A Game of Thrones: Genesis is a fabulous medieval tale, or so we're told by the developers. For those who like strategy games this one is different to the usual in that there is a lot more politics and backbiting than swords and war. The storyline is filled with depth and reminds us a lot of corporate backstabbing, bribery and seduction. Unfortunately, for those who love the action of conquering enemies and defeating nations, there is very little content to support their bloodlust.
In Genesis you attain victory over other houses mainly through underhand means. There are plenty of methods to use as a weapon. Lying, secret alliances, propaganda, false accusations are just some of the nefarious methods employed to attain your goals. You don't need to use your own military force to conquer. Simply resort to trickery using spies, assassins and the like. You can influence neutral cities by spreading lies and disinformation, like NATO is currently doing in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan. Your enemies use the same methods to gain the upper hand.
Alliances can be destroyed by rivals who covertly take over cities and towns. You can send your own special units to towns to gain information secretly and uncover possible subterfuge and dissent. You can also arrange marriages to ensure alliances and friendship. So if you're good at sneakiness and creating uprisings this game is a gem. The problem is that this game can become complicated and end up in a long drawn out affair that many of us don't have the time for. The gameplay can be boring and uninteresting and it seems to drag on forever with no end in sight.
Despite all the backstabbing and espionage going on, you can't neglect the task of building up a sizeable army. The day will come when war eventually breaks out and if you haven't prepared for it, you will find yourself on the back foot. All your spies and diplomacy won't mean a thing if you don't have the ability to beat off an armed incursion. Building an army is expensive and every unit you buy will take out a hefty chunk from your gold coffers. You never have enough cash and this is probably one of the disadvantages of the game. As a result your army will never be able to successfully beat off an enemy. Many of your units are limited and what good is this? Even if you do manage to win the victory doesn't look good.
The combat itself is uninteresting and lame. The action doesn't get you psyched up and many units stand around doing nothing. The battles themselves are boring and lack large scale excitement prevalent in many similar games.
The dialogue and acting is no fun either. It hurts the game and makes it seem worse than it is. If you play multi player mode you may find it more enjoyable as having real humans to compete against makes the game more flexible.
The espionage may be the games best asset. A Game of Thrones: Genesis is not everyone's idea of a good medieval game and may be one of the weakest strategy games around.
