Evil Genius 2: World Domination

[Zombra]

Wait, I just substantially realized that Rebellion is putting this out. Does that mean it'll be an Epic exclusive that costs $90?

 

[Dexter]

Wait, I just substantially realized that Rebellion is putting this out. Does that mean it'll be an Epic exclusive that costs $90?

 

[Infinitron]

 

[LESS T_T]

https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/700600/view/2953759617623163807

DEVELOPMENT BLOG - Evil Geniuses
Hello everyone! It’s Rich Edwards, Lead Designer on Evil Genius 2, and I’m running out of ways to say “I’m back again.”


I’m back once more with another Development Blog for you. Today I’m going to be changing up the format slightly and telling you about all of our Evil Geniuses. You may already know some of them, but there are a definitely a couple you don’t… so let’s get on with introducing our four nefarious supervillains.

First of all, let’s talk about how they play, and their place in the grander world…

Breaking the Lore

We’ve got four distinct Evil Geniuses and, while each of them is tailored to a different play style, they do have some things in common. For example, they’re need to be protected. Yes, that includes Red Ivan, who might be hardier than the others, but he’s still at risk of being overwhelmed by some well-trained Agents. Keep them protected by minions at all times, and ensure that you send others to do your fighting. After all, a true criminal mastermind doesn’t like to get their hands dirty.

First up, let’s talk about our Gold Standard in villainy – Maximillian. He’s returning from the original game, but I’d like to drop a little bit more information on what that means for him. You see, an Evil Genius did conquer the world, but… Well, it wasn’t dear old Max. Speculate all you want, I’m not allowed to say more! Maximillian is your all-rounder – a great Genius for beginners to sink their teeth into, generating gold and specialized minions to do his work for him.

Our other Geniuses are slightly more weighted towards each of the different Villainous Specializations in the game.

Red Ivan, as you may have guessed, focuses more on ‘Might Makes Right’ as his ethos. If you want to have the kind of Lair that features armed Guards on every single corner, then Ivan’s your man. He’s also slightly hardier in combat, so a great choice for first-time players.

Also, for those still wondering about the events of the first game, yes – Ivan was involved. The Genius even rewarded him with his own country, the Nation of Ivania, probably just to keep him away from the Lair. Things have taken a sour turn for your militaristic mastermind since then.

Zalika is Science-focused, ensuring that research goes smoothly, cracking through research trees more reliably than other geniuses. However, as Zalika’s Lair has a scientific focus, you’re going to need more Technicians and Scientists to keep everything running and up to date, so keep that in mind when choosing her.

Finally we have Emma – who focuses around the Deception Tree. She’s a former Spymaster, embittered at her defeat during the events of the original Evil Genius, and has a general fondness for beating agents at their own game. If you want to keep a low profile on the world stage, taking over the world almost completely in secret, then Emma is the Genius for you. She also prefers working more closely with her Henchmen, able to assist them and get them back into the fight more quickly.

Of course, all of our Geniuses are available at the start of the game, but it’s worth re-iterating that you can pick whoever you like. Each Genius has some key differences between them, but don’t take their advantages as guidance for your play style – you can still play Evil Genius the way you want, despite each of our Characters’ strengths and weaknesses. Although Zalika can unlock and maintain traps more cheaply, if you, a hardcore Ivan fanatic, want to forsake Muscle minions and build a diabolical marvel of a trap network, well, we’re not going to stop you. By the same token, did you choose Zalika? Did you want train wave after wave of guards and arm them with only the very finest weapons? Go right ahead.

We wouldn’t stop you even if we could.

In addition, all of our Geniuses have their own abilities to bring to the table…


Genius Abilities

Not just pretty faces, each of our Evil Geniuses has their own truly unique ability. They also have passive effects, which we’ll leave it up to you to discover, but we wanted to give each Genius an advantage that fits their character and nature.

Max excels at boosting minion training – rapidly promoting his workforce and creating more Specialists. So if you’re lacking in certain minions and want to quickly have them skill up to fill slots in your Lair, then Max is excellent at that.

