Stunning RPG action
The Geneforge saga of RPGs is a pretty slick one which reminds players of the glory days of Baldur's Gate and the Ultima series. This is the second game in the franchise and stands as a pretty typical entry but that's not a bad thing when they're all up to such high standards. Like the other games, this one thrusts players into a complex and well realized world of Shapers, who are like magicians with the ability to create energy using mystical energies. The game starts out in simple enough fashion, as you accompany your teacher to complete a simple quest but it soon turns into something more complicated and you find yourselves caught up in a twisting tale of betrayal and chaos. The narrative is one of the strongest aspects of the Geneforge games, and they are designed to be open ended, with an immense amount of freedom on the part of the player. You can almost literally go anywhere and do anything, while there are ample opportunities to make difficult moral decisions which have a real effect on the world and your experience. Geneforge 2 really is a cracking RPG that deserves to be played by an fan of the genre. It's not an easy game, nor is it particularly visually flashy but it makes up for this by simply being incredibly well crafted. There's so much depth to the customization and the story, and you really feel like you are exploring a real world with real characters. The moral decision making is on a par with The Witcher, while the combat is tactical and enthralling. All in all, a fantastic low key adventure.
