World Domination. No wonder they waited 16 years – Igromania

Real supervillains never give up. Having stuffed the bumps on the fists of the forces of good, they again take up the old: they are working on mistakes, gathering a team of henchmen more abruptly and with hellish laughter inspect their new creation – another Doomsday machine. Well, now, for sure, they will show everyone where the crayfish winter!

Ironically, real simulators supervillains work the same way. Developers Evil Genius 2 from the studio Rebellion after two unsuccessful experiments (Evil Genius: WMD for Facebook and Evil Genius Online for mobile platforms) took into account their mistakes and tried to do everything according to the precepts of the first part… And this means that it’s time to remember how to build secret bases with traps in the depths of the mountain, how to kidnap and torture the world’s leading politicians and scientists … and in general, where, finally, is my own cabinet made of pure gold ?! World domination will not wait! Get down to business!

It’s hard to be angry

Evil geniuses are the color of humanity. They are smart, beautiful, rich, generous (at least that’s what their minions say). But they still have one drawback: the world does not belong to them yet. Not so much is known about the universe in which the action of Evil Genius 2 unfolds, but, apparently, good in it has almost won. Once scattered countries have rallied into a multipolar world of five alliances. There are no wars, no conflicts. There is not even corruption – each alliance has its own famous spies, single-handedly able to root out bribery in the government. Disgusting. It is a crime for a real villain to be inactive in such a situation. And since the Evil Genius from the previous part disappeared somewhere, it’s time for the young growth to take a holy place.

First you need to choose a personal island on which we will build a villainous base. Then – decide on an alter ego. There are four colorful protagonists to choose from: a copy of Doctor Evil, he is a narcissistic shorty supermaniac Maximilian from the original game; technofascist Zalika; former super spy Emma, ​​who was supposed to destroy evil, not join it; and Red Ivan – in the first part he was a simple bodyguard, and now a dictator in his own country, Ivania.

Each Villain has its own characteristics, its own superweapon and makes bets on different categories of minions. Cannon fodder is cheaper for Red Ivan. Zalika conducts research faster, and her scientists heal and buff minions more effectively. Emma is a master of shenanigans: her operations on the world map receive less attention. Well, Maximilian relies on trouble-free gold and numerical superiority.

Unlike commanders-in-chief in conventional strategies, we – the superstar of the underworld – are not very interested in trifles like manual unit control: the dummies perform most of the actions themselves. The player first of all needs a competent management of the base: in Evil Genius 2 there are more than a dozen different rooms, each of which has its own function. For example, in the treasury we keep the money honestly stolen from the world, in the torture chamber we get secrets from kidnapped specialists from all over the planet, and in the recreation area after a hard day’s work, minions (those who survived) relax while watching “Villain-TV” – guess who there is the main star.

Lair, sweet lair. Crematoria are carefully prepared for violators at the entrance. Pay attention to the quantity

It is better to approach the arrangement of rooms with all responsibility: it is better not to put the same treasury far from the guard – it first of all becomes the target of the agents-thieves. If you or the minions miss the sabotage, and the guards do not have time to reach the fleeing intruders, the stolen money will be stolen back. We’ll have to not only save up again, but also rebuild the safes: the agents don’t bother and they drag money from under the castle along with the castle. In the power plant room, in addition to generators, you can put crematoria for corpses – and there will be many corpses … Underestimate the importance of ritual services – pay with the loyalty of minions. If the battle with enemy scouts took place in a busy corridor or dining room, then uncleared corpses will quickly provoke a riot and mass desertion. We’ll have to distract the evil genius from Very Important Cases so that he personally takes up the mass shootings and somehow calmed down the unbelted rabble.

The consequences of a collision with super agents – the number of corpses is off the charts. However, there is nothing to worry about. Minions are replenished once a minute for free. However, retraining them into more valuable specialists will still take time.

I recognize you in makeup

No matter how hard Rebellion tried to do everything according to the original formula, of course, there were some differences. 16 years have passed: the games have changed, the graphics have taken a significant step forward, and the audience is already completely different.

One of the most striking metamorphoses is stylistic. At first glance, it seems that everything seems to be in place: the same costumes, hairstyles, soundtrack. But if the original fiercely parodied Bond, and with caricature and cynicism was not inferior to films about Austin Powers, then the sequel resembles … the creations of an art studio Pixar.

And the point here is not only in the cartoon graphics: in the second part there is much less cruelty and black humor. Jokes have become less sharp, and dialogues, descriptions of objects and operations on the map more often cause a good-natured smile than a cynical grin. This approach is more massive, understandable and acceptable for a wide audience, but whether fans of the original will appreciate such a reverse – time will tell.

