5Th Place

Geneforge 2 [by Spiderweb Software]

Review Coming!

Jeff Vogel is considered something of a genius in a community that is always getting bigger. A developer who dropped out of Grad school when his "sanity saver," programming a game called Exile, started to sell well. His role playing games are a thing of legend among those who have played them.  This year's offering, Geneforge 2 has continued the rich tradition that he has created.  The game is steeped in rich story that will truly carry you into another world.  The game plays a lot like a fantasy novel instead of just a romp through medieval times.  After all, anyone can creates towns and wildernesses, but it takes a master story-teller to make that world come alive and become an all-involving adventure. 

Geneforge 2 does just that, sucking in players who are willing to give it a shot.  Those who don't take the time to check out the game after looking at screenshots are not doing themselves any favors.  The graphics are actually just fine, and the game play so easy to pick up and so well created that players who play for just a few moments will be intrigued enough to play for hours.  Of special interest are the way that the battles are done, combining real-time and turn-based fighting in a way that plays quickly and works extremely well.

Overall though, Geneforge 2 is one of the best Independent games that came out this year, and though the mainstream game sites may not consider it one of the best RPG games this year based solely on the graphics, it just goes to show again, that a great game will be great regardless of the games graphics.

Score:  7.0 (1 First Place Vote)