Geneforge
Geneforge is a sweet little gem of a game from Spiderweb Software. I was alerted to it’s existence by a blurb in one of the gaming magazines a few months back; I downloaded the demo from Spiderweb’s web site, and was instantly addicted. But enough of my blather; here’s the essence of things from Spiderweb:
Geneforge is our newest fantasy role-playing game with a science fiction twist. In Geneforge, you are free to choose what your overall goal is, and you can seek after it with your own horde of deadly, mutant monsters.
You are a Shaper, a member of the most powerful and secretive of the magical guilds. You have the power to create life and mold it to serve your own needs. For millennia, your world feared and respected the Shapers above all others. Their creations could go everywhere, do anything, all according to the wishes of the Shapers and no others.
If you need a servant, you simply create it, and it will gladly die for you.
But now the secrets of your people are at risk. Someone dares to try to steal the power of the Shapers and take it for his own. He has committed the ultimate crime: he has captured you, and he will do anything to get you to surrender your secrets.
He would use the power of the Shapers to remake the world. The question is simple one. Will you fight him? Or join him?
Geneforge is a fantasy role-playing game for Windows and Macintosh. It features fully animated 16-bit graphics, the ability to create your own army of lethal, totally obedient creatures, and a cunning enemy AI with foes who can go on patrols, stalk you, and run for help. Geneforge has a huge and open storyline. You have the freedom to choose your own path and decide how the story will turn out. You can fight the evil overlord or you can join him. You can help the peasants or you can torment them. You can be the bold hero or you can just try to get away. No matter what you choose, Geneforge offers an enormous adventure with plenty of replay value.
Geneforge is $25, or $32 with a hint book. Windows system requirements: PC Running Windows 95 or later, DirectX 3 or later, 30 MB free RAM, 25 MB hard drive space, 800×600 screen resolution with 16 bit color. Macintosh system requirements: System 8.1 or later, 30 MB free RAM, 25 MB hard drive space, 800×600 screen resolution with 16 bit color. Geneforge is fully compatible with System OSX (under Classic mode).
All of the above is true, and more. Graphically, this is by no means cutting edge; it could easily have been made six, eight years ago. But it is clean, it is absorbing, and it is pure fun. I highly recommend it, even for those who aren’t on a budget. Try the free demo (comprising about 1/4th the game’s maps and about 1/10th the story). You will not regret it.
Bonus Book Review!
Peter Watts is a fairly recent author who has made a tremendous impact in the SF field with his first book, Starfish
Watts’ output to date is distressingly small. He has only published seven short stories (A Niche (1990), Flesh Made Word (1993), Nimbus (1994), Fractals (1995), Bethlehem (1996), Home (1999), and Bulk Food (2000) [with Laurie Channer]) and two articles (Reluctant Praise (1997), and Frontispiece: “Alien Intents” (2000)), aside from his two novels. He is a marine biologist, and lives in Toronto, Canada.
(Originally published in club newsletter October 2002)
