Author: SuperNova
Date: 11/2/04
Rating: 9.0
Platform(s): PC
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PC
The best game that I've played in a long time, Evil Genius is an entertaining example of what games should be about: cruelty to computer generated characters. Without this fact, it would just be a slightly above average RTS with a few cumbersome gaming elements. Its lighthearted take on megalomania is sure to delight people who either moderately enjoy cliché action movie plots or like to mock those plots and said people.
The best part of the game is the ability to interrogate prisoners. The game calls it interrogation, but we all know what torture looks like: a high school dropout wearing construction gear singing "I'm Bad" (an appropriate choice for this game) while performing some of the dance moves after attacking with cymbals. The torture devices have more use than just making NPCs that you dislike suffer, some of them can make your enemies forget where they are, and some are required to clear special objectives. The other main source of violent comedy was the trap system in this game. Complete with wind machines, trap doors, buzz saws, killer creatures, and buttons that say "Do not press," the trap system is just as entertaining as interrogation but requires more thought and can be a hazard to minions who aren't paying attention.
The more prominent characters in the game (Henchmen, Evil Geniuses, Super Agents) are all parodies of common stereotypes, and therefore had to be as entertaining as possible while actually being useful to the character (or detrimental, in the case of Super Agents). Some of the more notable henchmen that I've employed were Jubei, an overpowered swordsmaster with teleportation powers and The Matron, an insane mental institution worker with an electroshock fetish and a mace for a prosthetic right hand. Their voice clips were much more entertaining than ones from characters in other RTS style games; stereotypes were perpetuated, irreverence was always common, and you just can't top phrases like "A spoon full of whoopass!" or a large primal roar interrupted by coughing or burping. The enemy Super Agents are insanely difficult characters that can't be killed, but can be defeated using special interrogation methods that prey on their weaknesses, yielding humorous results such as the transformation of the S.M.A.S.H. agent from a hot babe into a fat lady with bad hair.
The worst part of the game is the fact that inefficient base designs can slow down certain aspects of gameplay; the place where this is most evident is the Research Laboratory. When I designed my evil lair, I put off completing the objectives (and therefore the lab) until I gained more than enough strength, resulting in a base with no room except at the far end. Science minions have a lot of legwork when researching, traversing the distance between the lab and the object in question three times from the initial examination of the existing object and the end result, as well as some more travel due to the fact that the examination phase is separate from the actual research. This can be frustrating when combined with the fact that not all objects have results and may therefore cause unwanted stress and a loss of interest varying with the player.
The background music is good in that it is appropriate for the game and enhances the level of immersion instead of distracting the player. The music tracks for the main menu are all very good and are all good to listen to when loading a saved game. The graphics are middle of the road, not stark but also not so detailed that they cause the game to lag on a lower end computer.
Evil Genius is a solid gaming concept that would simply be worth a look even without the addition of sadistic humor. It was the game that I anticipated the most over the past half of the year, it lived up to all expectations and was the first game that I didn't feel guilty about spending $50 for. With its engaging antics and mildly challenging strategy it only has one serious flaw, no Mac port as of yet.