Evil Genius

This is a game I missed when it first came out. Something just didn't charm me into buying it. Thanks to GOG I got that second chance. I don't regret buying it now, just maybe more that I never back then. As good as it is, and it's addictive and quirky, it feels lacking in something, some magic, and maybe that is more about it belonging to a previous generation of games more than it not being exceptional. The music is good, graphics look dated but still playable. Animations are surprisingly as good as we get nowadays, and in the case of Mass Effect Andremda, far better! It's simple to pick up, easy to play, and a fantastic game. I don't however find it funny, that was a selling point, people found it funny. Maybe I'll get my funny bone checked out at Two Point Hospital when that comes out... I just feel like It's missing some gameplay, or time has caught up with it. I've spent many an hour on the world map wondering if that is all there is to the game once your base has max occupants and you're waiting for the challenge bits to be accessible, moving the sttory/events on requiring hitting certain infamy levels and due to this it feels a bit grindy. I'd recomend it to anyone that had it back in the day as it's still addictive and as good as most games out there, I feel that my review is scored on the fact that after 2 decades of hearing how awesome it is, I still don't see it maybe for what others do, a classic.

Unfortunately, Evil Genius isn't part of my GOG.com history, but that also means that I had much more time to play it over the years. Since inception on my venerable PC many years ago, I've spent hundreds and hundreds of hours enjoying the simple but enjoyable premise of this game. You take on the titular role of one of three evil masterminds and, from there, build and layout a base to your own whims, adding such notable greats as minion training rooms, gold vaults, command centers, and the more practical mess halls and infirmaries. As agents of good try harder and harder to penetrate the security of your base, regrettably to some success, you yourself develop more and more goodies to combat them with. You unlock chains of dedicated minions in three tiers, from the lowly but useful construction workers to the important mercenaries and playboys. Minions themselves are divided into combat, social, and science chains; Each tree has advantages, and you'll need plenty of all three kinds to progress. Later on, when research comes to the fore, you'll find yourself waiting in anticipation for each crazy concoction of tests to finish to discover what new toy you've unlocked. Science minions, like all of your loyal subjects, mostly go about their own business. They wander your base at their own discretion, and take notes on technological finds, devices, and even stolen loot you've garnered in your travels. The results vary--some research gives you new gun racks, hidden turrets, or more efficient prison cells. Others unlock traps, like bees that inject their target with a nerve agent, or a giant outdoor tesla coil. Base building itself, and traps as well, are a large part of the game. For the dedicated professional, streamlining rooms and rooms together into a cohesive hidden lair is largely fun and time-consuming, as addictive to me as any game I've played, and, of course, can pay off with hilarious results, especially when you throw traps into the mix. Agents can be strung into trap chains for a monetray reward, if the personal enjoyment isn't enough, and cunning players can devise long-term strategies for devastating base designs. Evil Genius isn't without flaws. Sometimes, adding rooms becomes tricky; Late in the game, after much of your island is covered, it becomes difficult to add or remove rooms without causing major problems, as you can only add onto already built rooms, not remove from them, unless you delete the room entirely. The game's lack of direct control can also cause some excruciating moments, but then, I imagine any Bond villain who watches his lackeys prance about uselessly when he's literally right around the corner...well, I have sympathy for them, now. All told, however, Evil Genius is, for me, a perfectly matched game. If you enjoy building a base, plotting world domination and revenge, hiring a motley crew of right-hand men, looting the world's riches and setting up traps, then come on in, the evil's fine.

The idea of this game was fresh and unwasted. I liked it a lot. I liked the stealing and hunting and protecting of your base. The research was nice, the interrigation of enemy spies. But there are some really annoying decisions in the game mechanics which made it not that good: you can not actively give the units orders. I finished it only for sake of completeness. My biggest issue were the stupid guards. The enemy entered my isle and just before they entered my base, one of my missions were accomplished and my guards were leaving the helicopter (or whatever it was). And yes, they did not try to shoot the enemies, they tried to bring the loot into the base. As you can imagine ... all my guards were killed trying to bring the loot inside. Similar situations started to repeat ... if the enemies took an weird way into your base, sometimes your guards couldn't handle it. But as I said: one playthrough for low price is okay.

I have been playing evil genius for more than a decade now. there is something so satisfying about building your evil lair and taking over the world in your own way. I have completed this game so many times but it never gets boring to do it again.

One of may favorite games