Evil Genius 2

[Korachia]

The follow up to the old, underated Evil Genius is almost upon us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrB12L-qQ44

It seems to be very much an extension of the first one. I like the style, but I am afraid the nostalgic pull is clouding my vision if I should buy it or not. What do you guys think - is it worth it?

[Sky]

Same rule as any nostalgia project: wait for reviews.

[Trippy]

Also Monster Hunter Rise will be out right before that which will suck up almost all my gaming time. I'll probably wait for EG2 to be on sale during the Summer sales before buying.

[Khaldun]

Didn't play the first one but I remember the Dungeon construction game and it really disappointed me. It's weird--if you tell me "here's a game to build a hospital or an amusement park or a city", I  will accept all sorts of constraints that are vaguely about realism--budget, available features, etc.

You tell me to build a dungeon or an evil genius HQ and I do not want to fucking hear it. I want no rules, bitches--I want to make something that is in my head canon of what a dungeon or an evil genius HQ ought to be, should have been. You tell me "Evil Genius HQs should be stupid in some specific way", I want to know BUT WHY.

[SurfD]

After having spent a good bit of time tooling around with several of the "theme park management" style games such as Dungeon Keeper and Evil Genius 1 (back in the day) and Jurassic World most recently, I have come to the conclusion that what I would REALLY love to see in these games is a "Planning" mode.

Something that would let me pause the action, throw up a "Planning Overlay", and give me an unlimited budget with which to "sketch out" my desired base plans.  Do I want to put this thing there? I don't know? What would it look like if I did? Will I have enough room? Will I end up running into a wall there? Will I run out of power if I do this? Etc?  And then once you are done with your planning, it keeps the layout you designed as sort of a "Ghost" overlay in the background.  Then, as you progress, you just fill in the areas already marked out for development.   Would make setting up the "ideal" base / park / dungeon SOOO much easier.

[eldaec]

First one wasn't really all that good.

It was pretty. But not actually good.

Suffered from a more extreme version of the design issue in dungeon keeper, where there was never really a way to blend defence in depth with a functional base.

I imagine I will play this anyway. Because the idea is fun.

[luckton]

And here I was thinking of starting a thread, but not imagining it would get much traction 

The concept and design of the first made it one of my all-time favorites. It had issues, sure, but there was enough stuff there for me to have a good time replaying it time and again over the years.

The amount of community outreach this dev team has shown via Steam for the first gives me a good impression that they have a good grasp on the fallacies of the first and what to do to address them, while brining the gameplay to the modern graphic ascetics.

Endless sandbox mode will be a nice addition, and added content through the season pass might be good.

[Korachia]

There was definitely issues with the first one, but the charm kept dragging me in. If only there had been more maps or some sort of sandbox builder, and a more clever AI for the agents. 

I can´t help it, I am gonna throw money at this now.

Which evil genius will be your first pick?

[luckton]

Apparently the story campaign is unique to all four of them, so I'll hit them all. Probably play Zalika first, then Max.

[luckton]

https://youtu.be/XYLlBmY31w4

Blessed nostalgia, take me back to the care free years of the early '00s! 

[Sky]

That's an impressive organ.



 

[Korachia]

Lovely music with a slight touch of Morricone!

[luckton]

Review blockade is down. Seems to be a mix of ratings from "this is everything I wanted the sequel to be" to "WTF is this micromanaging bullshit?".

From vg247:

https://www.vg247.com/2021/03/29/evil-genius-2-review-exactly-sequel-fans-waiting/

Everything that made that original game special, and ultimately a cult classic, is faithfully and lovingly reproduced here. It’s a safe reimagining, but simply on merit of all the small modernizing touches, which add up to a lot, it’s also pretty clearly a better game than the original – and considering how much I loved that game, that’s no small feat. I can see many more hours in my lair ahead – and with potential updates and DLC down the line to address some issues, true world domination could still be ahead.

