Evil Genius (video game)

Infobox VG
title = Evil Genius


developer = Elixir Studios
publisher = Sierra Entertainment
designer =
engine =
released = vgrelease|United States of America|USA|September 28, 2004
vgrelease|Europe|EU|October 1, 2004
genre = God game, Real-time strategy
modes = Single-player
ratings = ESRB: Teen (T)
PEGI: 12+
platforms = Microsoft Windows
media = CD (2)
requirements =
input = Keyboard & Mouse
version = 1.01 (as of November 11, 2004)
composer = James Hannigan [cite web|url=http://www.gamezone.com/news/08_19_04_09_24AM.htm|title=“Evil Genius” and “Freelancer” Composer James Hannigan is Determined to Score Part 1|last=Bedigian|first=Louis |publisher=GameZone|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-25] [cite web|url=http://www.gamezone.com/news/08_24_04_10_27AM.htm|title=“Evil Genius” and “Freelancer” Composer James Hannigan is Determined to Score Part 2|last=Bedigian|first=Louis |publisher=GameZone|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-25]

"Evil Genius" is a 2004 real-time strategy and simulation video game. A tongue-in-cheek take on the 1960s spy thriller genre, the game casts the player as the villain, allowing control of a secret island fortress complete with powerful henchmen, loyal minions and a wide range of gizmos, gadgets and traps. Developed by Elixir Studios and published by Sierra Entertainment Games, "Evil Genius" was released on September 28, 2004.

The player is cast as an evil genius of a criminal organization (referred to simply as "the evil organization") plotting to take over the world, from the safety of an evil lair built in the caverns of a mountain hideout. The main story of the game is based on the construction of one of three superweapons, which are launched at the very end of the game. The launching of the weapon causes the world to capitulate to your will, thus ending the game. The game features several references to spy films like the James Bond series, and to their parodies such as Austin Powers.

The game received generally favorable reviews, scoring an average critic rating of 77% on Game Rankings.

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

Forces of Justice

The world of Evil Genius is divided up into regions that are controlled by five government counter-terrorist agencies:
*S.A.B.R.E. (Europe, South Africa, Australasia, India, and Greenland)
*P.A.T.R.I.O.T. (USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan)
*A.N.V.I.L. (China and Southeast Asia)
*H.A.M.M.E.R. (Soviet Bloc and Cuba)
*S.M.A.S.H. (Africa, the Middle East, South America and Antarctica)

Each agency will send agents to the secret island to damage the evil operation. As an agency takes more notice of the player, due to acts of infamy and criminal activity within its regions, it will send more skilled and more dangerous agents.

The first enemies on the island are Agents – spies sent to find evidence of evildoing. Agents are not good at fighting, but they still pose a threat if they manage to uncover evidence of evildoing (such as bodies or weapons) and return to their headquarters, which will increase their agency's attention toward the player. On the other hand, an agency's suspicion will actually drop if the agent comes home empty-handed, so eliminating agents is not always the best strategy. One key focus of base-building is putting incriminating objects securely within the base, where agents are unlikely to stumble across them.

Another early enemy is the Burglar, who attempts to sneak into the base to steal valuable items. Losing valuables is not fatal to the criminal organization, but it can be very annoying and impede progress. If the burglar manages to steal a piece of loot won on a mission, such as a rare work of art stolen by the player, the item will be gone for good.

As the player gets more attention from law enforcement, Saboteurs will start to appear. These spooks harass the operation by picking off undefended minions and setting explosive charges to destroy the player's items. A blast in the right place can take out a room's worth of objects. Saboteurs are especially fond of destroying power generators, which can render much of the base useless.

In retaliation for serious incidents, agencies will deploy squads of Soldiers. Unlike most agents, who can be distracted by social minions, it's difficult to confuse soldiers, who often open fire at the first sign of trouble. Soldiers are a threat to even well-fortified bases, and if military minions fail to drive them off, the soldiers may kill many of the workers in the area.

uper Agents

Each anti-terror alliance has a "Super Agent". Parodies of the protagonists found in many action movies, spy films, and karate movies that usually end with the Evil Genius dead or incapacitated, they are elite operatives sent to sabotage the Evil Genius's operation when all other methods have failed. These Agents cannot be killed by normal means. Each Super Agent, however, has a special mission related to them which allows the player to remove them from play, usually in an equally satiric fashion.

In order of appearance:

* Mariana Mamba: S.M.A.S.H.'s Super Agent. A satire of scantily-clad heroines such as Charlie's Angels, though the outfit is probably an homage to Ursula Andress in the film Dr. No. The bikini-clad Mamba can seduce the player's minions into disloyalty. She can be ultimately removed from play by disfiguring her with plastic surgery, leaving her morbidly obese. Mamba's internal name is 'Amazon Warrior Queen'.

