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Your The Master! Overlord 2 Review
Codemasters and Triumph Studios created a surprisingly enjoyable adventure with Overlord in 2007.Serving up a mix of Dungeon Keeper and Fable.
And overlord II is better looking and cleverer than the original, with minions able to think for themselves, ride beasts, use siege equipment and tear down buildings.
Good enough, it seems to warrant a huge blowout of new Overlord titles. Seeing the release of Overlord spin-off titles on Wii and DS, along with the true sequel appearing on the Xbox 360, PlayStation3, and PC.
As the Dark Lord, it's up to you to take control of the loyal Minions, sweeping them across the landscape with the right thumb-stick, drinking and smashing, solving puzzles, fighting against various Elf eco-warriors, the Roman Empire, seal cubs, and generally causing mischief and havoc along the way.
The premise is that Minions can access areas the Dark Lord can't, use special abilities to solve puzzles, and generally be thrown headfirst into combat as a barrier to the surprisingly vulnerable main character. Browns are the basic bashing and smashing variety, making them ideal for the frontline and general looting; Reds can lob fireballs, making them a deadly weapon in combat; Greens can drift past an opponent and unleash a deadly blow from behind, while the feeble Blues can swim and resuscitate fallen buddies.
Each Minion is unlocked in turn, which allows you to gain an understanding of each before progressing to the next. It can be a little slow paced at times in terms of flow, but it is a considerably sized adventure and you rarely feel the need to run through just to advance to the next element.
Selecting the different types of Minions mapped to the face buttons is an instinctive setup, providing for considerable tactical nuances such as restricting your fireball-throwing Red Minions to higher grounds, whilst ordering the bashing-happy Brown Minions to wade into the battle and grab fleeing opponents to slow them down.
The distinction between the species of Minions and their use in combat and the various puzzles sprinkled throughout the game is generally much more effective than before. The Greens stealth approach for instance is far more pronounced then it was before, whilst the resuscitating abilities of the Blues is made more useful by their ability to run through opponents unseen.
The tactical side to combat is also highlighted by the various Roman units you'll come across. In tight formation, the Romans provide an insurmountable obstacle to overcome by mere button bashing. Instead the solution comes from using the Minions effectively; making sure to sneak the Greens behind their opponents for a deadly backstab, or trying to defeat the Centurion to upset the moral of the troops.
Triumph has done a fantastic job of bringing out the strategic elements of the game, which emphasises the fact that this is certainly not a routine hack 'n' slash. The Minions on their own are a destructive bunch, particularly when taking into account their specific abilities, but the newly added mounts such as wolves, spiders and salamanders adds increased power but an extra dimension to the various puzzles.
Wolves can jump across gaps that were previously inaccessible, spiders can crawl around webs and salamanders can roll around what looks like a skateboard half-pipe. It's a small addition, but one that again adds a little more to the gameplay on offer. Also new to Overlord II is the ability to take direct control of a Minion in certain set-pieces, which provides an entertaining change of perspective to the proceedings. Crushing battalions of Roman troops with catapults is another set-piece that is put to frequent use (perhaps a little too much) along with taking control of boats and rafts, which helps to diversify the standard gameplay but fails to bring anything significant beyond a little respite.
Review By: Mitch Parker
© Gamersathome 2008