From IGN

https://www.ign.com/articles/evil-genius-2-world-domination-review

While the art, voice acting, and overall theme harmonize so beautifully that I want to steeple my fingers and practice my evil laugh, almost every moment of playing Evil Genius 2 is plagued by a clunky, needy world map layer and confusing, poorly communicated objectives. It’s the kind of problem that playtesting usually brings out during development, and this game could’ve used more of that. Once I eventually stumbled blindly onto the solutions to some of these frustrating problems through brute force trial and error, I could see the promise of a dastardly good time of laying traps and spinning plates hiding underneath. But being constantly surrounded by fools wasn't quite worth the reward, at the end of the doomsday.

From PC Gamer

https://www.pcgamer.com/evil-genius-2-world-domination-review/

But there's no getting away from the fact that the game's feedback loops are too stretched out. It feels it could offer a tight 20-hour game—more than enough considering there are four different Geniuses to play as. But this is stretched to 30 or 40 hours by overlong missions and a whole lot of waiting for stuff to happen.

Despite taking a roundabout route to get there, however, in the end I think Evil Genius 2 successfully replicates the cat-stroking, moustache-twirling, mad-cackling fun of being a calculating supervillain. On the scale of criminal masterminds, I'd rate it a Dr Evil. It's funny and it's got all the right equipment, but it's not quite the full Blofeld.

The VG247 guy strikes me as a similar mindset as myself. Guess I'll find out what I think when it unlocks tomorrow.

[eldaec]

For me, file under .... waiting till a discount and some DLC.

Unless people here say otherwise after trying it.

[Trippy]

Not reviewing that well at the moment on Steam, being at "Mostly Positive" with ~1/4 of the reviews being negative.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/700600/Evil_Genius_2_World_Domination/

[eldaec]

Everything I read suggests it is a lot like Evil Genius 1. Which is fair enough.

[Trippy]

With a shitty UI, which is not encouraging.

[Korachia]

Slightly entertained.

Don´t get me wrong, it does provide some fun but it´s  alittle too streamlined for my taste. It´s like they took the best from the original, cut the odd bits out, and polished it. So a better experience for sure, but it feels kinda short.

After 10 hours, I cant see myself playing it for more than 30-40 hours total. Definitely a game worth trying.. when it´s in the bargain bin.

[Samwise]

Something that would let me pause the action, throw up a "Planning Overlay", and give me an unlimited budget with which to "sketch out" my desired base plans.  Do I want to put this thing there? I don't know? What would it look like if I did? Will I have enough room? Will I end up running into a wall there? Will I run out of power if I do this? Etc?  And then once you are done with your planning, it keeps the layout you designed as sort of a "Ghost" overlay in the background.  Then, as you progress, you just fill in the areas already marked out for development.   Would make setting up the "ideal" base / park / dungeon SOOO much easier.

Prison Architect has that, I believe.

[luckton]

New patch out. Fixes a bunch of annoyances I've have with the game so far.

[luckton]

And the first DLC pack is out.

https://youtu.be/M_bhmhITDOA

A new wannabe Super Agent is on the scene in Evil Genius 2: World Domination’s brand new DLC. Can you defeat the mighty Espectro?
Behind the red mist of his headgear lies a twisted mind fixed on power, all with the singular aim of your annihilation. Not only can he charge up devastating attacks, Espectro can also use forbidden technology to create clones of himself. He must be stopped, but more than that, his incredible abilities must be harnessed for your own…
SEEING RED
Out today, The Cabal Pack introduces Espectro as a brand new acquirable henchman, along with accompanying Side Story objectives and plenty more: In full, the pack includes:
New Henchman - Espectro
New Lair Equipment – the Cabal Indoctrination Chamber. Change the appearances of four other henchmen by giving them the Cabal makeover.
New Lair Equipment – the R.A.Y.G.U.N. Interrogation Device
Accompanying Side Story objectives

All of the Cabal Pack content will be available in new campaigns.
The Cabal Pack is available as additional content for Evil Genius 2 as part of the Evil Genius 2: Season Pass. It’s also available to buy separately, priced £4.19 / $4.99 / €4.99 on Steam.
T’IS THE SEASON TO BE EVIL
The Cabal Pack is the first drop from the Evil Genius 2: Season Pass, with plenty more lair-building content on the way to satisfy supervillains everywhere.
As detailed today in the Season Pass roadmap, The Cabal Pack will be followed by:
A lair items pack
Another henchman pack
Two minion packs
A campaign pack