System Requirements: Mac OS 8.1, 25MB hard disk space, 30MB available RAM, 800x600 screen resolution at thousands of colors
Network Feature: No
3D Support: No
Mac OS X Compatible: Classic (Carbon version due in summer 2002
Retail Price: $25 ($32 with hint booklet)
Availability: Out Now
Rating: T (animated blood and gore, animated violence)
Even though role-playing games are supposed to let you take on a role (hence the name), I usually have more fun making my characters strong and finding new items than in getting involved in the story. This is because most of these games typically lead you down one path and there are no opportunities to decide where you end up.
Geneforge is not a typical kind of role-playing game, and I mean that in a good way.
You start out as an apprentice, heading off to learn the mysterious skills of the Shapers as either an Agent, Guardian, or Shaper. All is peaceful on your trip until you're attacked and your boat (which happens to be a modified beast) is killed. You manage to make it to Sucia, an island which the Shapers have banned anyone from visiting for reasons unknown to you. Your only thought is to find a way to leave the island so you can continue your training. While Sucia is banned, it's far from being uninhabited, and you'll soon find that your presence has far-reaching effects.
Each of the three different types of Shapers has different skills. Shapers are the best in shaping creations out of essence, okay in magic skills, and bad in fighting. Guardians are the best in fighting, okay in shaping creations, and bad in magic. Agents are the best in magic skills, okay in fighting, and bad in shaping creations. I played as a Shaper the first time and found I could win battles quite easily just by using creations. A main reason for this is they gain levels just as you do and can become very powerful, especially if you keep the same creations for a long time. Some creations have projectiles (fire, cold, poison, acid), others can charm the enemy, and some pound with massive arms or strong pincers those who threaten them. You can have a very diverse army of both long-range and melee creations, but can only have a maximum of seven at any one time. While Creations aren't absolutely necessary to have, they definitely are a big help, especially at the beginning when your other skills aren't developed.
Not that you need to have a really strong army if you don't want to do a lot of fighting. The two main non-combat skills are leadership and mechanics. Leadership opens up new conversation topics and lets you convince people to temporarily fight on your side, give you more information, or even do things they wouldn't otherwise do. Mechanics lets you pick locks and disarm mines, letting you sneak in through the relatively unguarded back door instead of taking the direct approach and fighting the increasingly fierce foes. Another way to avoid fighting are the alliances you can make with the inhabitants of Sucia. The decisions you make and the answers you give determine how you are viewed and treated, as well as the ending you'll get when you finally make it off Sucia. I'm not a pacifist by any stretch of the imagination, but it's nice to see a game give emphasis to both fighting and non-fighting skills.
This might come as a surprise to some, but I'm not going to tell you much about the story. If I told the details, there'd be fewer reasons for you to download the demo and try Geneforge for yourself. The story is interesting enough that I'd rather have you learn about it in the game than in a review. I want people to read this review without being in danger of getting unwanted spoilers. I'll merely say that it's simple enough to understand, yet has enough angles so that you'll have to decide whose word you want to believe and with which side you'll align yourself.
The graphics are clean and have a great deal of variation, from desert to brick buildings to green forests to tombs. I would have liked to see more art for each type of item as there is often no way to tell if that dagger is a simple dagger or a dagger that gives you nifty bonuses until you check out the name. Often, I left an item behind in a chest thinking it was yet another robe when it was really an Agent's Robe which gives +1 to all of the magic skills. There are a great deal of good items to find and I found that I used the merchants for selling the junk I found instead of as a source of useful items. There is no soundtrack, only environmental sounds that accompany each area. If you'd rather listen to your own music, it's simply a matter of turning the sounds off in the preferences. Being able to hop through each completed area means that getting from one side of the island to the other only takes you a few seconds. The interface is very easy to use, with most of the common functions having buttons and keyboard shortcuts. The character information screen only lists some of the many resistances you can have, which is puzzling since it contains a lot of other information which is organized well. I also would like to have seen the resistances of the creations since it's possible for them to have some through the items you can wear. The user-selected difficulty level means that Geneforge can be challenging both for new and experienced gamers. The hint book is detailed, gives great advice, and has maps of selected areas. It's well worth the extra $7.
Whether you're an experienced RPG player or want to get introduced to the genre, Geneforge is a great game for everyone and will provide hours of great role-playing fun.
Review: Geneforge
You start out as an apprentice, heading off to learn the mysterious skills of the Shapers as either an Agent, Guardian, or Shaper. All is peaceful on your trip until you're attacked and your boat (which happens to be a modified beast) is killed. You manage to make it to Sucia, an island which the Shapers have banned anyone from visiting for reasons unknown to you. Your only thought is to find a way to leave the island so you can continue your training. While Sucia is banned, it's far from being uninhabited, and you'll soon find that your presence has far-reaching effects.
Not that you need to have a really strong army if you don't want to do a lot of fighting. The two main non-combat skills are leadership and mechanics. Leadership opens up new conversation topics and lets you convince people to temporarily fight on your side, give you more information, or even do things they wouldn't otherwise do. Mechanics lets you pick locks and disarm mines, letting you sneak in through the relatively unguarded back door instead of taking the direct approach and fighting the increasingly fierce foes. Another way to avoid fighting are the alliances you can make with the inhabitants of Sucia. The decisions you make and the answers you give determine how you are viewed and treated, as well as the ending you'll get when you finally make it off Sucia. I'm not a pacifist by any stretch of the imagination, but it's nice to see a game give emphasis to both fighting and non-fighting skills.
The graphics are clean and have a great deal of variation, from desert to brick buildings to green forests to tombs. I would have liked to see more art for each type of item as there is often no way to tell if that dagger is a simple dagger or a dagger that gives you nifty bonuses until you check out the name. Often, I left an item behind in a chest thinking it was yet another robe when it was really an Agent's Robe which gives +1 to all of the magic skills. There are a great deal of good items to find and I found that I used the merchants for selling the junk I found instead of as a source of useful items. There is no soundtrack, only environmental sounds that accompany each area. If you'd rather listen to your own music, it's simply a matter of turning the sounds off in the preferences. Being able to hop through each completed area means that getting from one side of the island to the other only takes you a few seconds. The interface is very easy to use, with most of the common functions having buttons and keyboard shortcuts. The character information screen only lists some of the many resistances you can have, which is puzzling since it contains a lot of other information which is organized well. I also would like to have seen the resistances of the creations since it's possible for them to have some through the items you can wear. The user-selected difficulty level means that Geneforge can be challenging both for new and experienced gamers. The hint book is detailed, gives great advice, and has maps of selected areas. It's well worth the extra $7.