Evil Genius 2: World Domination preview - Everything you need to know

Releasing on March 30th, your goal will be to achieve total global domination by creating the ultimate Doomsday Device in your island paradise lair. 

You will fill this lair with training facilities for your minions, and of course, dangerous traps to beat them annoying do-gooders.  But before you do that, you’ll have a difficult decision to make - which evil genius will you be?

You’ll be able to pick from four options, including the monocled Mamillian from the original game, with every villain having different storylines and specialties, or you can choose to play as Red Ivan who will rule the minions with an iron fist. He does this with a “Do It Now” ability which makes all minions around the tyrannical leader more productive.

Maybe with one of these, you will even get that… one million dollars! Oops, wrong evil villain.

There’s a lot of building needed in Evil Genius 2: World Domination as, let’s be honest, becoming the leader of the world isn’t an easy task.

However, like all good evil plots, you need to have a cover. 

That’s where your casino comes in. Located on an island and right above your lair, the casino acts as a front for your world domination schemes. It’ll also provide a vital source of income but also keeps the Forces of Justice from poking around too much, so keeping your customers happy with Blackjack tables and cabarets, whilst your laser-guarded plans continue, is important to maintain your cover.

As for the actual lair building, it’s safe to say that fans of SEGA’s Two Point Hospital mechanics will be very happy. The game has the same over-the-top whacky theme, with boxing glove traps, being part of the appeal.

 Within Evil Genius 2, you’ll have to work on your power, make sure that your minions have places to train and keep your area secure from unsuspecting members of the public and nosey agents alike.

All whilst having a solid working base full of research centers, weapon building facilities, and everyone’s favorite - meeting rooms! There’s no virtual working in this business though. It’s a difficult balance that makes the game challengingly fun, but one you’ll have to get right to make sure your plans are working to their full potential.

Remember, the planning of your base is important with corridors and expanding your base needing to be considered. Else your minions will spend too much time walking around and not enough time being evil. 

Training your minions will be a key part of your evil plans, with each having an archetype being Muscle, Deception, or Science. These will determine the minions’ jobs, such as muscle will create guards, whereas deception will lead to minions working in your Casino to keep your illusion alive.

If you’re more of a progressive genius, then you can put your effort into training scientists who will research new traps and weapons to keep your lair running and improving.

Minions each have traits too, which will help or hinder your goal for world domination. For example, an unsuspecting minion may not recognize a spy within your ranks.

Minions aren’t the only way to make your schemes into reality with henchmen being your right-hand men and women as you aim to conquer the globe.

These are specialists in their areas and have unique skills that make them more effective than your minions. Of course, in typical Evil Genius fashion, these are over the top and devastatingly powerful allies.

So recruiting the right henchmen can elevate your plan to the next level and stop the Forces of Justice from even touching your lair.

Your evil schemes don’t just start with world domination with over-the-top objectives that can help your cause playing a part in the game. These will include selling the British Royal Family, kidnapping the Governor of Maine, and quite literally baking Alaska.

These can be unlocked by what you do to your lair, who you attack, and much more. So, whilst every game may be unpredictable based how you play, you’ll be sure to cause carnage and mischief.

As a villain, you won’t just be recruiting and destroying. You’re sure to attract enemies and the Forces of Justice is determined to bring your plot to an end.

They’ll attempt to ruin your lovely base by storming it with their forces. This means you’ll have to build traps, arm your minions, and fight back to keep the do-gooders at bay and your evil plan in motion.

The best part is that any pesky foreign agent that makes it into your base can be captured, tortured, and exterminated in a variety of ways.

You won’t just be battling against the Forces of Justice. Crime Lords are scattered across the world!

As you explore the map, you’ll find adversaries who have their own criminal empires. Like you they’re hell-bent on conquering the world and must be stopped as the world only has room for one evil genius.

Each Crime Lord has their own side story featuring three separate objectives. These are significant, optional missions that will take you a decent amount of time to complete.

 Once you beat them, it’ll be up to you to decide which of these Crime Lords you want to coerce to help you on your path to world domination, and which you decide to… shall we say… do away with.

A Crime Lord isn’t going to bother you unless you’re active in their territory, however, Full Metal Jackie may! She’s an unknown Australian air force veteran who arms the Crime Lords of the world, with missions where you’ll pose as a buyer.

 But she’s a crafty one, and she knows your Doomsday Device will fetch a handsome sum. Though if you want to take that risk, she’s a deadly ally who can be recruited as a henchman. Armed with a rocket launcher and abilities that results in a tonne of damage.

Too evil for your own good? The sandbox mode lets you embrace your ultimate villain with unlimited potential.

Like with most sandbox modes in gaming, there’s a lack of rules… though as an evil genius should you follow rules anyway? And, of course, there’s no end game in this mode!

If you’ve finished the campaign, then Sandbox is a great way to experiment with different strategies, set yourself challenges, and just have fun.