| “ | Let's have a talk. One... final... talk. | „ |
| ~ Maximilian in the second game, about to execute one of his minions. |
The Evil Geniuses are the titular protagonist villains of the management simulation video games Evil Genius and Evil Genius 2. As their title would indicate, they are evil masterminds obsessed with using their large wealth and loyal minions to destroy the Earth, or enslave it, depending on the wants of each genius. Before the start of a game, the player must select one genius.
Almost all of them resemble comically-stereotyped evil geniuses and crime lords seen in many types of media. Each of them have a different reason and approach in conquering the world. Each character also provides unique benefits in gameplay. They are also the archenemy of any of the heroes in Evil Genius 2.
In the second game, Maximilian, Red Ivan, Emma, Zalika and Polar are voiced by Glen McCready, Brian Blessed, Samantha Bond, Rakie Ayola and Rachel August respectively. The voice actors of the geniuses in the first game are unknown.
Description[]
As previously mentioned, the evil geniuses will stop at nothing to achieve complete control over the world. Both games focus on the growth of the management, manpower, wealth and technology of the genius' lair. At the end of the game, the genius achieves their destructive goal.
The genius does very little hands-on work themselves. Instead, they hire minions to do it for them. There are five types of minions the genius must manage: generic workers that perform construction and demolition, military minions that specialize in fighting enemies, social minions that have little to no fighting skills but talented in distracting and mentally manipulating invaders, science minions that are also ineffective in combat but meant for technology research and making repairs, and loyal henchmen that act as right-hand men for the genius.
One of the core components of gameplay is not only the task of growing the genius' empire by gathering more minions, but managing their needs as well. Poorly managed needs of a minion could leave them to desert their jobs entirely, or pass out from exhaustion. A genius can execute a minion in front of other minions, which will scare them into having a performance boost. If the genius dies at any part of the game, the game is over.
The geniuses themselves, as well as their closest henchmen, are the only units in the game that can be directly controlled by the player. Any other lower ranking minion cannot be directly controlled, but can be given orders. Each genius has unique abilities and benefits their empire. In the second game, each genius has their own unique doomsday device.
Evil Genius[]
Maximilian von Klein: The only evil genius that appears in both games, and is designed to be the ideal choice for new players in both games. In the second game, he can increase the minion capacity slightly, as well as boost minion training speed. His doomsday weapon is M.I.D.A.S., which turns entire regions into solid gold.- Alexis: A beautiful heiress with an extremely large amount of love and respect from nearly anyone around her. Due to her elegance and beauty, she has a larger influence radius and slows loyalty loss rates of minions, but suffers from a slower stat recharge rate.
- Shen Yu: Mysterious and quixotic, he has a connection to many conspirators out in the world, helping him keep his evil empire well-hidden. He has a smaller radius of influence, but a faster stat recharge rate. Enemy agents that appear on the island will leave quicker, helping the player keep their lair a secret.
Evil Genius 2[]
- Red Ivan: Originally a war veteran and henchman in the first game. He is very skilled in combat, and is also equipped with a rocket launcher, making him the most combat-efficient and damage dealing genius in the game. He can also buff the armor rating of nearby minions, helping out military minions the best. His doomsday weapon is H.A.V.O.C., which can cause tremendous fiery explosions.
- Emma: Once a spymaster before the events of the game, she possesses master deception skills and boosts the effectiveness of social minions more than any other type. As a tradeoff, she is not very combat capable. She is also able to reduce the amount of suspicion the world has on her evil lair. Her doomsday weapon is V.E.N.O.M., which causes people's minds to warp, causing them to become aggressive and greedy toward each other, but also boosts their physical resilience.
- Zalika: The smartest evil genius, benefiting science minions the most. This causes research to be done 25% faster. She also has nanobots that repair machines as well as put out fires. Her doomsday weapon is V.O.I.D., which completely brainwashes people into becoming Zalika's servants.
- Polar: Only available with the "Oceans Campaign Pack" DLC. Polar is unique, in that she is not entirely evil, but plays an anti-villainous role. Her appearance and powers have an ice theme. Polar's intent is not to conquer the world, but to "save" it, as Polar is an extreme environmentalist. Her doomsday weapon is Z.E.R.O., which is a cold generator that instantly freezes entire regions.
Trivia[]
- Maximilian has a German accent in the first game, but a British one in the second.
Gallery[]
