered graphics allowed "Stronghold 2" to include tower interiors as battlegrounds for units, and the ability to go observe castle inhabitants very closely, which is useful for the new features of waste and rat management. As in the original "Stronghold", players can choose from several different play modes: Kingmaker, Siege, War Campaign, Peace Campaign, Freeplay, Custom scenario, and Multiplayer (Originally hosted by GameSpy). An extensive map editor allows the creation of custom maps. From 2014, multiplayer is not supported by the service GameSpy.
Reception.
The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.
According to "Edge", "Stronghold 2" sold at least 100,000 copies in the United States, but was beaten by its predecessor's 220,000 sales in the region. Total US sales of "Stronghold" games released during the 2000s reached 590,000 copies by August 2006.