I just finished playing Halo 3 for the third time (once on each difficulty level) and a know I am getting Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for Christmas so I was looking for an XBox 360 game to tide me over. Something simple, fun, and most importantly a game I would feel no guilt about dropping cold to start playing Call of Duty 4. I bought Overlord by Triumph Studios last weekend. Here is Amazon’s description of the game:

Overlord is an Xbox 360 exclusive that takes role-playing and action conventions and flips them on their head. You’re exploring the legendary Overlord’s Dark Tower when you discover you’ve inherited the legacy of the evil, long-dead Overlord. As you emerge near-death, you decide to rise as the new Overlord — and you’ll have to decide how evil you’re willing to get. Played out with plenty of black humour and dark irony, the game will immerse players in twisted parodies of classic fantasy scenarios and characters.

* Amass and breed minions and collect weapons and armor to keep them equipped and fighting for gold
* Steal anything from gold and axes to pitchforks, chef’s hat and even dried-out pumpkins — almost anything can be used
* Use your minions tactically — they’re ready to sacrifice themselves and their lives in servitude to the Overlord. Just don’t let them get distracted by alcohol or succubi
* Employ Healers to resurrect fallen minions and prepare them for the next battle

Sounds awesome right? Who wouldn’t want to be an evil overlord with dozens of minions at his beck and call? I certainly would. So I thought this was the game for me. It sounded like fun. Not too much thinking involved. The perfect rebound game. Brother was I right. It turns out that there is even less thinking and strategic planning involved than the description implies. This has been called the darker version of Pikman before. It is similar to Pikman in how you control your minions but just not really that much darker.

You really don’t have any control over “breeding” your minions. Conquering an area consists of completing the first-person quests in an area. And you don’t really have much control over how your minions are equipped, they pick all of this stuff up on their own without any assistance from you. Calling the blue minions healers is a bit of a stretch. If you play the game the way it is designed your not even that evil. You rescue villagers, steel back their food for them, and stop plagues. Doesn’t that sound like the stuff evil villains always do? That statement was dripping sarcasm if you hadn’t noticed. If it wasn’t for the fact that the minions will drink the occasional mug of ale and urinate afterwards, oh and the really weak sexual innuendo with your tower’s interior designer… er, I mean your mistress this game would definitely be suited for 10-12 year olds.

Overall I was kinda disappointed, especially for $50. If your going to make me an evil overlord, make me an evil overlord. The concept was fantastic but, the implementation fell short. This would have made a much better strategy game than first-person story. I would only recommend this game if your really bored some afternoon and need to kill a few hours or if you have a 14-15 year old teenager (Oh and you can pick up the game for $20 or less).

High Point: The concept and getting to kill the occasional halfling
Low Point: Water-down ‘evilness’ and poor control over your minions
Rating: 2/5 Stars