Geneforge series review

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alhoon
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Geneforge series review

Post by alhoon »

The Geneforge series is in my humble opinion some of the most captivating games (awesome story, moral dilemmas. RPG \ Squad tactics genre) I've played. The graphics seem out of the early 90s and many descriptions are text based but for those that are able to see the graphics as means to express a story, the series offer so much!

The premise of the series is: In a fantasy world there's a magical tradition, the "Shapers" that can create life out of magic; from small lizards to hulking brutes. From peaceful Creations to do chores to powerful battle creations to deal with their enemies. The Shapers control Terrestia in a strict magocracy according to the Shaper Law. Their power is absolute, their rule unchallenged. Until it is challenged and the Great Rebellion starts.
How could the Rebels stand up against an enemy that when its soldiers die, they can simply make more within a minute? Simply: They have similar powers of their own. As the series progress, more and more dangerous creations are made as both sides become more desperate for victory.
The Rebellion officially starts in the 3rd game. The first two games are the lead-up of how the Rebels came to exist.

Endings: There are many possible endings in each game, all affected by the player's choices and actions. To learn which ending is canon, you play the next game.

Morality: The series do one thing exceptionally well: They present civil wars and rebellions in a very realistic way. There is no good side and bad side. All sides have idealists and opportunists, good people and bad people, misguided people and enlightened people. Both sides do very, very questionable things "for the greater good".

Through the series, I've worked with fanatic rebels to overthrow the oppressive regime of the Shapers. I've done things that are clear war crimes, I've killed good people, I've killed innocents hoping that my actions will bring the best possible outcome.
In different playthroughs I've fought with the Shapers to stop the mad, powerhungry Rebels. To accomplish that, I've also done war crimes in the service of the Shapers and had to kill good people and innocents.
The games come with hard choices. There's much debate on which side is right and which is wrong or at least, which side is better.



You can read more about these awesome series here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneforge

And of course, You can play the very large, free demos (about the first 1/5th of each game is free demo): http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/geneforge3/index.html <=== demo for GF3. Where the Rebellion finally starts.

Yes, the graphics are ancient. But the story, the moral dilemmas, the innovating ideas of the world make up for it.
"You truly see what a person is made of, when you begin to slice into them" - Semirhage
"I am not mad, no matter what you're implying." - Litalia
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