Stronghold Crusader 2 vs Total War Battles: Kingdom
Stronghold Crusader 2
Stronghold Crusader 2 returns to the desert of the Middle East right in the middle of the war of religions known as the Crusades after a long hiatus. Similar to the previous game, you'll get to play as a brutal Crusader Knight or Arabic freedom fighter as you lead your respective armies to annihilate the other in the game's fast-paced gameplay. Being a series known for its brilliant castle simulations, you can also build huge castles in the desert to house your population and to recruit massive armies to fuel your battles.There are more than 25 unique unit types, each with their own special abilities; other game modes aside from the main story-based campaigns as well as a multiplayer aspect that can house up to 8 players.
That said, the game has a lot of bugs and as such, your gaming experience will definitely be impacted. Many features that fans of the series have loved were somehow taken out of this sequel too and that had angered and disappointed a lot of the game's fans. All in all though, if you enjoy Crusades-themed games, you might want to get the first game in this spin-off series.
Total War Battles: Kingdom
Total War Battles: Kingdom is the free-to-play version of a Total War game that is available on the mobile platform. Set in the medieval times, the game perfectly captures how things were back then - an era filled with almost constant skirmishes and conflicts between lords and fledgling kingdoms. The gameplay mechanics are pretty well-done despite being somewhat restricted - you can only bring a maximum of 9 battalions into battle, for example, and it does retain most of the Total War archetypes like city-building, army training, and battles.Unfortunately, Total War Battles: Kingdom definitely pales in comparison to any of the games in the main series mainly because it fell victim to one of the worst pitfalls in the free-to-play gaming industry: microtransactions. Don’t expect to get far into the game without spending real money first, but if you still choose to persevere, it would probably take you weeks of constant playing to get your kingdom somewhere solid enough for you to hold your own.
That said, the game is still a pretty decent albeit casual installment of the Total War series. Fans of the franchise or of casual MMO strategy games on the mobile platform may want to give the game a try.