Wow, you reminded me of the 15 minutes of blissful pleasure I had playing that before Stronghold 2 came out

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I don't think there's anything quite like Stronghold, but if you're looking for less thinking and more killing ,by all means go for Age of Empires. If you're looking for something more detailed and economical, go for one of the Roman themed city sims.
EDIT: Oops, didn't notice the date on the original post. Locked?