Most of the mechanics have been retained, but some of them have been revised. Something was simplified, somewhere the balance was tweaked. For example, in the past, war minions were required much more than workers. Now the value of peaceful specialists has increased many times: they have become one of the most important resources, because their lives are used to pay for operations on the world map. In addition, if earlier it was possible to send any random minions on a mission, now it is necessary to assemble a squad from a strictly defined set of specialists (for example, four mercenaries, three biologists, a couple of propagandists). This motivates to recruit and train a wide variety of minions, and not clog the entire base with warriors.

Coverage zone in action. The group of agents did not have time to get to the island, and our guys in disguise are already explaining that it is time for them

Do not forget that the Evil Genius can be annoyed not only by henchmen, but also by enemy scouts. Fortunately, it is now easier with them: thanks to the new upgrade, which opens after research, the zones of the base can be marked with “how to deal with the intruder” – from distraction to shooting to kill. And it really works wonders: before the next agent has time to brazenly open the door to the lair, and his face is already staring with fifty guns.

In addition, in the sequel, the tricks of disguising a secret base as an entertainment venue really work. Unlike the useless hotel from the original, the well-organized cover zone in Evil Genius 2 is capable of expelling more than half of the rank-and-file scouts. But the traps remained the same stupid – both singly and in combinations. They take up a lot of space, are inconvenient to use and can be easily bypassed even by ordinary enemies. A bunch of narrow corridors and pumped up guards works much more efficiently.

Campaign against freedom

In its best moments, Evil Genius 2 resembles a children’s designer without blueprints: you have to figure out how the details fit together, experiment, learn from your mistakes. The game gives an unforgettable sense of creative freedom, allowing you to reach your goal in your own original way. But in the single-player campaign, Evil Genius 2 itself strives to strangle this freedom.

Evil Geniuses don’t always think only of themselves. For example, they are concerned about the fate of endangered species.

Having tortured the player with long and meticulous training, the plot constantly presses the stop-valve and does not allow progress until you hire new minions, steal unnecessary trash on the world stage, build no less useless traps, and so on. For each useful task, it seems that there are two trash ones that do not carry any meaning and are necessary only for stretching the timing. For example, I am asked to build several traps, but to open their recipe, you need to do some lengthy research (3-5 minutes of real time for each). I know for sure that there will be no place for traps in the game, enemy agents will almost certainly not fall into them, and I will simply waste my time. But the game doesn’t care, and so I’m sadly watching the exploration timer.

It is especially annoying when a campaign forces you to make unprofitable and even harmful “improvements”: for example, “hire another 30 guards before moving on.” But why do I need extra guards? The new mission will not involve even a third, and besides, my forty well-trained, equipped and buffed guards are already more than enough to repel any attack. Instead, I need 20 scientists to gather intelligence, but the game doesn’t care. And you have to manually get rid of the minions in order to release the limit and bring the number of soldiers to the required number.

And even being a stone’s throw from world domination, without five minutes, the dictator of all the Earth is forced to engage in villainous everyday life. Closer to the finale (at the 25th hour), I had the following situation: the work of the main base is fully adjusted, the minions themselves reflect the waves of agents, the treasuries are bursting with an overabundance of gold – there is no need to climb the world map for the extraction of money, which means that there is no attention of super agents I don’t attract anymore. But instead of credits and ominous laughter behind the scenes, the campaign continues with an endless stream of monotonous tasks “collect data – conduct research – collect data – accumulate gold – collect data”. And these are just parts of the main quest. But in order to move forward, it is often necessary to perform also side effects, some of which, in fact, become mandatory.

In any other game with such an approach to game design, even until the middle of the campaign, you would have to drag yourself through the force, not to mention replay with other characters. But I don’t want to throw Evil Genius 2 at all. She is drawn by the extraordinary style, catchy parody soundtrack and pleasant humor (which I would very much like to call black, but alas). And your own villainous island is still a scarce and tempting commodity, even if a heap of annoying worries and responsibilities is attached to it. In addition, for those who want to play without rails, the developers have tightened the sandbox mode, where, fortunately, there is not so much routine obligation.

Pleased

• the opportunity to play the role of Pure Evil;
• recognizable James Bond soundtrack;
• an excellent parody of super-spy films;
• villainous base constructor.

Upset

• traps and cameras still have no use;
• missions of the same type;
• protracted campaign;
• the game about villains has become kinder.

How we played

In what: the key is provided by the publisher.

On what: PC.

How many: 30 hours.

Achievement of the editorial office

“Novice benefactor”

To distract attention from their criminal network, arrange a benefit concert … in honor of the chief of police.

Verdict

Remaining at the heart of the same simulator of an evil genius as a decade and a half ago, Evil Genius 2 has changed greatly in detail: it has become larger, simpler, kinder. And even if not everything has changed for the better, the game is able to present many hours of fun and creative gameplay … and take no less time for a lot of similar tasks and grinds.