Despite our protestations, Red Ivan has brought his Rocket Launcher into the modern age. Want to deal with invaders personally? Then put Red Ivan on the front lines and have him directly involved in combat. Now…it’s quite tricky to control a rocket in motion, so he’ll only do this when you command. Nobody, except maybe Ivan in his younger days, wants their Lair in a constant state of ‘on fire’. You’re in control of Red Ivan and his Rocket Launcher, so if you do want to set your base ablaze…

Emma’s abilities play into her close relationship with her Henchmen, giving her the power to reset their cooldowns. She’s used to overseeing spies, making her henchmen more efficient than everybody else. Given that you can choose your own Henchmen, then Emma’s playstyle can really be tailored to the player in question. So, if you wanted to keep Jubei in the fight for longer, you could have him return to Emma for a pep talk, before sending him into battle once again. If you pick a load of Muscle henchmen, then you can really give Emma a fighting force to be reckoned with.

Zalika’s scientific prowess also extends to Furniture repair. If any item in your Lair is falling apart, you can order her to deploy Nano-Drones, repairing the area around her – extinguishing fires, repairing objects and keeping her Lair in a good state. This is especially useful if your Lair is power-hungry, so if you’re looking to keep the lights on regardless of outside interference, then you and Zalika have a lot in common.

(Someone in marketing has suggested we say “Zalika is your gal-ika.” Personally, I can’t think of anything more evil than inflicting that phrase on you.)


They’ve All Got It Infamy
Each Evil Genius has their unique own campaign, with its own story, and a unique Doomsday Device for you to build. We’ll be going into more specifics on the details of the campaign at a later date, but let’s talk through the basics.

They’re completely unique for each Genius, with objectives built from the ground-up for said Genius. For example, when playing as Red Ivan, an early mission would have you sending out Muscle minions to deal with the fall of Once Great Ivania, whilst Max’s first objective has you trying to weasel your way into being elected head of the world. Obviously, that doesn’t work for him…hence the Superweapon. Each campaign focuses purely on that character’s journey – from the start of their adventure, all the way through to World Domination. Spoilers for that, I guess.

However, regardless of which Evil Genius you choose, there’s Loot to collect, Crime Lords to overcome and recruit, and plenty more to discover. But I think that’s best served by our next blog post, which digs a little deeper into World Domination. Definitely come back for that one, there’s plenty of info in store…

Until next time, stay sinister, and make sure to join the Evil Genius 2 Discord Channel.

Rich Edwards

Lead Designer

 

[LESS T_T]

https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/700600/view/2921109788449041139

DEVELOPMENT BLOG - World Domination
The Dos and Dodos of Domination

Hello, minions! Rich Edwards here, Lead Designer on Evil Genius 2, here to lift the lid on another Development Blog. Does a blog have a lid? No matter.

Let’s talk about World Domination. In the last blog, we talked a little bit about the differences between each Evil Genius’ campaigns, but that was just a tease. The full World Domination mode is so much more.

World Domination

In the last blog we talked about your place as a Genius in the world. We were talking metaphorically. It’s time to talk literally.

Pick your Genius, pick a tropical Lair location, and get ready to build the ultimate in evil organizations.

Over the course of the campaign you’ll be spreading your influence through Global Operations – establishing Criminal Networks in all the regions of the world, then utilizing your minions to earn gold, advancing the progress of Global Objectives, and generally reaching out across the world stage to exploit every dastardly opportunity you can.

Naturally, the world doesn’t start dominated. As we hinted at last time, it was once, but things have slowly slipped back to something approaching normal. The Forces of Justice have reasserted themselves as self-appointed global protectors. They watch over their territory closely, fiercely guarding it against… well, against people like you.

Send some minions into a Region and they’ll establish a Criminal Network, exposing all manner of Schemes for you to run. Bolster your Networks and they’ll find even bigger and better opportunities.

However, there’s two sides to every coin, something you should know after you’ve stolen enough of them. The flipside here is that people tend to hate it when you commit a crime. Run too many schemes in a Region and you’ll trigger the wrath of the local “Good Guys”. I don’t want to spend too much time on this, but safe to say it’s unlikely to end well for you.

And that’s before we even start talking about their champions, the so-called “Super Agents.”

We designed World Domination to have a lot of different scenarios regardless of what Evil Genius you start out as – so how you spread your criminal empire across the globe is up to you! With all the content we’ve packed into it, it’s going to have plenty of replayability.

Talking of a criminal empire, every Genius needs a good Lair to base their operations from. At the start of a campaign, you’ll get to pick your island from a selection of pre-built tropical paradises. There are three islands in the game, and each one has a different layout and character to it, which in turn will influence how you lay out your Lair. You might even be able to spot a couple of classic spy genre influences in some of our Island designs.

