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Evil Genius

EMAIL PRINT pc

8.1 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 51 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 27 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Vivendi Universal

Developer: Elixir Studios

Genre(s): Strategy

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: September 28, 2004

Summary

You're a malevolent mastermind bent on achieving global domination through the construction of the ultimate doomsday device. Build a secret base, gain notoriety by completing daring missions, repel the forces of justice in real-time combat, and develop evil super-weapons to complete your nefarious master plan. Evil Genius is a tongue-in-cheek take on the spy thrillers of the '60s, offering you the unique opportunity to play the villain as you control a secret island fortress complete with powerful henchmen, loyal minions, ice-cold beauty queens, and a host of hilarious gizmos. [Vivendi Universal]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: ActionTrip Preview Boomtown Preview Games Domain Preview GameSpot Interview GameSpot Preview GameSpy Preview IGN Preview Official Website Total Video Games Interview

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

GameCritics

The excellent balancing of gameplay and humor make this game a worthy companion piece to VU Games' superlative "No One Lives Forever" franchise.

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Worth Playing

If you love James Bond movies, or Austin Powers, or any of those great gadgets-girls-and-guns flicks, this game will put you right there in the mix. If you like games that have intellect rooming side-by-side with action, you’ll think your fingers off here...This game could be described as "crack on a CD!"

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PC Format

Everywhere you look there's another cute animation and another cool gadget. Combine this with an addictive research tree and a challenging campaign, and you have yourself a great combination of "Dungeon Keeper" and "Austin Powers" - just not a very long one. [Oct 2004, p.94]

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PC Gamer

Its excellent production values and clever design make for a very satisfying package. [Dec 2004, p.104]

Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

Anyone who enjoys constant challenge (the gaming equivalent of juggling with chainsaws) will find much to love in Evil Genius. The majority of the game's features function extremely well and the theme is rock-solid throughout. [PC Gamer UK]

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GameZone

Yes indeed, it is good to be bad. Elixir and Vivendi have seen to that. Evil Genius will not set the world on fire with its graphics or soundtrack, but the game offers a solid challenge and entertaining experience.

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IC-Games

The humour shines through, the base design and the battle against the agents will keep you occupied for hours and hours on end. Graphics, sounds and the whole gameplay looks smooth and solid.

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PC Gameworld

Fans of management and tycoon games should definitely not miss this creative and well thought-out opportunity to play the bad guy. Own this game and it will own you back.

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Game Chronicles

Seems to have been designed itself by an evil genius. A person with above average abilities in the graphics department but a sadistic, or evil, urge to make gameplay very irritating and proceed at a snail‘s pace.

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3DAvenue

The control system is as good as it is mainly due to the well designed interface. As mentioned, the game is reasonably involved so you will have to spend some time learning what does what, but everything, and I mean everything in this game is so easily accessible.

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Game Informer

Evil Genius is unique, polished, and more flat-out fun than anything since "Painkiller." [Nov 2004, p.167]

Gamer's Hell

Lots of lovely little details and gimmicks, lots of black humor and lots and lots of evil deeds to perform - what else can an evil genius of tomorrow ask from a game?

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PC Gamer UK

A sturdy sense of humour, and canny logic to its proceedings, raise Evil Genius above a noisy crowd. [Apr 2006, p.95]

Computer and Video Games

Like Austin Powers it adopts the faux-Bond villain theme very well, without becoming too camp or dampening the challenges. Above all, it's hugely entertaining and manages to keep dishing out the surprises all the way through.

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ActionTrip

Although the game suffers from various setbacks, it's still hella addictive and fun to play. Not to mention that the single-player campaign is HUGE, so you'll get hours and hours of fun from it.

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Computer Games Online RO

It has it flaws and shortcomings, but it can also make you laugh out loud on more than one occasion, which is truly something for a strategy where the main goal is world domination.

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Next Level Gaming

Now RTS's are generally a little slow for me, but Evil Genius has a few elements that you have to control simultaneously, so you won't have to sit and wait long for something to build or develop.

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GameShark

One of the most addictive, amazing, and even hilarious games I’ve seen come out on this quarter of the year. Bullfrog might be dead, and Dungeon Keeper might be dead, but the creative concepts they inspired clearly are not.

