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Evil Genius
Image:Evil Genius Coverart.png
Developer(s) Elixir Studios
Publisher(s) Sierra Entertainment
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release date USA September 28, 2004
EU October 1, 2004
Genre(s) God game
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s) ESRB: Teen (T)
PEGI: 12+
Media CD

Evil Genius is a 2004 simulation video game. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video Elixir Studios was a British Video game developer. The company was founded in 1998 by Demis Hassabis, formerly a prominent figure at Sierra Entertainment Inc is a Worldwide American Video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta In Computing, a platform describes some sort of Hardware architecture or Software framework (including Application frameworks, that allows Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 48 BC - Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " See also [[Game classification]] Video games are categorized into Genres based on their Gameplay interaction A God Game is a construction and management simulation that casts the player in the position of controlling the game on a large scale as an entity with Divine In video gaming, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session A video game content rating system is a system used for the classification of Video games into suitability-related groups The Entertainment Software Rating Board ( ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, Advertising guidelines and Pan European Game Information ( PEGI) is a European Video game content rating system. Digital media (as opposed to analog media) usually refers to Electronic media that work on digital Codes. A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio 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. The word henchman (Germanic irregular plural hench men) referred originally to one who attended on a horse that is a Horse groom. Developed by Elixir Studios and published by Sierra Entertainment Games, Evil Genius was released on September 28, 2004. Elixir Studios was a British Video game developer. The company was founded in 1998 by Demis Hassabis, formerly a prominent figure at Sierra Entertainment Inc is a Worldwide American Video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Events 48 BC - Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

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. World domination (sometimes world conquest, global domination, or Colloquially taking over the world) in which a single political authority The main story of the game is based on the construction of one of three superweapons, which are launched 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. James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story Sir Austin Danger Powers, KBE, is a Fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films

The game received generally favorable reviews, scoring an average critic rating of 77% on Game Rankings. Game Rankings is a Website which keeps track of Video game reviews from other sites and combines them to present an average rating for each game [1]

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

Contents

Evil Units

Evil Genius

In Evil Genius you choose one of three dastardly avatars — Maximilian, Alexis, and Shen Yu — to put an evil face to the head of your empire:

Maximilian

A parody of Ernst Stavro Blofeld. If one selects Maximilian as one's Evil Genius, the game promises a reduction to any cash incentive payment used during the research process with 10% (however this becomes redundant if a player downloads a 'research list' from one of the Evil Genius fansites). Maximilian's starting henchman is Jubei. Maximilian's aura is average-sized, with average recovery capabilities. Execution of a minion boosts nearby minion's stats by 5. His execution method is a quick shot to the head.

Alexis

Possibly a parody of Cruella de Vil, Alexis's unique ability is the loyalty her charisma and sex appeal inspires so your minions lose loyalty 20% slower. Cruella de Vil is a fictional character and the primary villain in Dodie Smith 's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 She has an enormous Sphere of Influence which means that minions in her vicinity are generally more loyal, and minion loyalty isn't drained as fast as usual. However, her stat regeneration is the slowest of all 3 geniuses. Alexis' starting henchman is Eli Barracuda. Execution of a minion boosts nearby minions' stats by 10. Her execution method involves setting the victim on fire with her cigarette.

Shen Yu

Also a parody of a fictional evil genius, namely The Insidious Fu Manchu. Dr Fu Manchu is a Fictional character first featured in a series of novels by English author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century If you play as Shen Yu it takes a longer time for agents to arrive on the island and agents spend 10% less time on your island. Shen Yu's starting henchman is Lord Kane. Shen Yu's aura is the smallest of the three but has the fastest stat recovery effect. Execution of minions boosts nearby minions' stats by 7. His execution method involves stabbing the victim in the chest.

Henchmen

As the evil genius gains in notoriety, more master criminals and misanthropes will be amenable to working for them. The henchmen that are available are listed below.

Henchmen have powerful attacks and unique abilities; they are also valuable because they are the only units that can be directly controlled (besides the evil geniuses themselves).

A gangster sporting an afro and is a crack shot with a revolver. Best character for stealing on the world map. Also sports a hypnotic ghetto blaster. He's based on blaxploitation films common in the 70's. Blaxploitation is a Film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many Exploitation films were made that targeted the urban

A samurai who can teleport. Like many characters in the game, he is very stereotypical, with a heavy Japanese accent. His costume and hair is reminiscent of anime. The teleport ability makes him one of the best henchmen for island defence. Especially as it allows him to appear behind superagents. He is based on Japanese historical figure Jubei Yagyu.