Naturally, all three are unlocked from the start, and each provides its own specific advantage, from richer Gold seams to a larger Cover Operation, so you can really tailor your Lair to your playstyle. Once you’ve chosen your island you’ll be there until you either conquer the world or die in the attempt.

On the topic of building your Lair, we should talk about Loot. There’s a whole bunch of weird, wonderful and unique items of Loot in Evil Genius 2, and via a series of side-stories, you can acquire one of those Loot Items for yourself to display in your Lair. Now, these items aren’t just for show – they’ll have unique effects when placed. Throughout the campaign, you’ll have plenty of chances to decorate your Lair with the spoils of your adventures…and let’s get into one of those right now.

Enter The Dodo
Yes, you read that right. Let’s talk about The Dodo, if that’s ok with you. Sometimes, a picture says more than I could ever hope to describe through words alone, so here is The Dodo.

As you can see, he has a Mortarboard. That’s because what you’re looking at here is the world’s smartest Dodo. Smarts are essential if you intend to survive for as long as this bird has. At some point in your campaign, your Evil Genius is going to realize that this one of a kind Dodo exists out in the world. When you compare your minions’ own tenacity and intelligence to that of this bird, your Genius will begin to notice that their minions could stand to learn a lot from this Dodo.

As the player, you’ll spend some time sending minions into the world on Schemes, with the goal of capturing this intelligent bird! Each Loot Item in Evil Genius 2 has a variety of tasks you have to perform before you can get your maniacal mitts on them, because why would anything be easy?

Eventually, you’ll be able to bring the Dodo back to your Lair, where it will act as a Science Trainer. Minions will be able to study the Dodo, and skill up in Science faster than they would normally be able to. Here’s what that looks like.

So, as you can see – Loot Items are fantastic. We have a staggering number of them in the game (Lady Liberty’s Torch, anyone?), and I personally can’t wait to see how you put them to use. The Dodo also helps set the tone, in my mind, for a lot of the Loot items in the game. They’re silly, fun and just plain great to look at. Our Artists and Animators have done a fantastic job bringing them to life. Every time we got a new one into the game it’s been a genuine delight.

There’s so much more in Evil Genius 2’s World Domination mode – this blog was only intended to scratch the surface and give you all something to salivate over. We’ve hidden a lot within this mode, I’m excited to watch you discover the many weird and wonderful ways you’re going to expand your empire.

We’ll be back soon with another Development Blog, but until then make sure you’re in the Evil Genius 2 Discord Channel!

Rich Edwards

Lead Designer

 

[[UCHIHA]XxDarkSasuke420xX]

damn every video they put out looks so good I can't wait
basically looks like a true to heart redo of eg1
and eg1 was the shiiiiitt !

 

[Zombra]

Oh my god.

I thought Red Ivan was the most boring of all the Geniuses to pick from ... until I learned just now he is voiced by Brian Blessed.

 

[Jaedar]

I thought Red Ivan was the most boring of all the Geniuses to pick from ... until I learned just now he is voiced by Brian Blessed.

I think using Blessed for a game like this is perfect... buuuuuut is it to much to ask that Red Ivan have a bad russian akhsent?

 

[LESS T_T]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/700600/announcements/detail/2921111055710788022

DEVELOPMENT BLOG - JAMES HANNIGAN

Composer James Hannigan Answers Your Questions! (Part 1)

It wouldn’t be an Evil Genius game without the sinister sounds of James Hannigan pumping through the airwaves. Once word got out that the sonic mastermind himself had returned, our community had plenty of questions for him. We gathered up the most relevant ones and put them to the man himself! Many thanks to James for his time, and to Nick Brewer for facilitating this conversation.

When you were composing the original Evil Genius, what were your inspirations? You’ve composed several works with Russian influences over the years, what has inspired you in general when shaping your style?
I’ve been quite fortunate as the projects I’ve worked on over the years have been very varied in terms of genre and what they require musically, so I’ve become a bit of a musical chameleon! Despite this, I always hope there is something of ‘me’ running through the work as well, especially within the themes. I love writing those, as it’s often where you try to create a kind of musical blueprint for a project … but it can also be the hardest part!

I do indeed love Russian music of the 20th Century - by the likes of Shostakovich, Stravinsky and many others, and that has probably influenced me to some extent … especially when writing fairly popular tracks such as Soviet March for Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3. But I try to write whatever is stylistically appropriate for what I’m working on, and that’s part of the challenge - and fun - of doing the job. When you write music to picture, going with a story, or to be heard within a particular setting or era, you have to put aside some of your own personal tastes in order create something actually serving the project… especially if it refers to a recognisable genre in the way Evil Genius does, which has a degree of parody involved as well. Fortunately, I absolutely love the spy and sci-fi genres, especially from the 1950s to the 1970s, and there’s something magical for me about the fusion of an orchestra with a jazz flavour in particular.

