Lording it up
Being the good guy can get a bit boring - handing-in lost wallets, helping old ladies across the road, returning errant children to their mothers... bah! Thank goodness, then, for games like Overlord II, an action-adventure that enables players to unashamedly give vent to their darker desires by being anything from extremely nasty to totally evil.
Building upon the success of the first Overlord, which sold more than a million copies, this sequel uses the same premise but all the wrinkles have been ironed out, resulting in a game that's bigger, slicker and funnier than its predecessor.
Beware the magical creatures
The story is written by the multi-talented Rhianna Pratchett, a journalist turned game scripter and the daughter of Discworld novelist, Terry Pratchett. The premise of Overlord II is that the ever-expanding Glorious Empire, which believes in maintaining and extending its power by the use of a mixture democracy and military might, is intent on eradicating all magical creatures.
The story is written by the multi-talented Rhianna Pratchett.
The Glorious Empire's plan comes much to the dismay of the Minions, who have been without a great leader for some time. Happily, that's about to change. When the Glorious Empire's Inquisition tracks down a young lad in the snowy wastes of Nordberg, and decides that he's the possessor of magical abilities, the Minions mount a rescue. The gifted lad then undergoes an intensive regime of training, which turns him into the new Overlord, a despotic creature that aims to rule the world by nefarious means and who just happens to be the offspring of the big nasty from the original game.
Serious power tripping
Thus the scene is set for the player to take control of the Overlord and his Minions, in order to take on the Glorious Empire and restore disorder and chaos to the world. Nice!
It's up to you to decide how nasty you want to be.
It's up to you to decide how nasty you want to be. Your Overlord can exert his will in either a destructive or dominating way, sending his Minions out to obliterate the opposition and spread chaos across the realm, or take control of villages and dish-out rewards, in order to persuade the people to do your destructive bidding. Either way, it's all about power.
The Overlord starts from humble beginnings, with five brown Minions under his control, who he can send out to cause trouble wherever they happen to find it. Unfortunately, these basic foot soldiers are susceptible to attacks by water, fire and various other everyday substances. But as the game progresses, the Overlord can enlist the help of red, blue and green Minions, who are resistant to such advances.
A new innovation is the Minions' ability to use mounts. By climbing atop another creature, the Minions can perform tasks that would have proved impossible in the original Overlord, like climbing up walls on the back of a spider or using wolves for a cavalry-like charge. In addition, possession stones can be used to enable the Overlord himself to take control of a single Minion and toddle off into areas of the level that are too small for the big guy to enter in his normal form.
It's all good fun and funny, too, thanks to Pratchett's scripting. In fact, being thoroughly despicable has probably never been such a giggle.
GAME's Verdict
- Great looking
- Good story
- Amusing characters
- Improved gameplay
- New features
Review by: Simon 'God Complex' Kirrane
Version Tested: PC
Review Published: 25.06.09