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GameSpy

A remarkably fun and addictive game that, while not without its flaws, is brimming with enough charm, good humor, and depth to keep gamers occupied for a long time. The bad news is the game has a problem with relaying information to the player that is, at best, annoying, and in one case, almost brings the entire product crashing down.

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Armchair Empire

There’s some trial and error early on that could have sunk the whole game, but the depth and style overcome that stumbling block.

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Gamers Depot

The lack of tangible information is probably what hurts Evil Genius the most -- alarm systems register for both tourists and spies, minions die without warning, traps are on fire and you often get only one real warning -- generally, it feels like you just don't have anywhere near as much data coming in as you should.

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XGP Gaming

You, as the mastermind, must not only create ways to take over the world, but also develop ways to improve your base so that you have the necessary faculties to do so.

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IGN

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.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

Evil Genius is a flawed strategy title very much in the Dungeon Keeper mould, but that doesn’t mean there’s no fun to be had. It’s certainly entertaining enough to keep you playing, but the numerous faults do serve to irk throughout, which ultimately strips away some of the pleasure.

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Xequted

The quirky nature of this game is its strongest point. Evil games are great, but evil games with a little humour are even better.

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Game Revolution

The rare success of style over substance. It has everything an Austin Powers movie offers, but draws it out over twenty hours instead of two. There are sparks of genuine delight that make you wish the game was balanced better.

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Play Magazine

The micromanagement portion of lair maintenance and minion development is intuitive and entertaining. [Nov 2004, p.87]

Game Over Online

Timing and game issues aside, Evil Genius is one of those great strategy games that will appeal not only to strategy fans, but to players who like operating on the wrong side of the law in their games.

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Warcry

Breaks new ground with its style and premise, but the delivery comes off a bit stale, and there’s no reason to pick this game back up after the first play-through.

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Gamers' Temple

It has its enjoyable moments and trap design can be a lot of fun, but overall the game’s pacing and interface issues can make world domination a test of patience.

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GameSpot

Evil Genius is hampered by some frustratingly haphazard pacing as well as issues with the artificial intelligence of your minions.

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1UP

Surprising enough as it is for a modern strategy title, the lack of any multiplayer support rubs the last bit of salt in the wounds for a title that could have benefited so much from human competition to cover its weaknesses.

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Edge Magazine

While there are awkward moments on this malignant management escapade, it’s never less than charming. The exaggerated ‘60’s spy-movie design is familiar and entertainingly fresh, and although flawed, it’s still far more appealing than Republic. [Nov 2004, p.104]

GameBiz

If you’re a keen gamer and not a big fan of the strategy simulation games, stay clear of Evil Genius as it won’t bring you any satisfaction as opposed to a leading FPS game out on PC these days.

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Adrenaline Vault

Extremely effective in immersing you in the world of world domination and espionage, while maintaining a wonderful sense of humor... Nonetheless, the slow pacing, imperfect sense of direction, and extensive micromanagement can interfere with your enjoyment.

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games(TM)

Granted, it may be the thick vein of very British humour running throughout the game that takes some credit for holding frustration at bay. However, Elixir has learnt much from the overly-ambitious Republic and, as such, everything about this title feels far more rounded and polished. [Nov 2004, p.112]

GamerArchive

The high difficulty level in particular manages to cause immense frustration as your intricately laid out plans are once again foiled and you’re forced to start all over again.

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Yahoo! Games

Its heart is in the right place, but all the funny interrogation scenes can't make up for the fact that you're doing the same thing at the end of the game as you were in the beginning.

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RealGamer

So, what is it really like to be an evil genius? Well you can have a fantastic lair, hordes of loyal workers and tons of money but to be honest, it can be boring at times, you see, the truly evil one never gets to do any of the dirty work, they just sit and watch; and what makes it worse is workers that don’t seem to have much between their ears making the ‘watching’ a frustrating task.

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Eurogamer

Evil Genius overcomes its flaws and ultimately satisfies. Building an evil empire is a good idea, and the way Elixir's constructed the game is thoughtful, enterprising and occasionally inspired.

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Computer Games Magazine

In spite of its missing sandbox mode and the crappy economic meta-game, Evil Genius has a groovy conceit, bright and unique art direction, and a rewarding and well-conceived base-building component. [Dec 2004, p.87]

netjak

Just an average game. It started out strong, but then it simply lost steam toward the end.

