Castle Strike

PC game - 2004 / Bolster your defenses while wearing down those of your opponents in this real-time strategy game from Germany's Related Designs Software studio. Castle Strike is set in Europe during the Hundred Years' War and allows play as the England, France, or Germany. Each nation can eventually produce well over a dozen different types of units, from archers and spearmen to mounted knights and siege engines. Reminiscent of Firefly Studios' Stronghold, base development is more of a focus in Castle Strike than in many other real-time strategy games. In later stages, a nation's largest investment of resources will most likely go toward building a large, powerful castle. The game's interface is intended to make it easy for players to lay out walls, towers, and structures according to their own designs, so end-game strategies may involve creating a defendable fortress while hampering the enemies' efforts to do the same.