* Jet Chan: A.N.V.I.L.'s Super Agent. Inspired by the heroes in Hong Kong action cinema, Chan's skill is based entirely on martial arts. Chan's internal name is 'Agent Bruce', and his name is an obvious mix of Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Chan's pride is his fatal flaw; he is removed from play if the player captures Chan's former mentor, and learns from him all of Chan's moves. After being defeated in a formal duel, Chan no longer impedes the player's progress.

* Katarina Frostonova: H.A.M.M.E.R.'S Super Agent. A stereotypical Russian Femme Fatale codenamed the 'Ice Queen', Frostonova has the ability to become invisible. Having had no family, her weakness lies in her past. If the player captures (and then systematically destroys) Katarina's long-forgotten teddy bear, she suffers a mental breakdown and is removed from play.

* Dirk Masters: P.A.T.R.I.O.T.'s Super Agent. Capable of using dual machine guns with his huge arms, Dirk's internal name is 'Agent Rambo'. Seemingly unstoppable, Masters can be defeated once the player chooses to torture him in a vat of chemicals that react with Masters' anabolic steroids. When accomplished, Dirk becomes a mindless mutant character, and is no longer a threat.

* John Steele: S.A.B.R.E.'s Super Agent. While Steele's internal name is nondescript ('A Super Cool Dude'), and his name references the wily masters of intrigue John Steed and Remington Steele, his effect on your operation can only be compared to the ultimate Spymaster, James Bond. Steele is able to tamper with the player's security settings in a random fashion. Unlike the other Super Agents (as well as furthering the satire of Bond), Steele has no practical method of being removed from play during the course of the game. Only at the very end of the game is it revealed that it is impossible to kill Steele conventionally, but if Steele has been placed in a holding cell when the game-ending superweapon is launched, the player is shown a cutscene in which Steele is killed.

Acts of Infamy

Missions that are carried out through the World Domination Screen are known as "Acts of Infamy". These missions each have an objective to either steal loot, kidnap civilians, or just to cause general havoc in the world at large. All of these Acts increase the notoriety of the player, by varying amounts.

Many Acts of Infamy imply that the "evil organization" is responsible for numerous historical disasters, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Others hint at wishful thinking on the part of the developers, such as a mission in which the player must destroy Nashville in an effort to rid the world of country music.

=Criticism= Upon release, "Evil Genius" was praised for its originality and engrossing content; however, the game also contained many bugs of varying severity. Most of these bugs, such as random crashes and the notoriously poorly titled "Load Save" screen, were fixed in an official patch soon after the release of the game. Some small bugs and minor character and object problems still exist, however. Some bugs include:
*Several objects cannot be researched properly.
*Henchman code is bugged, resulting in henchman having negative effects when conducting Acts of Infamy.

An unofficial patch has been made to remove some bugs which were not fixed in the official patch, as well as other gameplay modifications. [ [http://www.n1nj4.com/EvilPlanet/TheGame/mod_unofficialpatch.php Unofficial patch by "walking fishy"] ]

Other criticisms included repetitive gameplay which could be rather slow at times, and lack of player control and interactivity with regards to minions and several gameplay events.

Reception

VG Reviews
1UP = B-cite web|url=http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3135122&did=1|title=Evil Genius Review - 1UP|last=Lee|first=Garnett |date=October 1, 2004|publisher=1UP|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-28]
Atrip = 8.4/10cite web|url=http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/evilgenius.phtml|title=Evil Genius Review - ActionTrip|last=Jojic|first=Uros|date=September 29, 2004|publisher=ActionTrip|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-28]
CVG = 8.4/10cite web|url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=109501|title=Evil Genius Review - Computer and Video Games|date=September 21, 2004|publisher=Computer and Video Games|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-28]
EuroG = 7/10cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=56775|title=Evil Genius Review - EuroGamer|last=Bramwell|first=Tom |date=October 1, 2004|publisher=EuroGamer|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-28]
GSpot = 7.3/10cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/evilgenius/review.html|title=Evil Genius Review - GameSpot|last=Parker|first=Sam |date=September 28, 2004|publisher=GameSpot|pages=2|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-28]
GSpy = 4/5cite web|url=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/evil-genius/551744p1.html|title=Evil Genius Review - GameSpy|last=Rausch|first=Allen |date=September 28, 2004|publisher=GameSpy|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-28]
IGN = 7.8/10cite web|url=http://pc.ign.com/articles/552/552160p1.html|title=Evil Genius Review - IGN|last=Adams|first=Dan |date=September 28, 2004|publisher=IGN|pages=3|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-28]
MC = 75%cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/evilgenius?q=Evil%20Genius|title=Evil Genius Review - MetaCritic|publisher=Metacritic|accessdate=2008-09-28]
GR = 77%cite web|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/915014.asp|title=Evil Genius Review - GameRankings|publisher=GameRankings|accessdate=2008-09-28]

References

ee also

*"Dungeon Keeper", another video game which puts the player in charge of a den of evil.
*"Startopia"

External links

*moby game|id=/evil-genius|name="Evil Genius"
* [http://www.evilplanet.com/ "Evil Genius" unofficial site]
* [http://wiki.n1nj4.com/ "Evil Genius" wiki]