Evil Genius (game)
Encyclopedia
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
.
) 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.
, 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.
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.
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 protagonist
s found in many action movies, spy film
s, 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.
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.
Single player
A Single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. "Single-player game" usually implies a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" usually refers to a game mode for a single player, where...
real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
and simulation video game developed by Elixir Studios
Elixir Studios
Elixir Studios was a British video game developer. The company was founded in 1998 by Demis Hassabis, formerly a prominent figure at Lionhead Studios. At its height, it employed around sixty people, and was based in London. It aimed to be an independent developer, creating its own intellectual...
and published by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
, released on 28 September 2004
2004 in video gaming
-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...
. The game is inspired by the spy thriller genre (notably the James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
film series). Similarly to Dungeon Keeper
Dungeon Keeper
Dungeon Keeper is a strategy video game released developed by Bullfrog Productions under Peter Molyneux and released by Electronic Arts in July 1997 for the PC in which the player attempts to build and manage a dungeon or lair while protecting it from 'hero' characters intent on stealing the...
, 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
Rebellion Developments
Rebellion is a British computer games company, based in Oxford, who are most famous for the first Aliens vs. Predator computer game. It has published comic books since 2000 and launched its own book imprint, Abaddon Books, in 2006.-History:...
.
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 BlocEastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
) and events (such as the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
) 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 KeeperDungeon Keeper
Dungeon Keeper is a strategy video game released developed by Bullfrog Productions under Peter Molyneux and released by Electronic Arts in July 1997 for the PC in which the player attempts to build and manage a dungeon or lair while protecting it from 'hero' characters intent on stealing the...
, 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
Tiki
Tiki refers to large wood and stone carvings of humanoid forms in Central Eastern Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean. The term is also used in Māori mythology where Tiki is the first man, created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond – she seduced him...
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
Tesla coil
A Tesla coil is a type of resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is used to produce high voltage, low current, high frequency alternating current electricity. Tesla coils produce higher current than the other source of high voltage discharges, electrostatic machines...
. 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
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, while others are comical, such as a mission in which the player must destroy Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in an effort to rid the world of country music, which is described as an act of humanitarianism
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
.
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
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
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 protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s found in many action movies, spy film
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
s, and martial arts movies
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
. Some notable examples are Jet Chan, a parody of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
and Jet Li
Jet Li
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
, and John Steele, parody of James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
and Remington Steele
Remington Steele
Remington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...
. 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
James Hannigan
James Hannigan is an award-winning British film, television and video game composer who has composed music for various entries in the Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Command & Conquer, Wing Commander, Warhammer and Grand Prix series' of games.-Career:Notable early game credits of Hannigan...
, received a BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
nomination for Best Original Music in 2004.