Geneforge 2
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Geneforge 2 is the second in a series of roleplaying games created by Spiderweb Software. It is released as shareware for the Macintosh and Windows platforms.
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[edit] Features
Geneforge 2 offers a number of changes and additions over its predecessor. Three new types of creations are available to players: massive Drakons; deadly, telepathic Gazers; and acidic Rotghroths which smell of decay. Several new spells are available, such as Kill and Aura of Flames. The skill Anatomy, which allowed the player to cause extra damage in melee combat, is replaced with Parry, which has a chance of blocking incoming attacks. The game engine itself, however, is essentially unchanged from the first game.
There are four different factions that the player can ally with should they so choose, although it is possible to complete the game without ever joining a faction, and the player can also change factions through the course of gameplay. Each faction, as well as being unaligned, gives a different ending. Geneforge 2 is very non-linear, and only a handful of quests are actually required to complete the game.
[edit] Plot
As in the first Geneforge game, the player begins as an apprentice Shaper beginning their training. They are sent with a Shaper Agent to assess the situation of the failing Shaper colony Drypeak. Once they arrive, they begin to find that there is much more here than one would think. One of the town's leaders, Barzahl, has turned against the Shapers and has founded a town with those loyal to him, the Barzites. He has begun crafting magical canisters which rewrite the body of the Shaper who uses it, making them artificially stronger. Past Drypeak there are towns of serviles, Shaper-made servants who are bred for mindless obedience. But these serviles have broken free from their bonds of servitude due to years of separation from Shapers. Some, calling themselves the Awakened wish to deal with Shapers as equals, with mutual respect and rights, but the more radical group, known as the Takers, desire to destroy the Shapers outright. They are trying to remake the Geneforge, with the help of Drakons and other creations which once were loyal to Shapers, but have now turned rogue and seek their masters' downfall.
[edit] Gameplay
- Main article: Geneforge series
The games are played in an isometric view and feature turn-based combat. The lands are split up into small areas, which can be traveled through using a world map. During combat, each warrior gets a certain amount of action points, which are spent moving, attacking, casting spells, and using items. At the beginning of the game, the player chooses a type of Shaper to be. The three types are Shapers, Guardians, and Agents. When the player gains a level, he or she gains an amount of skill points, which can be spend on improving 1 or more of the character's abilities.
