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OVERLORD (X360)
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a.k.a. Overlord: Raising Hell
Publisher: Codemasters. Developer: Triumph Studios. Released: June 2007. Genre: RPG. Other versions: PS3; PC. Posted 6th December 2023. By Shane Battams © 2023 |
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Overlord would arrive in the already stacked year of 2007 with a new concept courtesy of Triumph Studios. Converting real-time strategy elements into an action-RPG, this fantasy adventure would let you guide dozens of minions while offering a tongue-in-cheek approach to the genre. It’s not a flawless experiment, with a few mechanical woes and design blunders chipping away at its armour. However, for those looking for an anarchic, colourful and humorous experience will likely find this one worth trying.
The game follows its titular figure as he is revived and thrust into the role by minions. After his predecessor fell to Seven Heroes, each of the warriors would fall to darkness and become embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins. It’s up to the Overlord to take out each of these goodies-turned-bad and rule over the land, though several key decisions allow you to be enact degrees of evil towards the world around you. Emulating the satirical charm of fantasy fare like Fable, the story certainly wouldn’t win awards for depth but does earn kudos through genuine charm, plenty of hilarious moments and smart writing, which parodies plenty of genre tropes. Gnarl, the elder-type minion who offers tutoring and guidance, is a clear highlight with his dry wit and choice lines.
Overlord is an amusing and enjoyable mix of RTS and RPG in a fantasy fable
The world itself benefits from this likeability. While not strictly open-world, you are able to travel between several areas each of which are colourful and benefit from hidden paths for goodies, optional collectible items and rewards for exploration such as hidden puzzles. Items can benefit both you and your tower, the hub that ties everything together. Here you can fight enemies in the dungeon once beaten in the story missions, upgrade your armour and weapons, and decorate the tower after acquiring a mistress. There’s a good 20 hours gameplay in the main story and with key decisions both affecting certain items you can and offering unique ways to play, a second run is definitely on the cards. There’s also cooperative survival and competitive multiplayer modes, but these feel like a smaller side dish to the main meat of the game.
The glue that holds this together is the gameplay, which sees you guiding the Overlord. Utilising a basic set of attacks and standard movement, most of the quirks come with guiding minions. With story progression, you gain access to four kinds of minion, each distinctly coloured with their own capabilities. Browns prove adept at combat, Reds can throw fire and clear obstructions, Greens can leap onto foes and dismiss poisonous gases and Blues can revive downed minions and swim. Spawn points allow you to summon each type, while the right analogue stick guides them around – including over narrow paths the Overlord cannot travel. Death is frequent for these critters, but life force collected from downed enemies lets you spawn more. While equipped with a sword yourself, you’ll find the minions do a lot of the work, be it killing foes, moving key puzzle objects or transporting goods back to the tower.
The glue that holds this together is the gameplay, which sees you guiding the Overlord. Utilising a basic set of attacks and standard movement, most of the quirks come with guiding minions. With story progression, you gain access to four kinds of minion, each distinctly coloured with their own capabilities. Browns prove adept at combat, Reds can throw fire and clear obstructions, Greens can leap onto foes and dismiss poisonous gases and Blues can revive downed minions and swim. Spawn points allow you to summon each type, while the right analogue stick guides them around – including over narrow paths the Overlord cannot travel. Death is frequent for these critters, but life force collected from downed enemies lets you spawn more. While equipped with a sword yourself, you’ll find the minions do a lot of the work, be it killing foes, moving key puzzle objects or transporting goods back to the tower.
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The good news is that the bubbly minions are simply a riot to control, with a squeeze of the right trigger seeing them smash any nearby objects, collecting loot and attacking foes. Puzzles feel intuitive and well balanced with the critters in mind, creating a pretty fun time. Even swapping between colours is pretty easy, and allowing you to place defensive markers adds an extra layer of tactics. Most of the time, they also prove capable of self-guidance if needed, following the Overlord around closely and attacking foes you engage with automatically. They prove helpful for collecting key items such as Gold and potions, which is handy as sometimes the Overlord’s hulking frame can’t grab certain goodies. There’s also a great sense of growth as you gain more minions, upgrade your armour to allow you to summon more at once and even find equipment for them on the battlefield which they can use.
However, some mechanical deficiencies can get in the way. The controls and camera struggle with the juggling act of guiding minions, seeing your perspective getting stuck on objects and sluggish inputs struggling with more timed challenges such as taking out a sandworm with a well-placed bomb. Minion pathfinding is good for the most part, but frustrations such as getting stuck on objects and running into clear hazards like water try your patience somewhat. There are a few odd design choices too, such as the lack of a mini-map during gameplay and infrequent checkpoints. The tipping point is the semi-frequent boss fights which range in quality. Some feel overly easy, while others frustrate such as a late-game boss with three phases, no checkpoints between and little margin for error. A few cheap moments like that, which see you or your minions getting pummelled, dampen the fun a little.
However, some mechanical deficiencies can get in the way. The controls and camera struggle with the juggling act of guiding minions, seeing your perspective getting stuck on objects and sluggish inputs struggling with more timed challenges such as taking out a sandworm with a well-placed bomb. Minion pathfinding is good for the most part, but frustrations such as getting stuck on objects and running into clear hazards like water try your patience somewhat. There are a few odd design choices too, such as the lack of a mini-map during gameplay and infrequent checkpoints. The tipping point is the semi-frequent boss fights which range in quality. Some feel overly easy, while others frustrate such as a late-game boss with three phases, no checkpoints between and little margin for error. A few cheap moments like that, which see you or your minions getting pummelled, dampen the fun a little.
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Nevertheless, these frustrations are easier to overlook thanks to Overlord’s presentation. The softer-bloom lighting, exaggerated characters and oddball animations come together well, especially in regards to the minions. Nothing looks especially detailed, in fairness, but it proves likeable regardless. The audio is strong, with the standout being the voice acting and writing which combine effortlessly to create genuine humour. The music is typical for the genre, but fits the world and story nicely, and the effects feel crisp and chunky – be it clanking of swords, roasting of minions or growls of creatures you fight.
Overlord certainly isn’t flawless, but its issues are countered by oodles of charm, an engaging premise and solid gameplay, which blends fantasy RPG with real-time strategy to a mostly sturdy result. Some control quirks, camera issues and frustration are a shame, but when everything clicks together, the anarchic fun here proves worthwhile. If you are looking for something a bit different from the seventh generation, Triumph Studios’ minion madness will prove a solid choice.
Overlord certainly isn’t flawless, but its issues are countered by oodles of charm, an engaging premise and solid gameplay, which blends fantasy RPG with real-time strategy to a mostly sturdy result. Some control quirks, camera issues and frustration are a shame, but when everything clicks together, the anarchic fun here proves worthwhile. If you are looking for something a bit different from the seventh generation, Triumph Studios’ minion madness will prove a solid choice.
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VERDICT
"Although Overlord certainly isn't flawless, its issues are tempered by oodles of charm, an engaging premise and a solid blend of fantasy RPG and RTS." OVERALL: 7/10 |
OTHER FANTASY FABLE GAMES REVIEWED
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (2001, PlayStation 2)
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Fable (2004, Xbox)
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