Evil Genius 2: World Domination

When I felt myself growing weary of the complication, I would march Maximillian into the mess hall and execute one of the stupider minions in front of his coworkers. This sent all the witnesses into a panic, resulting in improved productivity. I might be mentally damaged, but I’m having a great time and accomplishing my goals of world domination. Ultimately, Evil Genius 2 is a Dungeon Keeper clone in a different coat of paint. The surface has been well-prepped and the paint was applied with great expertise, though. If you consider yourself a fan of simulation-strategy games, this has to go on ...

It comes across as a diabolical labor of love. The game is obviously made by people who cared for the property, as it conserves everything that was great about the original title while tightening the screws on the old doomsday device. Even without the multiple campaigns, it’s a ridiculously long game. But the fact that I was rarely annoyed or bored, while continuously finding new elements to love, is a testament to how well-executed the sequel is. If the first game wasn’t diabolical enough for you, this one should scratch that evil itch a bit better.

A simulation game with a twist, Evil Genius 2: World Domination is a must-play for fans of the genre. Forget building hospitals, theme parks or zoos; creating the world’s most evil lair is where it’s at. There’s plenty to sink your teeth into here, and an awful lot to learn, but once you get the hang of being evil, you’ll discover that being bad sure is good fun.

Even with these brief spots of imbalance -- when the Lemming-like behavior of minions can feel too brain-dead or uncontrollable -- Evil Genius 2: World Domination is an impressive revival of a decades-old philosophy on strategy games. Whose sequel this year almost makes it look easy in that it lands firmly in that fabled middle-ground. Providing enough twists and turns to keep players on their toes, but doing so in a way that is far from alienating to those who may have little investment in the original Evil Genius all those years ago, or any past strategy title for that matter. And for all th...

Despite some flaws, Evil Genius 2 is a doomsday device built to dominate your free time. It's addictive, easy to understand lair building and retro Spy-Fi aesthetic will pull you in and not let go, even after hundreds of hours. It's a shame the titular Geniuses don't feel all that distinct, and that the otherwise stellar UI has some annoying issues, but that won't stop Evil Genius 2 from taking over your world. It feels oh-so-good to be oh-so-bad.

Simulates both the devious delights and fiendish frustrations of being a frothing megalomaniac.

Evil Genius 2 makes good on its spy-movie supervillain concept with a challenging management sim that requires cunning and patience.

Evil Genius 2: World Domination is a great base builder undermined by slow pacing, dense AI, and a little bit too much repetition.

While the art, voice acting, and overall theme harmonize so beautifully that I want to steeple my fingers and practice my evil laugh, almost every moment of playing Evil Genius 2 is plagued by a clunky, needy world map layer and confusing, poorly communicated objectives. It’s the kind of problem that playtesting usually brings out during development, and this game could’ve used more of that. Once I eventually stumbled blindly onto the solutions to some of these frustrating problems through brute force trial and error, I could see the promise of a dastardly good time of laying traps and spinnin...

Evil Genius 2 does a good job of reviving the spy-themed dungeon management game, but it's twice as long as it needs to be and it's sorely lacking for precision controls and policy settings.

Evil Genius 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the cult classic that was released all the way back in 2004. It’s a sequel I always wanted but never imagined I would get. At least without it being a butchered mobile cash grab with its soul ripped out.

Sometimes it’s good to be bad. Sure, James Bond is cool and all, but occasionally you’d rather be Ernst Blofeld commanding lackeys, torturing spies, and petting Persian cats. The original Evil Genius aimed to fulfill that fantasy, allowing players to design their own elaborate supervillain lair. A sequel was supposed to happen back in the mid-2000s, but series developer Elixir Studios went out of business. Thankfully, the IP is now in the hands of Rebellion Developments, who are finally delivering Evil Genius 2: World Domination a decade and a half after the first sequel died.