For those poor, wretched souls out there who have never played DK and therefore have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a cursory explanation of Evil Genius' gameplay: you are an evil genius, a mastermind of criminal enterprises out to take over the world. Just think of every Bond villain you have ever seen in the movies, especially the ones from the earlier films, and you will have a pretty good idea.

In order to take over the world, you need resources like a private army, a research lab, plenty of mindless minions, a secret training facility, etc., and this is what EG is all about: the construction of a power base in a Underground Lair On An Island Of Indeterminate Location.

What this involves is basically mapping out corridors and rooms, placing objects and amenities and crafting devilishly malevolent traps and security systems. Once you have done this your horde of faceless minions run to do your bidding, using your stolen gold to purchase the required items (such as dynamite to blast open the spaces for your underground lair). This is one thing that newcomers might find hard to deal with: much like DK, only more so, your role is the planner and creator while your minions do the work; in EG you can't ever control a minion directly. However you as the evil genius exist as a figure you can manipulate (and if you are killed it's game over) as well as unique henchmen, who represent sort of super minions whom you can order directly.

Over the course of the game you send your minions on missions around the world to increase your notoriety. Performing acts of infamy does this as well as stealing items of loot, to adorn your base and impress the troops. Or you can order the menial but very important task of simply stealing as much money as you can from the various nations. The longer you do this, however, and the more you steal, attracts 'heat'.

The world is divided into a series of anti-criminal organisations with names like H.A.M.M.E.R. or S.M.A.S.H., and as you accrue heat with a given organisation they will start sending agents to your island. These can be burglars to steal your money or loot, investigators that search for illegal activity, or soldiers, which are a real pain in the ass.

To combat this you can use your trained military minions, from basic guards to snipers and martial artists, to fight these intruders. Or you could use a social minion, like a valet, spin doctor or playboy to distract and confuse them. However for the true mastermind the only option is devilish traps. The reviewer used a twisty hallway filled with motion detectors and laser tripwires linked to wind tunnel machines, so that a bunch of interfering agents who made the wrong step would be hurled against walls and into further sensors. The effects are… amusing to say the least, and if complicated or outlandish enough (like a wind tunnel that pushes an agent into a gas trap), profitable.

The interface resembles the shiny system and dials of the early Bond era - which is cool, if you're into that sort of thing. Once you have mastered it the interface is also quite easy to use, but be warned that there is a fairly steep learning curve. The average player should learn it in around quarter of an hour - just know that you can't sit down and know everything straight away, it's not that sort of game. There is a comprehensive tutorial available as well as periodic short videos throughout the game to watch as new features and tactics become available, which is quite an aid. At times the interface can seem a little cartoonish, but this is all part of the theme. After all, torturing a prisoner with a giant centrifuge needs to be played carefully in a jovial light if it's not to seem, you know, incredibly cruel and evil.

At the beginning you can pick one of three evil masterminds to be, each coming with a unique initial henchman. There are two islands to conquer, the second unlocked after a number of objectives are accomplished in the first island.

The flexibility of this game allows it to be played a number of ways, and as such when this is coupled with the size of the islands and the number of objectives that you have to accomplish and the sporadic nature of research in developing new technologies, a single game can easily takes days of non-stop playing. It also means that the replay factor can be high, almost like a sim game. For example, in our current game we've chosen the mysterious Asian mastermind for a character and have recruited an army of elite martial artists to be the base's personal defence.

We use a combination of motion detectors and touch pads linked to flame cannons to protect the entrances to the lair and have disguised automated turrets outside on the beaches to eliminate troops before they even get inside. If they do, however, all pesky agents will find are dormitories, a kitchen and a infirmary in the initial regions, with only the most clever agents penetrating deep enough inside to find things we don't want the world to see, like a nuclear power plant and training areas for mercenaries and snipers. So normally agents are allowed to investigate, find nothing and leave, with their lives only forfeit if they wander where they should not.

In conclusion, Evil Genius is an awesome game that should be owned by anyone with an evil god complex. It provides a lot of gameplay and a heap of flexibility, making it completely non-linear. The developers have already released a patch that comes with a bunch of new content and the mod community seems very active, so even if you somehow get bored with the official content there's a whole host more online to choose.