Game Type: 2-1/2D
Roleplaying Game
Platform:
Mac OS 8.1 and Mac OS X
Tested
on: Titanium PowerBook G4/800
Publisher:
Spiderweb
Software
Year:
2001
Version:
1.1
Price:
$25 Locked Shareware
Graphics:
4/5
Sound:
4/5
Gameplay:
5/5
Overall:
5/5
Teaser
You are a Shaper, one of the ruling class of the world, wielder of
magic and able to make creations out of thin air to do your bidding.
Well, not quite. You are a Shaper trainee and you can't even cast any
spells yet. On your sea voyage to your final trainee posting, you are
attacked by a mysterious ship. Your living vessel is mortally wounded
but is able to deliver you on the shores of Sucia Isle.
But Sucia has been Barred for over a century. Now, stuck on an
abandoned isle full of who knows how many monsters, you have to explore
and survive long enough to find a boat and freedom. It won't be even
that simple because what has been left on Sucia Isle is a secret that
may destroy the Shaper civilization.
Game
Geneforge is a fantasy adventure game where you control a Shaper. There
are three varieties of Shapers: Shapers, Guardians and Agents. Shapers
are the standard Wizards in other RPGs -- weak at fighting but strong
at magic, though it is creation magic where they shine. Guardians are
warriors and weak at general magic though they can also make creations.
Agents are good at general magic but weak at creation magic.
One of the main focuses of the game is making creations. There are
almost a couple dozen different creatures you can make -- fighters,
shooters, magic wielders -- each with their own characteristics. Your
party can contain up to seven creations and since you never pick up
other people, you better create some companions.
There are 77 areas, each area being for the most part a self-contained
location with its own inhabitants and plots. Some areas are towns where
you can interact with people and buy and sell goods. Other areas
include forests, desert and rivers as well as cities, temples and
dungeons. I found 75 of the areas before I finished the game.
Plots, plots, plots. There are lots of plots. Each town has a different
faction with different goals and temperament. There are lots of little
missions that are given out and completing some missions will affect
how people see you and react to you. For example, early on you have the
choice of assassinating one of the leaders or you can reveal the spies
for what they are. It's a remarkably deep world that only breaks down
occasionally.
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There are also
multiple endings, with one or two being best case
scenarios, depending on your point of view. I didn't ally myself with
the evil side so I didn't see those endings, but at a guess I think
there are about six different endings.
Graphics and Sound
The graphics are bright and cheerful. Characters move and turn around,
make attacks and fire missiles, all rendered smoothly. The game does
force you into an 800x600 screen and takes over the computer, which is
unfortunate since I kept forgetting to set the sound correctly before
going into the game.
Sound is also fairly good. Atmospheric sounds abound, from wind to
water to children laughing. Special effect sounds like the start of
combat and spell casting are covered. There is no sound track and no
speech, but certainly enough sound so that it feels like a real
environment.
Gameplay
It's mostly mouse derived. Click where you want to go, click to open
chests and activate items, click to put on items or drop them, click to
cast spells and make creations. There are some keyboard shortcuts but
for the most part it is a mouse intensive game. I found that it was not
too bad, though my hand did get cramped after a while.
The gameplay is in real time, though for the most part monsters either
stay where they are or follow paths and they don't attack you unless
they see you or other monsters start yelling for help. Once combat
starts it is turn based, with each combatant getting a set number of
Action Points to use in moving and fighting. It is also useful to be in
combat mode because time doesn't pass by and you can think, especially
useful when some poison has affected the whole party and you're
scrambling to cast cure on everyone.
There are about 20 save game spots and the game saves when you move
from one area to another. Writing of which, the game has the nice
feature that when you leave an area, you can go to any area you've
explored so you don't have to be constantly tracking through safe and
boring lands. Each time you enter an area the game has to load the
data, which takes a few seconds.
Recommendations
Gosh, this was a very fun game and I'm eager to try it again as a
different class and at a harder level. For $25 it's well worth the
money and Spiderweb has a hint book for $10, though if I could finish
the game it's not that mentally hard. Geneforge came with Aladdin's Ten
for 10 Games pack, which makes it an even better buy. |