Overlord was one of the original titles to hit the Xbox 360 last year. It offered something different amongst all the shooters and racers that although high in quality, was something that left many of us wanting some strings to our gaming bows. Overlord was just that. Now, a year later it makes its debut on the PS3. However, it doesn't fill quite the same space on the shelf as it did on the 360. Not only because of the diversity of titles already available on the PlayStation, but also because it technically doesn't live up to its predecessor.
For those of you who are new to Triumph's action fantasy romp the premise is thus: You are the Overlord, awaken from a long slumber by your minions who instantly kit you out in full, point, menacing armour so that you are suitably equipped to rid the land of all the good guys and regain the title of, well, The Overlord.
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| That's you that is. |
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Jabba the Hutt's older, more disgusting brother |
This might sound all very serious and menacing but let me assure you right now that it isn't. The game is self-effacing to a fault. With a humour very similar to that of Fable, British humour basically, your always left with a wry smile on your face as the minion master guides you through the game, at first giving you a walkthrough of the basics and later explaining to you the various missions and tasks that you have to perform, whilst offering helpful tips along the way.
You take control of these little gobliny creatures called minions who basically carry out your bidding whether it be bashing sheep's heads in and carrying their life-force back to you with a suitable humble, "Here you go master", to throwing themselves to their death like lemmings in order to restore your health or magic powers. They also come in handy if you have certain obstacles in your path, you basically point them in the direction of the blockage and they'll all run off and dislodge it for you. Sound's easy, right?
To spice things up a bit however, you can only have a certain amount of minions with you at one time. And as certain obstacles can only be moved by say, 15 minions, but your maximum limit is 10, then well, you've got a problem. This basically means that there are other tasks to perform in order to progress, as the more energy you collect to rebuild your decrepit Dark Tower, the more minions you can take with you at one time.
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| The addition of a mini-map is an excellent addition |
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The villager in the background will learn to adore you |
Triumph also throws another angle at you by way of having different coloured minions for different tasks. You start off with brown ones who are more then happy to steam in and fight it out with anyone or anything that stands in your way. However, as the game becomes more tactical, simply sending them off on a charge will leave you empty handed very quickly. There are red ones that can put out fire and lob fireballs from distance. The green are immune to the toxic gas and the blues can cross water without drowning and also resurrect minions that you've lost on the battle field. The blues however, can't fight for toffee, so use them wisely.
One of the main differences between the PC/360 and PS3 versions is the addition of a mini-map. This addition is most welcome as when I played it last year I found myself getting lost and retracing my steps often as although the level design is detailed it can also be rather samey and therefore easy to get lost. The mini-map also has indicators as to where you should be, and what type of task it is you need to perform. A full-screen, detailed map still would have been preferable, as it is for all objective-based quests where you have to traverse from a to b, but beggars can't be choosers!
Technically the game isn't up to much however. I noticed quite a bit of screen tearing and flicker and at some points the loading screens actually completely glitched graphically. The game still loaded so it's not exactly a deal-breaker but we've come to expect more from current-gen titles. Also the God rays of light through the trees constantly flicker as though they are actually being drawn in as the frame rate stutters slightly. Although the game was never going to depict realism, the world itself it pretty so things like that grate somewhat.
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| Visually very impressive at times |
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The backdrops are very detailed, if a little repetitive |
On the hand however, many of the annoying gameplay elements of the "original" have been removed and improved upon: the minions now actually stay close to you at almost all times instead of you having to wait for them to catch up. Also, in the 360 version, you would point at a house and the minions would run into the field next to it. This issue has also been fixed ensuring a more satisfying rapport between the player and the game.
In short Overlord is a fun title that treads carefully on that fine line between suitable for both children and adults alike. The humour can wear thin at times, but the dialogue on the whole is very good as is the mischievous behaviour of your minions. There is a lot of life in the title too, with both expansion packs from the previous versions being included here. If you're stuck for something to buy and you want a game that offers something relatively unique, you won't go too far wrong with this one.
Top Gaming Moment: Your minions wearing pumpkin hats never gets boring