What was the oddest instrument you’ve used in composing the music for either EG1 or EG2?
Being mostly orchestral, many of the instruments used in the EG1 and EG2 scores aren’t super exotic in themselves, but I do find that the vibraphone [vibes] can be particularly interesting, and pretty integral to a certain sound often heard within the spy genre. Nothing seems to say ‘intrigue’ quite like the low shimmering, mellow tones of the vibes. They have this unmistakable warmth and presence, great for atmospheric, rhythmic beds brimming with mystery and tension.

I’m also a huge fan of surf guitar, which is another musical stalwart of the spy genre. There’s something about its ability to cut through a mix and carry a tune that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The original James Bond theme is undoubtedly a testament to its twangy awesomeness.
Big bold brass and high trumpets, percussion like bongos and congas are also a lot of fun to work with on a project like Evil Genius 2, and help make the music a little bit more eccentric and suave than an orchestra alone could.

That’s it for today’s blog post! We’ll be taking a few weeks off posting to give our minions a little rest – but rest assured we’ll be coming back in January of next year with more deep dives, and part two of this interview! Until then, stay safe, stay sinister, and make sure you join the Evil Genius 2 Discord!

Ben M-J, Blog Mastermind

 

[Space Satan]

March 30

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Jaedar]

March 30

That is quite a bit earlier than I expected. I hope it will have more well thought out mechanics than the first game. Then again, it's not like dungeon keeper-like is a genre with a lot of competition...

 

[Zombra]

March 30

That is quite a bit earlier than I expected. I hope it will have more well thought out mechanics than the first game. Then again, it's not like dungeon keeper-like is a genre with a lot of competition...

I read somewhere that the devs recommend using a "speed things up" mod if replaying the original game because it dragged so much. That's a good sign.

 

[Storyfag]

March 30

That is quite a bit earlier than I expected. I hope it will have more well thought out mechanics than the first game. Then again, it's not like dungeon keeper-like is a genre with a lot of competition...

Ah, to have a fantasy themed DK-like with a persistent dungeon in the vein of the EG island base...

 

[Trans-Financial-Man]

It appears I have been made into a slavering consoomer again. All it ever takes is one good game. I want EG2 to be good so bad that I'll ignore most of the woke shit I've seen in it and just play normally. I'm sure I'll jinx it by saying this, but how can they make this woke at this point?

 

[Space Satan]

Ah, to have a fantasy themed DK-like with a persistent dungeon in the vein of the EG island base...

DK had one problem, that indirectly ruined the gameplay - unlimited gold. One vein of gems could remove entire concept of money from the game. DK2 worsened the problem by adding create gold spell. This single feature removed the drive from the game entirely.

 

[Storyfag]

Ah, to have a fantasy themed DK-like with a persistent dungeon in the vein of the EG island base...

DK had one problem, that indirectly ruined the gameplay - unlimited gold. One vein of gems could remove entire concept of money from the game. DK2 worsened the problem by adding create gold spell. This single feature removed the drive from the game entirely.

Well, it's not like EG didn't have infinite money. But it did come with consequences.

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[Storyfag]

"Be vewy vewy quiet. I'm hunting wabbits!"

 

[Jaedar]

Why do I suddenly feel like not preordering this, and instead waiting for the inevitable goty edition?

 

[Raghar]

Season pass? Either piracy, or I'd pass.

 

[Harthwain]

I was thinking about buying it after watching a few gameplays post-release, but now I have my doubts about buying it at all. Because "SEASON PASS" equals a big red flag for me.

 

[Lacrymas]

I never buy games on release because I'll inevitably get the goty edition down the line. Unless it's an expansion to a game I really, really like.

 

[Zombra]

Why do I suddenly feel like not preordering this, and instead waiting for the inevitable goty edition?

Sadly, it was always going to be like this. Rebellion always sets a list price at about 3x what a game is worth, plus a million DLCs. Then after the first year or two, during Steam sales you can get it for 80% off. I wonder if Zombie Army 4 ever got a decent price.

 

[Ghulgothas]

Unfortunate, but inevitable. I'm just glad that despite appearances and early impressions, it hasn't gone full mobile-game.