Castle Attack 2 is the latest publicly available version of the Castle Attack series, and the first to use 3D graphics. It was released on December 22nd, 2004 to help promote the upcoming release of Stronghold 2 roughly 5 months later. Designed by Simon Bradbury with additional design and programming done by Phil Busuttil, with graphics from Jason Juta, while Castle Attack 2 is very similar to the original Castle Attack game, it was also very different, adding new graphics, gameplay, enemies and more.

Like in Castle Attack, the game starts the player off with 3 archers on 3 multi-height walls, which they use to fend off hordes of oncoming troops. However, rather than just having one engineer building their castle 5% at a time, they now start off with 3 engineers, building the castle 2% at a time. The player can make any of the archers engineers at any time, and vice versa, provided there is space on the walls to have another archer, the maximum being 3. The player still has their pot of burning oil as they did in Castle Attack, though it is now activated using Z. Along with this, they also have 2 more tactical aids. Using the X key, they player can launch a barrage of rocks from a mangonel, which destroy everything it lands on, about half way across the battlefield. If that doesn't do the trick, the player can roll burning logs across the battlefield using the C key, destroying absolutely everything in their path.

The players score is made up in a variety of different ways. Firstly, they get points for killing troops, with different troop types awarding different amounts of points. As well as this, they also have the same Time Bonus from Castle Attack, giving them more points for completing their castle faster. Castle Attack 2 also saw the addition of 3 new bonuses. Firstly, the Accuracy Multiplier awarded the player for not missing with any of their arrow volleys. The more pin-point hits in a row they made, the more the more their score for killing that troop was multiplied. Also adding to this was Honour crowns, achieved by killing troops further away from the walls on the battle field. The furthest shots rewarded a Gold crown, long shots a silver crown, medium shots a bronze crown and shots too close to the walls awarded nothing. Another bonus that was included was the Cow bonus. Periodically, a Cow would appear at the far end of the battlefield. If the player managed to hit the cow with an arrow, they are awarded a 3,000 point bonus. The final bonus came from not using tactical aids. The player was awarded for completing a level without using each of their tactical aids. Burning Oil received the smallest bonus and Flaming Logs garnered the highest bonus.

The gameplay changed in numbers of ways. Most notable was the addition of new troops types. But other gameplay additions were also made. In the bottom left of the screen, the player could watch their castle being built, and unlike Castle Attack, the game was not lost as soon as the player's walls were destroyed. The player's Lord, who had a certain amount of health, could fend off attackers in a last ditch effort to protect the castle.

While able to fend off a number of weaker troops such as spearmen, he may not fare too well against a large number of swordsmen all at once!

The enemy troop changes were quite vast as outlined below

• Spearmen: Again, the first troop the player comes up against. Now killed with a single arrow volley, these troops are seen frequently and in large numbers.
• Swordsmen: First appearing in the 3rd level of the game, these troops move slowly but deal out the most damage on the castle walls and player's Lord. They can take 4 arrows before they fall to the ground dead.
• Crossbowmen: Crossbowmen remain unchanged since Castle Attack, firing a deadly bolt at the players archers from halfway across the battlefield, but easily killed with a single hit.
• Catapults: Slow moving siege craft that launch a deadly rock at the players walls, instantly destroying it on impact. Take them out quickly using 4 arrow volleys!
• Nordic Axemen: Fast moving lethal troops that appear for the first time in Castle Attack 2, these hardened warriors take 2 arrows to kill and appear in large numbers from level 7 upwards.
• Battering Ram: New siege craft for Castle Attack 2, this slow moving battery will destroy your walls quickly if it reaches them, and is the hardest unit to destroy in all of the Castle Attack games.

Hints and Tips:

• The first level of Castle Attack 2 can be completed without firing a single arrow!
• Try not to use any of your tactical aids unless you have to in order to maximize your score.
• If you use burning logs, take your archers off the wall straight away, as the walls will be safe for a short period while everyone is killed by the logs.
• Always try to take out catapults early, because if they manage to fire, they will instantly destroy a wall and be a huge problem.
• Only try and hit the cow if you are in no immediate danger.
• Try and take archers off the walls before they are killed by the wall being destroyed or getting hit be a crossbow-bolt.

System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
• Processor: Pentium II 300mhz (550mhz+ preferred)
• Memory: 64MB (128MB preferred for Internet play)
• Hard Drive: 120MB (200MB during install)
• Screen Resolution: 800x600 or above
• Video: 4MB DirectX 7.0 Compatible
• Sound: DirectX 7.0 Compatible
• Modem: 56k for Internet Play

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