by Steven Wong
Genesis Rising, a real-time strategy game with some unusual units, takes place in the far-flung future. After a long era of intergalactic warfare, humanity has conquered almost the entire universe. Technology has progressed to the point where humanity likens itself to a god-like race, reinforced by the fact that they command organic ships. They also regard the universe as a kind of living being, fueled by cosmic blood, which is a focal point of the mainstream religion. In the game, the player takes on the role of Iconus, a starship captain out to find the Universal Heart, which could lead to a number of different outcomes, including the opportunity to become a living god and seize control of the human empire.
Although the game technically falls under the strategy game category, the campaign offers a number of different role playing opportunities to determine the ending. Some of the voice acting and writing seem a bit amateurish, but it works. Whenever a critical moment comes up, players choose to respond submissively or aggressively, represented by two portrait icons. Unfortunately, Genesis Rising doesn't provide any clues as to what those responses will lead to. In one instance, we accidentally handed control of the fleet to a political rival, all in the name of a booty call.
The real meat of the game comes from the real-time strategy element. The organic ships, look designed at H.R. Giger's workshop, gain new weaponry via injected gene sequences that mutate the ship's shape and also drink the blood of other ships. This blood drinking not only heals a damaged vessel, but also steals gene weapons and adds it to the player's toolset. Unfortunately, the game throws waves of enemies at players without providing much opportunity for recovery in-between. So, most people will be forced to wait out skirmishes before moving in to claim their prizes and weapons before the ship carcasses completely decay. In some cases, ships explode in a great burst of blood, which looks great, but can be annoying when players attempt to steal a power.
Gene sequences may also be purchased through a real-time diplomacy screen with friendly species. For the most part, diplomacy works well, since players can either pay in blood (the currency of the universe) or barter with any gene sequences they have in stock. Establishing good relations with different races becomes key, because they might give discounts or sell ships. In some instances, players may call upon allies to fly in with reinforcements. However, once again, the game usually doesn't offer a great amount of downtime to conduct trade sessions. Most players will settle for buying the sequences they don't have, and then dedicate resources toward using their own labs to replicate them. Another problem comes from the fact that while science lab ships can produce copies of owned sequences, they cannot actively research upgrades. Advanced versions of the same weapons can only be purchased or stolen.
RANKING: 4 OUT OF 10
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