Game News Geneforge 5 is Here!

[Jason]

Tags: Geneforge 5; Spiderweb Software

Now that Mac users are done beta-testing it, the Windows release of Spiderweb's <b><a href="http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/geneforge5/index.html" target="blank">Geneforge 5: Overthrow</a></b> is available. Head on over and grab the 32 mb demo.
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<ul><li>Enormous world, with over 80 areas to explore.</li>
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<li>Choose among five different factions, each with its own beliefs, cities, and quests. Help the rebels or fight them. Your choices will shape the world.</li>
<br>
<li>Dozens of different endings. Choose for yourself how the saga will finally end.</li>
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<li>Many paths to victory. Slay your enemies or use stealth and diplomacy to outwit them. Become engrossed in the storyline or just go out and wreak havoc.</li>
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<li>Lots of replay value.</li>
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<li>Prior experience with the Geneforge series is completely unnecessary.</li></ul>

 

[MetalCraze]

I have to admit - looks pretty nice - he surely got better with the graphics.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Meh, Ultima VIII looked better.

 

[elander_]

N
<ul>
<li>Choose among five different factions, each with its own beliefs, cities, and quests. Help the rebels or fight them. Your choices will shape the world.</li>
<li>Dozens of different endings. Choose for yourself how the saga will finally end.</li>
<li>Many paths to victory. Slay your enemies or use stealth and diplomacy to outwit them. Become engrossed in the storyline or just go out and wreak havoc.</li>
</ul>

Looks like a game tailor made for Codex references. Will someone play and review it?

 

[denizsi]

I can appreciate little to no graphics, but dull and bland stuff give me nausea.

<s>And this:</s>

<s>Meh, Ultima VIII looked better.</s>

I read that as Ultima VII, one less "I".

 

[Davaris]

Meh, Ultima VIII looked better.

Ultima 8 was made with all the resources of a major AAA company. Geneforge was made by one guy and a couple of (full time?) employees in the basement of his house. So yah, lets judge them by an unreasonable standard and then dismiss them because they can't possibly reach it.

 

[Shagnak]

I think it looks reasonably polished.
And it allows 1280x1024 resolution now, which is my native resolution.

I've still got some older Vogel games to finish though, so I probably won't be playing this one for years.

Looks like a game tailor made for Codex references. Will someone play and review it?

Probably not. But it's well past time that someone did. We haven't had a spiderweb review since way back when. Geneforge 2 in 2004?

Price tag is $28. Who's going to sacrifice their wallet for the benefit of the Codex hivemind?

 

[Gold]

Oh, I'm buying it right now. But I'm a fan boy.

 

[Psilon]

OK, I was one of the beta testers, so I've already played through it as a Shaper loyalist. Here's my synopsis now that the NDA's been lifted.

Not too many differences from Geneforge 4 that I can remember. Still the same 15 core creations, but the original 3 classes (shaper/guardian/agent) are back and join the 6 from GF4. There's less of an emphasis on weird mutant critters this time around--I encountered maybe 5 spawners and a dozen spinecores throughout the entire game. That's not to say there aren't new monsters, though; assault podlings will ruin your day when encountered in groups, and the Unbound are just badasses. Generally, though, you're actively fighting a particular faction rather than its failed lab experiments.

Attacks still cost 5 AP, but you can attack with as little as 1 AP left. Melee creations get significantly more powerful as a result of this, and plated clawbugs will bring doom to all who oppose you in the early game. (10 AP = 2 hefty attacks.) Wingbolts still rock, but fiery critters are a little limited due to high fire resistance on late-game enemies. Cryoas and cryodrayks do a bit better there. There are area-of-effect spells and monster abilities now. Haste and Slow have been nerfed considerably. Haste is now a ~20% chance of cheaper AP costs for an attack, and Slow is a similar chance to lose your turn.

