Get out your metal gloves, sharpen your broadsword and polish your helmet: We're about to get a bit medieval.

Stronghold: Legends, the latest installment in the medieval castle-building sim franchise, is a little less about maintenance and more about real-time strategies and colorful skirmishes than its predecessors.

There are now a few extra minions who can break down castle barriers and a whole array of mythical creatures to control including the frosty forces of Siegfried and Dietrich, the creepy creatures of Count Vlad Dracul (aka Vlad the Impaler or Count Dracula) and King Arthur's magical knights and merry minions of Camelot.

Other improvements include rebalanced archers so they are no longer invulnerable at a distance, more maps, more missions, the ability to shut down individual buildings to save resources, more multiplayer modes and a Chicken function that lets you skip particularly difficult missions - if your pride can handle it.

You'll still have to properly plop down buildings to build up resources, keep the taxes low and your minions housed, fed and happy, though this go ‘round you won't need to worry about waste management facility or the jail. Cranky peasants can revolt and skip town, however, making it difficult to build an army big enough to kill a dragon.