Classic & Original Masterpiece
There are 2 main areas of gameplay in Evil Genius. There is the base building map, and the world domination screen. The majority of gameplay will involve the base building map, but 95% of advancement through the game is made via the world domination screen.
In general, gameplay consists of you creating your base to operate your control room, train your minions, protect yourself from "heat" (counter agents), stealing money from the world, and perform acts of infamy which are basically missions around the world to further your plans of world domination.
For a game that is so different, I expected a lot of balance issues, but the game, for the most part, is pretty well calculated. The difficulty is up there, but definitely rewards the challenge.
One major thumbs up this game gets from me, is the fact that there are numerous ways to play it. You don't just have to find the one trick to every little thing the game throws at you. It is designed to allow for your own personal style when approaching the gameplay. This makes for some awesome replay value. Whether you want to fine tune your own methods, or play around with strange alternatives, you will be able to try news things for some time without repeating yourself.
The game does involve a lot of waiting, which might grate on some people's nerves. I find the periods of waiting just as annoying as the next person, but I did find they were realistic in the games context.
In summary: This game looks good, runs good, and plays good. I have no problems with this game at all, and still play it all the time. A classic game in my book.