The world's a lot more open than in GF3, too. A few of the late-game areas are gated off by officious Shapers or hostile rebels, but there's less of the "island 1, then island 2, then island 3, then endgame" feeling. There are five major factions and one minor faction, and they do a pretty good job of covering the loyalty axis. Two of these factions are homicidal even by Geneforge standards--try a playthrough with Taygen or Ghaldring sometime. Especially Taygen. Litalia, Alwan, and Greta all make reappearances, and you finally meet the entire Shaper Council.

Basically, though, it's Geneforge. You know what to expect. As usual Jeff's made a bunch of improvements under the hood, but by and large it's the same basic mechanics and the GF4-style interface. If you hated the previous entries, there's no reason to try this one. If you liked the previous entries, you can play the rebellion to its final conclusion. If you haven't tried any Geneforges, this one's actually a pretty good one to start with; it continues the saga from the previous games, but doesn't rely on knowledge of the series.

 

[Thrasher]

What about things that seem to matter to the codex, like choices and consequences, different story / quest paths, character development, etc...

 

[overtenemy]

Dohohohohoho I thought this wasn't gonna be released for PC for awhile.

MUST GET ASAP

 

[Psilon]

Well, let's see here. Two largely distinct paths through the plot, which splinter into 2-3 endgames apiece. Each region (though not necessarily each individual sector) usually has at the very least a "combat path" and a "wits path," the latter usually encompassing stealth, mechanics skill, and leadership skill. It is theoretically possible to win the game without fighting anything, according to the loading screens. That said, most of the endgame paths involve assassinating other faction leaders. Sometimes there's a non-combat approach to doing so, but sometimes you just have to start swapping damage.

Depending on how you handle certain events, later encounters will change. Greta, your servile buddy from the tutorial, and the faction leaders all react to your actions somewhat differently. The ending text also accounts for certain major NPC kills and (I believe) how much of a canister junkie you turned out to be.

If you mean PC development, there isn't that much of a "personality" you can develop other than faction alignment. Skill system is standard Spiderweb XP/point buy. XP is awarded for quests, disarming traps, and combat. The weaker the trap/monster, the less XP you get as you level. Creations still have the four basic upgradeable stats.

Seriously, though, it's the fifth goddamn Geneforge game, and Jeff Vogel's not exactly unknown to the Codex. You should already know what you're getting into: large worlds, tons of TB combat, and at least two competing factions of dubious morality.

 

[Thrasher]

Thanks

 

[Micmu]

Finally some news here that made me happy.
I hope they process orders on Saturday, I'm definitely hitting the demo limit (demon) tonight.

 

[Volourn]

Looks like another overrated shitty SW game. I'll wait until part 10. Maybe, then, he can live up to the hype.

 

[Serious_Business]

Looks like another overrated shitty SW game. I'll wait until part 10. Maybe, then, he can live up to the hype.

Bioware games are not good.

 

[Volourn]

It is very serious business to defend SW at all cost.. even besmirching Vogel's idols.

R00fles!

 

[Antagonist]

Looks like another overrated shitty SW game. I'll wait until part 10. Maybe, then, he can live up to the hype.

Too easy and I'm sure you are aware of it. :wink:

 

[Korgan]

That's nice. Is there a way to be a double agent for a significant part of the game, like in GF4?

 

[Wyrmlord]

Jesus Christ, only one person in this topic actually giving any input about the game.

Why do you people waste your time writing the same things you have said before - "Vogel's games are ugly", "Many ugly games are less ugly", what the hell, guys?

 

[BethesdaLove]

If everybody started being productive, we would live in a decadent socialist utopia without any forum activity.

ninjaedit

also we are not as cool as you are.

 

[Psilon]

That's nice. Is there a way to be a double agent for a significant part of the game, like in GF4?

Not as a Shaper loyalist. It might be part of some of the rebel quest lines, but most of the factions treat you as more of a commando than an infiltrator. At any rate, you don't get most of the sponsor-specific quests (as opposed to "generic Shaper" or "generic rebel") until you swear loyalty to a faction in the endgame.

 

[Micmu]

Confirmed: works smoothly in WINE, even in high res, full detail and WIDE SCREEN (which, apparently, is now supported). Not even minor hiccups like some previous SW games had in WINE.