I enjoyed the original Overlord for the Xbox 360. It was one of the first reviews I had written for Gamervision, and I liked the Pikmin-inspired gameplay, as well as the gritty, dirty settings. At a Codemasters event in New York City I was greeted with two versions of the game, both of which are to expand the Overlord's story and universe in fun, exciting ways.

First, there’s the Xbox 360 version, Overlord II, which is to be a full-blown sequel. Moving forward away from the Middle-Earth-inspired levels of the first, the sequel has more of an ancient Rome feel, where the empire has outlawed magic and magical beings. The level I played was an early one, where the Overlord was still getting a grasp on his abilities, but he still felt more feature-complete than he did in the previous title. As a combatant, he was much more powerful to start, and could deal with enemies on his own effortlessly. The minions, of course, were still the highlight, and showed fantastic improvements over the original, with enhanced AI and superior abilities. They’ve even added more mountable creatures for the minions, adding to the mayhem, as well as the eye-candy. Watching a group of brown minions ride a pack of wolves was a sight to behold. I was told that later in the game they would be able to deal with enemies almost on their own, knowing when to attack and from what distance, moving the series farther from a Pikmin clone and more into its own niche. 

                            Check out our interview from NYCC 2009.

The Wii version, Overlord Dark Legend, is a prequel, and shows the Overlord’s juvenile angsty roots. This edition was earlier in development than the Xbox version, but still played fairly well, and had some interesting mechanics. Being able to control the minions using the remote and the Overlord with the nunchuk allows for some intense multitasking, to the point where it feels like Overlord might be best suited for the Wii. It feels at home on the system, and as long as the gameplay holds together throughout it might end up being one of the better iterations of the franchise.

I didn’t go in extremely anticipatory of either Overlord title, but found myself impressed by both. Hopefully Codemasters is able to clean them both up for launch, so the Overlord’s story can be more fully told. We’ll have more in the future, so be sure to check back.

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