Ladies And Gentlemen, Welcome To My Underground Lair

A "strategy" game can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. For most it brings to mind games like the old Command & Conquer series or the upcoming Armies of Exigo. Some may think of Super Power, Civilization, or Jagged Alliance. The Sims however, may not come to your mind as a game needing a large dose of strategic skill. That was my mindset when I began playing Evil Genius. A humorous looking, light-hearted game, it didn't fit my definition of strategy because you weren't expected to command armies in a tank rush or harvest ore from a mine. In fact in the beginning it felt like a lot like The Sims as I decorated my base and got new items, kept my minions from being bored and made sure they were well rested.

After screwing up several games, I realized I needed a paradigm shift. Evil Genius played like the old strategy titles of the Dungeon Keeper series from the dearly departed studios of Bullfrog. In Dungeon Keeper you managed a host of demons, imps, succubi, etc. as you expanded your dungeon's real estate. You would excavate new rooms out of the rock and build hatcheries and torture chambers as you staved off attacks from the Lord of the Land and rival dungeon masters.

In Evil Genius you begin the game choosing between three criminal masterminds: Maximillian, Alexis, or Shen Yu, though the choice has no real bearing on play. Instead of building a fantasy-themed dungeon, you carve your lair out of volcanoes on tropical islands and manage henchmen and minions. You send your lackeys out into the world to increase your criminal noteriety through acts of infamy and train them to defend your hideout from super agents bent on foiling your plans of world domination.