Review by Tim Still

Game:      GeneWars
Publisher: Bullfrog/Electronic Arts
Format:    CD-Rom
Available: Now

*Requires*

O/S:       DOS 6+ or WIN95
Processor: 486-DX2/66+
RAM:       8Mb+
Graphics:  SVGA
CD-Rom:    Double-speed or greater
Soundcard: All major cards supported

*Tested on*

Processor: Pentium P75
O/S:       DOS 7/Windows 95
RAM:       32Mb
Graphics:  2Mb Orchid
CD-ROM:    Pioneer Quad speed
Soundcard: Soundblaster 16
Controls:  Mouse, MS Sidewinder Pro

Gene Wars

The Background

The short version is that when at last mankind got things together enough to reach the stars in a big way, they found they weren't the only destructive, warlike and generally unfriendly race in the galaxy. Finally, they had found something to really unite the entire human race. Namely, another three races that also enjoyed a good scrap.

So there they were, Humans, Saurians, Schnozzoids and the Bohemians. Four races with nothing better to do than totally destroy entire planets just in case the possibility existed that another race might have found a use for them sometime in the future. And then, due to reasons far too humorous to go into here, (but explained brilliantly in the manual), the Ethereals came back on the scene. The last time they'd been here, (i.e., several billion years ago), they'd left this area of the galaxy in a neat, tidy, and generally pleasing-to-the-eye, with lots of interesting flora, fauna, and little creatures running around going 'eek'.

So they were none to pleased to find a lot of the nicer planets totally eradicated of life and atmosphere, and I'm not talking about the kind you get at a party. So they decided to punish all four races by removing all types of weaponry, and reducing them to the intelligence level of the average puppy, that is, mindless but happy. However, being a race that enjoys a good competition, they decided that the race who proved themselves to be the best at colonization could keep their brainpower, and have another go at being sentient beings. So they tasked four teams, one from each race, to show what they could do. But, all things being equal, there's more than one way to fight a war...

The Manual

Well, more of a big pamphlet, weighing in at a mere 32 pages, including all the contents and credits pages. But it does have an excellent sense of humour, especially the introduction. Read it and giggle.

In there you'll find the usual descriptions of different buildings, lifeforms, plants, and races. There's also a extremely handy hints section taking you right through to level five. After that though, you're on your own. It is a little vague in places, but I think that is intentional. A few parts of the manual contains phrases like "you'll have to find out more as you go" and other worrying terms. In other words, there's more to the game than you first think.

The Game

The first thing you notice is the cool intro, which is not surprising, as that's the first thing you see when the game loads. More like a mini-movie than a game intro (mind you, what isn't these days?), it gives you a basic idea as to what lines the game will move along.

The in-game graphics are quite amusing, looking heavily like something from a cheap B-movie from the seventies, especially when the Ethereals come a-visiting. Which they do a lot. And woe betide anyone who is doing 'bad' things, because if you are, expect the Ethereals to smite you. Nothing too specific is mentioned as to what form the actual smiting will take, but if the sense of humour of the rest of the game is anything to go by, it's usually pretty good. (I've experienced things like bloody great big lumps of smite coming down from their hovering ship, and flattening buildings, specialists and creatures alike. You soon learn that if you are going to be bad then; one, do it when the guys with the guns aren't around, and two, you do lots of something good damn quickly to compensate before they`re back!) Conversely, if you do lots of 'good' things (all this is shown on the bad-o-meter, surprisingly), you get a reward in the shape of a tall black monolith (2001 anyone?) which can bestow special abilities upon anything that touches it. If a genetically engineered creature touches it, then that whole race is given a special ability, but you have to work out what that is for yourself by trial and error. If it is a team member that you direct to the black slab, then it raises their abilities considerably, up to a maximum stated in the manual.

The actual battlefield... sorry, re-colonization area, is free. That is, the same as Command & Conquer, ie, no squares or hexes to restrict movement, but just point where you like. There is an underlying square grid for placement of buildings, but that tends to help rather than restrict things.

Most of the missions go along the same sort of lines, namely, build a base fast, get loads of creatures running about, and then try to eliminate your opponents. Only when the Ethereals aren't about, obviously, otherwise it's smiting time again. Your overall score is shown on the Score-o-rama (no, I'm not making these names up, they really named them like that), and this is how you tell what team is doing best. Later on in the game you can build a building called a Tech Facility that will show you exactly how your opponent teams are doing.

While actually playing the game, you have to keep note of several different things at once. You have to defend your base and your team against attack from other teams' creatures and specialists, carry out building work including new construction, repairs and upgrades, study new creatures and plant life, create new creatures and hybrids, and, of course, achieve the mission objectives set by your friend and mine, the Ethereals. Oh, and if you have time, don't forget that if the other teams have been killed, crippled or wiped of the face of the planet, then it's jolly unlikely that they'll do better than you in this mission. After all, the best way to ensure victory is to make sure you're the only entrant... (evil but environmentally friendly grin)

The mission objectives usually consist of populating a particular area of the map with either flora and fauna, or animals. Sometimes you also have to remove something from a certain patch to complete the objectives. These object areas are called Zones, and are marked by an Ethereal ship hovering above it, illuminating the area with some sort of weird beam that is probably either some sort of matter measuring and monitoring device, or a big torch. Often the matter measuring and monitoring device (or torch) will be relocated to another location, so once you've done the business in one location, you'll have to do it again in another to complete the mission objectives. Sometimes there is more than a single location to start with, and you then have to do both at once. Just something else for you to worry about, in case you were getting complacent, I suppose.

The Opinion

Well, I like it. It's silly, fun, and pretty hectic. The graphics aren't anything stunning, but they are pretty good, and more importantly, they are clear. Sound is good too, with an eerie background music score which tends to add to the atmosphere of the game if you have it at half volume, but does get a bit annoying if you have it too loud. All of the different specialists have their own voices, and each say different things depending on what's happening. I haven't progressed a huge way into the game, so I can't tell you what it's like at higher levels, but the levels I did play had plenty to keep me interested. And there's not many strategy games around these days that don't have weapons in them. That alone makes it unique, but not outstanding. But the sense of humour makes up for that.

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Rating: 7/10 (Good)
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