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G4 TV

It has tons of potential and just begs to be liked. And we do like it. After all, this may be the first game that can play itself while you’re playing something else.

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GamerFeed

It's a shame to see all this potential wasted. It takes a true and determined criminal mastermind to get through this game with all its flaws.

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Loaded Inc

The building and base development aspects are fun but the more you play the more the global overview feature feels like an unwanted distraction.

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GMR Magazine

Despite all it's going for it, Evil Genius just isn't fun. The gameplay is dull, and there is nothing left after you get beyond the initial novelty. [Nov 2004, p.140]

Sydney Morning Herald

Players have no real interaction with the despicable duties beyond sending out waves of underlings who can be attacked without warning. Progress requires patience, juggling priorities and micromanagement. Fortunately, the flaws are softened by many clever ideas; it feels good to be bad.

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GamePro

The concept behind Evil Genius is a great one, but the individual pieces of the game don't balance as well as they could. [Dec 2004, p.128]

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Four Fat Chicks

But where "Dungeon Keeper 2" was graceful, elegant, superbly tuned - possibly the perfect RTS - Evil Genius is clumsy, boorish, frustrating, and frankly not worth the price of admission.

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GameSpot AU

As a micromanagement/god sim, it makes a fair effort with its source material, although you'll often find yourself bogged down in petty details, and it can lose a bit of charm in its eventual endgame phase.

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Computer Gaming World

Could have been great. Instead, it's a near miss - a great idea poorly presented and inadequately explained. And that ain't my bag, baby. [Dec 2004, p.94]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 27 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Michael M gave it a9:
Clearly, these so called game companies didn't spend enough time playing the game. Agreed that the game-play starts out slow, but it picks up quick. The humor in it is clever and witty. I'm amazed at the amount of content put into this game, especially all of the missions and items. And its very nice to have a glossary of literally everything in the game. The only thing I found wrong with the game is some AI problems, and a rare bug that can crash the game. Great game overall for strategy-lovers and builders. Much better than other games in this genre.

P N gave it a4:
The game is mind numbingly addicting, but detrimentally so. Everything takes forever. Want to go on a mission? Watch as the 10 guys you send out SLOWLY walk to the dispatch point, and then SLOWLY board the vehicle, before eventually arriving. Then, watch as half of them die right away, the mission is failed, and you have to wait for them to get trained back up again before another attempt at the mission. This can easily take 20 to 40 minutes. Nothing in the game happens quickly. Everything involves waiting on a minion to move into position and perform an animation. Once enemy agents show up prepare to be frustrated by their endless persistence. Every time you set up a defense they will, by design, be able to circumvent it, blow it up, or be ignored by it. I enjoyed the game for the first couple of hours. Then I got annoyed and started over, then I got annoyed and cheated, then I got annoyed and deleted that shit. Don't waste your time on this game.

Tommy W gave it a10:
Anybody who gave this game a low score probably had a bad computer or only played it for about five minutes and made a misjudgment. The game is a little slow at first, but that's to help you prepare for down the road. If you take the time to look at the glossary when confused, you can find the information you need to solve nearly any problem. This has been my favorite game since it first came out, and it deserves a much higher score than it has received.

Daryl N gave it a10:
All claims about this game being frustrating and to much micromanagement are simply incorrect. Once you learn how to set up your base correctly it'll practically run itself (if you want it to). This is truly one of the best games I have ever played and I have played them all. It can be difficult to figure everything out in the beginning so it is worth having a look at one of the fan sites for tips. Don't cheat yourself out of a great experience do take the time to learn the mechanics and this game will keep on giving. Also note that technically this game was ahead of its time back in 2004 and even by today standards the graphics are quite good.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
A very solid game with a nice style and humour. Some AI issues let it down though, quick did anyone say fire.

Chris J gave it an8:
Origonal and entertaining. Great game, funny and additive. Sometimes i find it hard to pry my fingers from the computer it's really that good, takes a long time to do some missions tho. I enjoy when people try getting in your base. Good fun. The music is incrediable, really sets the theme.

Vincent V.. gave it an8:
Its an entertaining game full of humor. One of the funniest games I've ever played.

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Evil Genius

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