An old mastermind responsible for everything from the Titanic sinking to Hindenburg destruction to the start of World War I. Construction The Titanic was a White Star Line ocean liner built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Can use psychic powers to terrify enemies. Possibly based on the Illuminati and Kaiser Soze. "Illuminata" redirects here For the 1998 John Turturro film see Illuminata (film. Keyser Söze (ˈkaɪzɚ ˈsoʊzeɪ is a Fictional character in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects, written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed

A Russian General (despite his apparently German accent). He has a Rocket Launcher and isn't afraid to use it. He uses it liberally, in fact, which often results in one's Lair being set ablaze. A mod is available that trades his rocket launcher with Dirk Masters' guns. He also uses some phrases like "Stop whining" and "You lack discipline" possibly to imitate some of the phrases used in the movie Kindergarten Cop, where Arnold Schwarzenegger is the main character. It is also believed that he is a parody of another movie starring Schwarzenegger, namely "Red Heat" where he plays a soviet policeman who comes to the US. Red Heat is a 1988 Buddy cop film directed by Walter Hill. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Moscow narc

A chemist who specializes in poisoned makeup. Best character for plotting.

A sweet old granny, formerly a nurse in a psychiatric institute with a penchant for shock therapy.

A Haitian Voodoo expert. Has the unique power to turn agents against each other. His top hat and dark clothes seem to be based on Baron Samedi's. In Vodou or voodoo, Baron Samedi ( Baron Saturday, also Baron Samdi Bawon Samedi or Bawon Sanmdi) is one of the aspects of Baron

The Legendary Protector of the village of Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza (tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː from Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' "At the mouth of the well of the Itza " is a

Once he was a prodigious surgeon who decided to use his talents to help natives of South East Asia. However, one day while operating on a cannibalistic patient, his pancreas exploded. The pancreas is a Gland organ in the digestive and Endocrine system of Vertebrates. Wasting no time, he removed the pancreas of his patient and transplanted it into himself, which caused him to acquire a taste for human meat. Though fragile, he has the fastest attack speed in the game allowing him to take out nearly a dozen opponents if he gets close.

An obese hypnotist who can lower loyalty of agents. Best character for lowering heat on world map. He has the flashy clothes and sayings of a stage magician.

A British Hunter with a metal leg and a blunderbuss. The blunderbuss is a muzzle-loading Firearm with a short large Caliber barrel, which is flared at the muzzle, and used with Also has bear traps and a pet monkey named Pendragon.

Minions

Minions form the labor pool used to carry out various tasks, both on the world domination screen and your island. Each type of minion has specific advantages and disadvantages There are four tiers of minions, shown below.

Forces of Justice

The World Domination Screen, showing the territory of the various alliances.
The World Domination Screen, showing the territory of the various alliances.

The world of Evil Genius is divided up into regions that are controlled by five government counter-terrorist agencies:

Each agency will send agents to the secret island to damage the evil operation. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a 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.

Super 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. The Protagonist or main character is the central figure of a story. Action movies are a Film genre where action sequences such as fights, Shootouts Stunts Car chases or explosions either take precedence The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional Espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy Hong Kong action cinema is the reason why Hong Kong film industry 's is so well known 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:

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. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba during the Cold War. 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. A software bug (or just “bug” is an error flaw mistake Failure, fault or “undocumented feature” in a Computer program that prevents it 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:

An unofficial patch has been made to remove some bugs which were not fixed in the official patch, as well as other gameplay modifications. [2]

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.

Mods

While Evil Genius was not designed to be mod-friendly, determined modders were able to tweak with characters, objects, and skins. One such mod, called Arctic Base Mod, changed the island from a desert island to a snowy island, and gave all minions and henchmen snow-themed attire. Another user changed the Freezer (body disposal) into an incinerator which would get rid of bodies much more quickly. There is also a mod that changes the guards' rifles into walkie-talkies that still operate like normal rifles (made as a satire of the digitally-remastered edition of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in which the shotguns used by police were replaced with walkie-talkies). This article is about the 1982 film For the term "ET" which redirects here see ET. This article is about the 1982 film For the term "ET" which redirects here see ET.

References

  1. ^ Evil Genius at Game Rankings
  2. ^ Unofficial patch by "walking fishy"

See also

External links

StarTopia is a Computer game from Mucky Foot Productions (formed by ex- Bullfrog employees and published by Eidos in 2001 MobyGames is a Website devoted to cataloging computer and video games, both past and present
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