A Game of Thrones ? Genesis is adaptation of the fantasy saga "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George RR Martin. Filled with more double dealings than you can possible shake your sword at, the game mirrors events that take place in a time line long, before the happenings in the books or the HBO hit TV show. Dailey political intrigues falls amongst the ruling houses of Westeros, it's all designed to take the player through the Kingdom shaping events that is Westeros. Throughout the game there is strategy, diplomacy, politics, and secret alliances.

Players find out in no time that deception and treachery is a common every day tool here and it's almost like breathing. You just never know who your real allies are. The number one goal is to gain enough prestige to ascend to the iconic Iron Throne and uniting Westeros. While the game premise and looks to some extend are very much like other Real time Strategy games you may have played, the chaotic feelings of a land where you have to watch your back is where this sets apart from the rest.

The games campaign seems manageable enough, playing out in chapters with some times not so grand goals. Such as form alliances with other towns and castles or goldmines. Amongst the forms of alliances there are regular alliances where everyone sees and knows about it, there are pacts bringing two ruling houses together, and then there are the secret agreements. Then there is the alliance by marriage. Joining two ruling houses together, a noble lady is just as valued a piece in The Game of Thrones as any military unit. Other than Noble ladies, there are spies as well as assassins. Though players will more times than not start out using an Envoy to go to out and make alliances.

There are so many nuances to start with to understand the game it is best to use the tutorial mode to get a grip of the game concepts. The tutorial is pretty solid taking the player through creating alliances, using underhanded actions, deception, peace, war, victory and pacts. This is a real thinking person's game. It never really leaves you in the dark though and offers some guidance and prompts during play. For instance if an Envoy is under attack by an enemy unit, they voice it out, letting the player know that action is required.

There are several different gaming modes, so players can have a little taste or jump right into a campaign. All of the houses are here in the game that some may know from the books and TV series. Targaryen, Stark, Tully, Arryn, Tyrell, Baratheon, Martell, Lannister

The gaming modes are as follows. There is Campaign, though out this game mode there are some twenty missions that create a single campaign. New missions unlock as the game progresses. One thing that is very friendly towards players is that at the beginning of each level players can adjust the difficulty level.

There is a tutorial that is pretty standard, taking the player through several basics that will get them ready for their run for the throne. Playing the tutorial will give players a better grasp at using the different moves that are ongoing throughout the game. Learning the game mechanics is the key to winning here.

House vs. House is one of the modes, with up to eight houses, all working against each other to gain the Iron Throne. Earning enough prestige points for the House you're playing for. Like the whole of the game you can use different approaches, grab as much riches as you can, form alliances, destroy the enemy outright. During game play you can lose points too so have a care. Attacking during peace time, or if you are the victim of a secret alliance where you think another house is allied with you but in fact they are not. Rooting out the secret alliance is done by sending out your spies and they will be able to tell in a bit if a place is truly your allies or not.

There is multiplayer with up to eight players, for the most part the same as single player house vs. house, the difference being that your opponents are all live players and may well prove more of a challenge the games AI.

Then there is replay, which is really not a game mode. This is actually more of a recorder where you can play back the game and see what you did well, or not so well. I don't really use this as much because after all. If I made a bad move and lost the previous game it is already burned into my mind so I don't have to relive it.

The game focuses on things that other RTS games do not, trying to bring to the front of the matter political issues, diplomacy and economy. All of which are a large factor in the game. Its use of noble women as pawns in the game is interesting as they can be used to make more solid alliances and even cause discord is interesting indeed.

The graphics are not stellar though they do get the job done; most of the little animations are hard to tell apart aside from the color standards or flags that show what house they are in. While there are units of soldiers there are really no large scale battles like some other RTS games have. Most of the game as noted highlights the behind the scenes type of intrigue that takes place in this fantasy world. The only thing that really bothered me, was that it just felt as if you could place just about any name on this game and it would suffice.

Other than name dropping known houses from the fantasy world and hit TV show, this could just as well been about any fantasy world of sword and sorcery. Maybe that's the appeal I just don't know. So fans of the books and show may like the game a lot because of the materials and a chance to play the time line long before the show? But hard core RTS players may feel a little antsy here if they enjoy the large scale battles part of a RTS. Those new to RTS style games may want to try this one out as it's a good primer and friendly throughout. The game forms small chapters with goals, once those goals are met, the chapter ends and a new one takes place.

Have fun play games
Edwin Millheim