by AXIS of Reality

©2009 Alex Baldwin

For anyone who read the ‘Ten 360 Games You Haven’t Played‘ feature, you’d know I’m a fan of the first Overlord. There were three magic ingredients that made it so appealing – playing the bad guy, controlling a mass of minions and a streak of satirical black humour that gave it the feeling of being a guilty pleasure.

Despite good reviews, it failed to make an impact in sales as many saw the cover and screenshots that mistakenly gave it the appearance of an Oblivion rip-off (which you must remember was the ‘it’ game at the time). Luckily for us Codemasters had faith in the franchise and gave Triumph the go ahead for a sequel, and over 2 years later it’s finally arrived.

• Overlord 2: Top 10 Reasons to get Overlord 2

It is clear from the start that Overlord II is the baby of developers Triumph – given that feel of love and care many games from large studios lack. Instead of flashy intro logos there’s the sound of the trademark minions singing in the background trying to emulate the effect of the usual epic musical flourishes that accompany bigger studio logos such as Bungie and Microsoft.

That is until the orchestral score kicks in as you get your first glimpse of the new ‘dark tower’ in the Netherworld on the menu screen.

You’re quickly filled in that the original dark tower from the first Overlord was destroyed and the minions have been looking for a new master ever since, before you’re dropped into control of a boy in a snowy village.

So far, so Fable II.

That is, until you’re encouraged to start beating and abusing other children with your first minions.

It seems you’re an outcast of your home village, known as ‘witch boy’ in a world that hates magic. Well, surprise surprise you’re just what the minions are looking for in a new evil master.

It’s from the beginning you’ll notice a nice step up in detail in the environments of Overlord II from its predecessor. Lighting and surfaces now appear more 3D and organic, while the same art style is still utilised from the first game (very much like Fable II down to the villager’s British accents). It works well, even if some of the character models and lip syncing is a bit basic.

• Overlord 2 Developers Diary #1

Unfortunately it’s also here that you discover the first flaws – an inconsistent framerate that while not game-breaking is still an annoyance. There is also quite a bit of clipping between objects, such as characters halfway through walls or minions running right through rocks.

Similarly while much of the animation of characters are suitably comical, transitions between different actions are quite disjointed as minions appear to flick between actions or animation cycles without any of the fluidity titles like Assassin’s Creed and Killzone 2 have spoiled us with.

The game looks nice enough and the environment design is often quite beautiful, but the visuals lack the polish expected by today’s standards. A patch could fix a fair few of these up, so here’s hoping one’s on the way.

Back into the gameplay, and it’s soon apparent Triumph have decided not to fix what isn’t broken. By the time you’ve finished the tutorial intro and gotten to the Netherworld in your new dark tower, it will be apparent that there are no major overhauls here from the original Overlord.

Minion control is identical, combat works the same way and upgrading your tower follows the same method. Whether this is  good or bad depends on your opinion of the first game, but I found it hasn’t lost its appeal.

Sending your minions with a sweep of the right thumbstick (‘pointing’ in the direction you want them to go and altering that direction to guide them around obstacles) to destroy a storehouse is still as enjoyable as it ever was and provides a great break from traditional action games.

Who Needs Weapons

Indeed it’s even possible to complete the game without even swinging your own weapon yourself, letting your minions do the dirty work.

Speaking of minions, there has been a change for the better this time round. While it could get annoying in Overlord when you had a selection of minions carrying weapons and armour they pick up on their own from fallen foes, if they died you’d be stuck with a fresh minion lacking the hard-earned equipment.

This time, fallen minions can be resurrected (for a hefty fee) from a grim reaper-esque minion complete with equipment and the experience level they were at when they died.

This gives you more attachment to your minions as you may see one still wearing the helmet of a defeated army commander from hours ago or carrying a pitchfork from the farm you invaded.

Ahh, those beloved Minions

They’re still as entertaining as ever, and it’s not uncommon to see one pick up an abandoned wine flask and scull it to later throw up violently or take a leak on a body.

I also fell out of my seat in laughter and surprise when some minions behind me suddenly broke into song and dance with ‘I’m a Little Teapot’.

• Overlord 2, It’s Fun Being Really Really Bad

One thing that hasn’t changed from the first game is the sometimes frustrating AI of the minions. While they will pick up any equipment left on the ground that is better than their current belongings, it can sometimes require you to move them over it multiple times for it to register.

Minions are also prone to getting stuck on objects or behind doors, as well as some suicidal tendencies. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting to an obstacle that requires a large number of minions to pass, only to find when you attempt to send your minions to deal with it you’re one short because some are still stuck between two rocks. You can’t even kill them to let you respawn some more. Immersion: destroyed.

For the most part though I was having a great time – just when I was losing interest in an area a new landscape would open up, or a new character would be introduced.

The hippie elves (self-professed lovers of all things fluffy) and 5-inch tall gnomes in particular were highlights, with the latter looking simply like a large pointy hat on hair squeaking around your feet after declaring all-out war on you. Not to mentions some of the nasties like massively obese mermaids, overweight fairies and pot-bellied army commanders.

Why So Many Fat People?

Now that I think about it, the developers do seem to have a disturbing obsession with fat people…

The multiplayer modes are included for both split-screen (a dying breed unfortunately) and Live, but really they just seem to be the developers ticking a box in the list of features.

There’s a deathmatch mode and capture the flag-like game but it’s not much fun and feels clumsy. It’s easier to pretend that the multiplayer doesn’t exist, and the lack of it doesn’t hurt a game that shouldn’t have had it in the first place.

In the end though what you’re left with is an entertaining adventure with a fantastic sense of humour, even if it’s a bit thin on the originality in missions.

You’ll be finding the key / switch / artifact or hunting the boss all too often, but the game’s great charm will see you keep playing. If only it had a few more months (or spent the time that was dedicated to the pointless multiplayer) to iron out the AI and give the visuals a bit more polish Overlord II would be a lot more appealing, but should a Live title update fix these issues I’ll happily push the score up into the ’8′ range.

If you liked the original Overlord this is a good improvement and well worth a play. If you’re new to the series the original can be found for under $25 AUD or on our affiliate Game Share, so it might make more sense for you take that for a spin first before investing in the full-priced Overlord II.

©2009 Alex Baldwin

”7.8/10

Please share us around

Overlord II Price List in Australia (as of writing):

• EB Games: $89.92 (will also price-match)

• Game: $109.95 (will also price-match with catalogue proof)

• GameTraders: $84.95

• JB HiFi: $89 (trade 3 x 360 games not on the exclusion list and get it for free)

• Myer: $109.95

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Game Reviews, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | "Overlord II", "overlord minions", Codemasters, minions, overlord, overlord 2, PC, PS3, RPG, RTS, triumph, Xbox 360