Shogun: Total War vs Stronghold Crusader 2
Shogun: Total War
Shogun: Total War is the first original title in a legendary, 15-year (and counting), award-winning, real-time strategy game series that currently spanned across multiple themes and settings. However, this game is set in ancient Japan - 1542 to be exact - when the last shogunate collapsed and the entire nation is thrown into conflict as multiple daimyo (faction leaders) vie for the most powerful seat. To make things worst, Europeans have also ventured to island at this point, bringing guns, religion and disease - factors that you'll eventually have to deal with if you are to attain the people's support and conquer the whole of Japan.The gameplay in Shogun: Total War is akin to Rise of Nations in the sense that each battle is carried out in real-time, but moving your troops on the world map is pretty much turn-based (Risk-style). However, unlike the latter, the battle itself is purely consisted of the actual fighting rather than having you build a base and amassing resources and an army. Instead, Shogun lets you view the entire battlefield from any view you like and send commands to your troops as the battle unfolds. This is basically something that's unheard of until this game came along.
Shogun: Total War may be an old game by modern standards, and due to this, many players might simply opt for its sequel in order to have a taste of that this game has to offer. However, if you truly want to experience the very first of the Total War series, this is the game to play.
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.