It’s clear we have come through yet another transitional phase in gaming. Transitions are not wholly unfamiliar to gamers, since as it is with most technology products, the tastes and demands of the player change as the technology changes. While browser based games have been around for some time, they were mostly a fringe development, relegated to indie studios or dudes in their basement with java or shockwave training certificates who need to find a way to make a couple of bucks. The transition is in the change from these browser based games being on the periphery of gaming to the mainstream. Even the traditional sources of the old-school browser based games such as Kongregate have gone mainstream – recently being bought up by GameStop. As browser technology has changed, so too has the opportunity to develop profitable, fun, immersive, exciting and graphically rich gaming experiences. Free Realms and the recently released Battlestar Galactica Online are but two examples of browser based experiences that potentially rival any AAA disc offering. Stronghold Kingdoms is a Browser MMORPG from Firefly Studios, the same studio that developed the popular Stronghold series from which Kingdoms earns its namesake – and upcoming, highly anticipated Stronghold 3, which has been recently delayed. Does Stronghold Kingdoms live up to the Stronghold name? Is it another breakout browser based experience? Or is this yet another of a long line of mediocre browser games of the past? Let’s find out!

Kingdoms is, at its core, an economy and army building RTS type game with social and persistent elements that bring it into the MMORPG Games genre. While not a traditional MMO (ie World of Warcraft, RIFT, etc..) it is part of this new trend of hybrid games that are more single player experiences with some level of social interaction available and beneficial (See Vindictus). As a member of the English nobility circa 14th century, you are responsible for the development of your city, its castle and also, within a larger sphere, your parish, as it co-exists with other parishes across England. Within each parish will be a number of other players and their cities – these other cities ideally become your “teammates” essentially as you seek to combine resources in an effort to develop and maintain a parish capital. All the players of the parish will need to contribute to the parish resources, also electing a parish leader, to ensure the success of castle development. You have the ability to communicate with the other members of your parish from within the parish interface.

In order to progress in Kingdoms you will need to strike a balance between producing food and resources in order to build structures and keep your subjects happy. By maintaining happiness you will earn honour which at certain intervals can be turned in for a level increase. Think of honour as experience points. When you reach a new level you are also rewarded with research points which are spent progressing through a research chain. As you learn more technology new buildings and subsequent research is unlocked. Think of the way the Civilization series handles research if you are looking for a decent comparison.

The game is free to play and the client is free to download, but as with most games using this model, there is an item shop where cards can be purchased. Cards provide many benefits including augmenting your resource and food collection, strengthening your defences or speeding up your research. The cards come in card packs in which you will receive a random selection of cards. Cards can also be traded in – so you have the ability to turn in cards you do not need for cards that would be more beneficial to you at the time. I found myself trading in many cards for the cards that provided a bonus to basic resource collection such as wood, iron, stone and food. You also have the ability to purchase a premium account which has the main benefit of allowing the player to queue up research and building construction. In addition as a premium account holder you can automate some processes while you are away such as sending scouts to random resource nodes on the map.

Stronghold Kingdoms is a not fast paced and action packed. It isn’t supposed to be. So if you are looking for a free to play economy/army RTS game that will keep you on your toes, I don’t think this is the game for you. I’ve been playing this game daily and checking in on my progress multiple times a day for over 2 weeks now and am now just acquiring the ability to create swords and build a respectable castle. That being said this plays mostly into the choices I made in research. It does speak to the idea that this game provides numerous paths to doing well.

There are definitely more than a few things I dislike about the game. The graphics are terrible, and before someone says “yeah but it’s a browser game Mike” you need to take a look at Free Realms and Battlestar Galactica and some of the other recently developed games. A browser platform is no longer a valid excuse for a game not being of high visual quality. Virtually every aspect of the graphics could use a major overhaul – better textures, better animations and higher detail. The ability to zoom in and out would be a really nice feature to add which would add to the immersion factor of the game. The user interface is also very un-intuitive, and should get a serious look and usability adjustment. The “combat” if you will is not very interesting at all, when you are under stack you simply watch your little men attack the enemies little men as they try to break into your castle. If Kingdoms could come up with a way to make engagements more exciting, this could do a lot for the long term fun-factor of the game.

I think there is a lot here that has promise. As a HUGE fan of economy games such as Civilization and Dawn of Discovery I didn’t feel out of place figuring out how to play Stronghold Kingdoms. I also don’t mind the pacing of the game. There is little to no value in getting to the max level as fast as you can in terms of that rush increasing the amount of fun you can have playing the game. If Firely can invest some resources in upping the graphical appeal of the game – including a UI revamp I think the game has a lot of potential for someone who wants a casual, semi-social, cheap economy/rts experience.

Mike Washburn