dmarusz's Full Review: PC Game Overlord for Windows
Overlord is a fairly unique game. It offers an experience that is different from the ordinary action game. However, when it comes to unique games, sometimes that is all they offer: Novelty.
Overlord doesn't necessarily fall in the category of totally innovative. Yet, it does rise above the usage of the oft used phrase (when playing cutting edge games) of "Huh, that's neat. What other games can I play?" It doesn't wear out quick, yet it is still missing a few things that would get you to really love it.
You get a little instant gratification as you play master to a set of minions. You can reasonably control them to do many things including tearing things up and getting things that you are to lazy to go over and get. Ah, the joys of minions. You can also kick them around just for the fun of it. That's a nice stress relief if you need one.
The minions/goblins are pretty neat within themselves. There are four different types, each having their own abilities and weaknesses. You get a nice amount to play with, ranging from about 3 in the beginning to about 35 toward the end of the game. After a while, you can have them scurrying all over the place and attacking everything in sight.
There can be some issues when you try to control too many at once. The controls are fairly easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Even keeping minions from drowning themselves can be a challenge in the middle of a fight.
Fighting itself is handled very well, as with many of the challenges in the game. Most fights aren't impossible where you have to find a flaw in the game's AI in order to get by the boss. Usually, there is some way to solve the problem by using a certain type of minion, placement of the minions, figuring out how to use something, etc.
They give you many challenges that don't involve combat. This is good as it helps you get more control of the interface. The challenges are nicely paced, too. You never feel like something ramps up to quickly. New areas on the map are slowly exposed to allow for new, harder risks and rewards. It also allows you to get used to your space quicker.
The game plays fairly well in terms of having few time delays. However, you can only start at your castle with each "load game." So, you can't pick up where you left off. This, plus certain areas repopulate and spawn, can make for a little extra tediousness. Even the save system isn't great. It essentially wants you to teleport back to the castle and then save. Seems like an extra step that just takes too much time when you just want to head off to bed.
The story evolves around you being evil and becoming the new ... well, Overlord. It is a funny concept and is aided well by the fact that it's real easy to hate the people of your world. Normally, in other games, evil is hard because so many helpful people are hard take advantage of or just plain kill. In this game you won't have that problem. Humans are fickle, selfish and bumbling. Halflings are greedy, gluttonous, and well, just plain royal plains in the backside. Elves are these whiney, self righteous martyrs who constantly want you to do something for them. Dwarfs are drunken bullies who think they own everything. These characters also add some comic relief. After a brief time, you find yourself enjoying slapping them around. They need it.
The story has a good basis, but unfortunately never gets seamed together well by the designers. It is a little hard to follow. It does have its moments, nonetheless. There are many tasks and quests which are very doable as well as enjoyable. However, the overall plot is a little superficial. It gets easily lost in the midst of gameplay.
They have other bits and pieces which can be good but usually range in the negative. You get a damsel eventually, but she is more of an annoyance than any useful piece to the plot. You can dress up the castle which is fun but also could be a little more gradual over time. You get a forge which helps you make new items and armor. Again, fun and a nice piece of the game, but not very well explained and the interface to make items isn't very robust. It is hard to figure out how well it is working in combat, as well. You can practice fighting in the dungeon, but the loss of your minions usually makes this seem pointless as the reward system was not well thought out. Overall, these pieces could have been great add-ons, but feel more like they weren't completed, and just slapped on in order to make deadlines.
As far as the technical stuff, the big drawback is the system requirements for this third person, three dimensional perspective. Even on a modern PC, you can have some problems. This translates to some very nice graphics, with well rendered creatures in bright spaces, with nice color palettes, but also ushers in some dreadful lagging. Most people will have to play with the settings in order to find the right balance. I got tired of re-rigging it and just moved almost everything to the lowest setting just so I could get into the enjoyable gameplay. It is still fairly attractive at the lower settings, but still...
The audio isn't spectacular, but it's not bad or mediocre either. They have good voice actors, and you'll find your goblin minions to be funny to watch and listen. The music and ambient sounds are fine. I guess since I didn't notice them too much, that is more of an endorsement than a denouncement.
When looking at the game as a whole, I would say that it is a success. However, it is just a start. This isn't something that you would compare with more time tested games or genres. It is a nice push into something different with some rough edges. If you are into something a little different, give it a try.
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