Evil Genius

Template:Infobox Evil Genius is a single player real-time strategy and simulation video game developed by Elixir Studios and published by Sierra Entertainment, released on 28 September 2004. The game is inspired by the spy thriller genre (notably the James Bond film series). Similarly to Dungeon Keeper, the game turns the traditional plotline on its head, with the player acting as the villain, evading the comically stereotyped forces of justice. Gameplay revolves around the player building an island fortress and achieving clichéd world domination.

Since 2 March 2006, the intellectual property rights of the game are owned by Rebellion Developments.

Gameplay

Evil Genius focuses on building an island lair and the management of minions that are employed by the Evil Genius, allowing the player to progress through the main storyline with achieving world domination as the end goal of the game. Although not explicitly stated the use of historic regions (the Eastern Bloc) and events (such as the Cuban Missile Crisis) within the game suggest that it is set in the 1960s and 70s and that the game is progressing through an alternate timeline.

The player is represented in game as one of three selectable evil geniuses: Maximilian, Alexis or Shen Yu.

The Lair

Similarly to Dungeon Keeper, Evil Genius has the player construct a lair and employ minions to defend against protagonists (the forces of justice). The lair is built on a remote island of indeterminate location (although it is visited by a surprisingly large amount of tourists,) and is composed of a number of different rooms and objects which perform various functions. As the player progresses through the game, new rooms and objects become available.

There are two islands that the player inhabits through the course of the game; the first is a desert like island that contains small shacks and steer skulls, and the second is a larger, more tropical island with palm trees and Tiki heads, with a volcano in the middle of the island.

There are several different rooms that can be constructed over the course of the game, which serve a variety of functions. There are various rooms for minions which restore their stats and determine how many minions can be recruited. Training facilities allow the training of more advanced and specialized minions. Research is conducted in a laboratory and is needed for scientists to conduct experiments in, allowing for new items, and progress in the game's storyline.

Traps and other defenses can be used to prevent enemy agents from entering the base to gather evidence, steal money or sabotage equipment. Some traps can harm or kill the interlopers, while others can confuse them, eventually making them leave the island empty handed. Traps include flamethrowers, various gas and beehive traps, and an electroshock trap that uses a Tesla coil. The player is rewarded with money when an enemy agent triggers a trap and will receive extra money for combining traps to form a chain reaction.

A goal of some players is to create an infinite trap loop, causing monetary gains and tying up enemies for longer periods of time. The most effective traps are non-lethal, often referred to as "Über Traps". These traps use detailed knowledge of the physics of each trap, usually combined with a lure and an air blast to force enemies into them. A popular strategy is the "Freak Trigger" which keeps traps running whether they are occupied or not.

Minions and Henchmen

Players have no direct control over minions but can interact with them using Henchmen and the Evil Genius. Construction workers are the basic minions and can be trained to specialize in one of three fields: military, scientific or social. Each field has three successive minion levels with the third level having two unique branches.

Henchmen are the only units (other than the Evil Genius) that the player has direct control over. Henchmen are stronger than conventional minions and can be upgraded with two special moves after gaining enough experience. If a Henchman's health is reduced to zero, he or she will simply collapse for a short time before becoming active again. However, if a super agent kills a henchman three times, the henchman dies permanently.

Super Agents

These agents of justice are the only units that can take Henchmen units permanently out of the game. If played strategically it is possible to take out each Super Agent using their unique weaknesses before the next agent starts investigating as each is triggered based on the player's level of notoriety.

World Domination and Acts of Infamy

The ultimate goal of the game is to construct a "super weapon", a device insidious enough to make the world capitulate to the evil genius's will. To achieve this, blueprints and parts must be stolen from particular regions and brought to the island, by committing "Acts of Infamy". These missions are carried out off the island. The player has no direct control over the mission, but can increase the chance of success by allocating more minions to the mission.

Aside from the main storyline, other missions are available with the objective to steal loot, kidnap civilians, or simply to cause general havoc in the world at large. All of these Acts increase the notoriety of the player, by varying amounts. Some Acts of Infamy are references to historical events, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, while others are comical, such as a mission in which the player must destroy Nashville, Tennessee in an effort to rid the world of country music, which is described as an act of humanitarianism. Funds can also be earned by deploying minions in regions of the world to steal from them or discover new missions by plotting in the region

The world is divided into five regions controlled by different government counter-terrorist agencies. Stealing from a region, along with committing acts of infamy, will accumulate "Heat", based on the severity of operations. The alliances controlling the region will respond by dispatching agents to the player's island, with more skilled and more dangerous invaders being sent from regions of high heat. These range from investigators, who will try to uncover illegal operations, to saboteurs who will destroy parts of the base, to thieves who will attempt to steal back stolen items, to soldiers who will assault criminal minions.

Each alliance has a Super Agent, parodies of the protagonists found in many action movies, spy films, and martial arts movies. Some notable examples are Jet Chan, a parody of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and John Steele, parody of James Bond and Remington Steele. These Agents are more dangerous than normal, as they cannot be killed by normal means and can kill henchmen over time. The player must complete a special mission related to each Super Agent to be able to remove them from play, usually in an equally satiric fashion, like turning a thin woman into a fat one.

Reception

Evil Genius has an aggregate total of 77% and 75% out of a possible 100 on both GameRankings and Metacrtitic respectively, which indicates "generally favourable reviews." Most critics praised the game for its humour and unique take on the god-game genre, but also criticised it for its frustrating micromanagement and annoying bugs.

GameSpot gave the game a 7.3 out of 10, stating that "while Evil Genius' dry, campy humor is often amusing from the start, it takes quite a bit of time and effort to pull off acts of infamy and establish your notoriety among global powers" and states "Evil Genius is hampered by some frustratingly haphazard pacing as well as issues with the artificial intelligence of your minions."

IGN gave Evil Genius a 7.8 out of 10. The reveiwer stating that "Evil Genius hearkens back to the glorious Bullfrog creation Dungeon Keeper. Not only did it have us building a base underground (far, far underground), but also put us in the shoes of a sadistic dungeon master with imps, demons, and horned reapers to "control." There are quite a few differences in the two titles, but the influence is certainly there" but stated that "Had there been more interactivity with during acts of infamy on the World Domination Map, less micromanagement for taking care of enemies, more information passing between the map and the base screens, and more useful information about why things happened the way they did, Evil Genius really could have been genius... but in a good way."

EuroGamer have Evil Genius a 7 out of 10, commenting that "even as we sit here picking over the carcass, we're not actually all that angry about the things that are wrong with the game. They're bad on paper, but they didn't interfere hugely with our having fun - a sure sign that that Evil Genius overcomes its flaws and ultimately satisfies."

Evil Genius' music score, composed by James Hannigan, received a BAFTA nomination for Best Original Music in 2004.

See also

• Dungeon Keeper
• Startopia
• Ghost Master