Overlord: Raising Hell
Encyclopedia
Overlord: Raising Hell is the official expansion
to the 2007 action/adventure
video game Overlord
, which was released available for download over Xbox Live for the 360 version and online for the PC version on February 15, 2008 alongside additional multiplayer add-ons. A PlayStation 3
version of the original Overlord was released in June 2008 that was also named under the same title, that included all downloadable content to date on one Blu-ray Disc
.
The expansion adds an extension to the game's single player with new levels, plot, enemies and weapons.
Along with an extended story, Raising Hell also features new weapons and armor to be forged in the forgery of the Overlord's Tower. To forge the new items, first the player has to locate the mold for each item and bring it back to the tower forge, for it to be imbued with minion life force (like original weapons and armor). The new items have more noticeable effects however. For example, there are weapons that invoke fire damage, and can deal shock attacks (as opposed to simple strength power-ups). There are also helms that can double the amount of life force received after defeating enemies. The new items are not limited to the new areas, and they can be used in the original lands as well as the tower dungeon.
. Upon arriving, however, they end up in the “Abyss”, an alternate hell
version of their own lands where they are tortured or forced to work. In the Mellow Hills Abyss, the now fallen Halfling
hero
Melvin Underbelly, previously slain by the Overlord in the last game, is being punished by becoming even more gluttonous
than before, constantly eating to the point of exploding, yet returning to the Abyss to restart the same process endlessly. Luring him with food, the Overlord uses Melvin’s torture as a method of blowing through the Abyss’s defenses. Melvin ends up rolling into a hole, there unable to eat. The Overlord secures the Abyss stone, which allows him to take control of the dimension.
At this point, Abyss gates have appeared over the rest of the land, allowing the Overlord to try to conquer the rest of the dimension. In the Evernight Forest Abyss, Oberon Greenhaze and the remaining Elves are being tortured by having to watch a poor-quality reenactment of their demise at the hands of the Dwarves which is used to mock their God, the Mother Goddess, and as an excuse to kill on stage. However, the play constantly restarts to Act 1 since the “terror” prop for Act 3 is broken and can't be used. Behind the set, the Overlord finds the terror, which happens to be the Dwarf king Goldo’s steam roller “Rollie”. With it he finishes the production and burns Oberon to ash with Rollie’s flamethrower
, allowing access to another Abyss stone.
Back at Heaven’s Peak, the women have left through their Abyss gate and dominate the dimension where previous Heaven’s Peak ruler Sir William the Black is being constantly burnt with the rest of his cult. To appease the women, the Overlord uses Sir William to power humiliating pedal-operated devices for domestic tasks like washing the floor or cutting grass. The women are eventually returned to the normal world, and the Overlord kills Sir William off a second time when he tries to take the next Abyss stone for himself. At the Golden Hills Abyss, Goldo Golderson has been turned into a large Golden statue, encasing an Abyss stone. By luring the now demented Dwarf forces, they quickly pick away at Goldo until the Abyss stone is revealed for the Overlord to take.
With all four Abyss stones, the Overlord gains access to the Infernal Abyss gate in the Ruborian desert. Despite heavy resistance of its undead forces, the Overlord enters its main Labyrinth. After breaking through a wall constructed with the pieces of a shattered Kahn the warrior
(who still cries out for Jewel), the Overlord confronts the Forgotten God for a final showdown. Apparently, the god was trying to gain access to the normal world after having been banished by the Mother Goddess after he was caught cheating on her (it is never answered as to how he managed to break into the mortal world, but there is a cutscene at the end of the first game that shows the Jester performing an evil ritual, sugessting he was the one behind this whole plan).
Upon his defeat, the Forgotten God tears down his domain and the Abyss gates, hoping to kill the Overlord. While the minions, along with the lost Jester, make it back to the normal world safely, the Overlord is stranded in the Abyss. However, the Overlord witnesses the Abyss' forces falling to their knees, as defeating their original master has made the Overlord the new God of the Abyss. Back in the normal world, Gnarl and the minions mourn their loss, and Gnarl admits that he had a soft spot for this particular Overlord and considers the possibility that he might return, ending the scene with the same quote with which he ended the previous game: “Evil will always find a way”, at this point revealing that the Overlord’s mistress (either Rose or Velvet, though canonically Rose) is pregnant.
and Official Xbox Magazine UK.
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
to the 2007 action/adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game Overlord
Overlord (2007 video game)
Overlord is a third-person action-adventure game developed by Triumph Studios and published by Codemasters for the Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3...
, which was released available for download over Xbox Live for the 360 version and online for the PC version on February 15, 2008 alongside additional multiplayer add-ons. A PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version of the original Overlord was released in June 2008 that was also named under the same title, that included all downloadable content to date on one Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
.
The expansion adds an extension to the game's single player with new levels, plot, enemies and weapons.
Additions
Plot
The plot takes place right after the events in the original Overlord where Gnarl reports evil energy being emitted from the Overlord’s various conquered lands. Upon his arrival in the Mellow Hills, the peasants of Spree surround a large portal, which they believe to be a passage to HeavenHeaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. Upon arriving, however, they end up in the “Abyss”, an alternate hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
version of their own lands where they are tortured or forced to work. In the Mellow Hills Abyss, the now fallen Halfling
Halfling
Halfling is another name for J. R. R. Tolkien's Hobbit which can be a fictional race sometimes found in fantasy novels and games. In many settings, they are similar to humans except about half the size. Dungeons & Dragons began using the name halfling as an alternative to hobbit for legal reasons...
hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
Melvin Underbelly, previously slain by the Overlord in the last game, is being punished by becoming even more gluttonous
Gluttony
Gluttony, derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow, means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, intoxicants or wealth items to the point of extravagance or waste...
than before, constantly eating to the point of exploding, yet returning to the Abyss to restart the same process endlessly. Luring him with food, the Overlord uses Melvin’s torture as a method of blowing through the Abyss’s defenses. Melvin ends up rolling into a hole, there unable to eat. The Overlord secures the Abyss stone, which allows him to take control of the dimension.
At this point, Abyss gates have appeared over the rest of the land, allowing the Overlord to try to conquer the rest of the dimension. In the Evernight Forest Abyss, Oberon Greenhaze and the remaining Elves are being tortured by having to watch a poor-quality reenactment of their demise at the hands of the Dwarves which is used to mock their God, the Mother Goddess, and as an excuse to kill on stage. However, the play constantly restarts to Act 1 since the “terror” prop for Act 3 is broken and can't be used. Behind the set, the Overlord finds the terror, which happens to be the Dwarf king Goldo’s steam roller “Rollie”. With it he finishes the production and burns Oberon to ash with Rollie’s flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
, allowing access to another Abyss stone.
Back at Heaven’s Peak, the women have left through their Abyss gate and dominate the dimension where previous Heaven’s Peak ruler Sir William the Black is being constantly burnt with the rest of his cult. To appease the women, the Overlord uses Sir William to power humiliating pedal-operated devices for domestic tasks like washing the floor or cutting grass. The women are eventually returned to the normal world, and the Overlord kills Sir William off a second time when he tries to take the next Abyss stone for himself. At the Golden Hills Abyss, Goldo Golderson has been turned into a large Golden statue, encasing an Abyss stone. By luring the now demented Dwarf forces, they quickly pick away at Goldo until the Abyss stone is revealed for the Overlord to take.
With all four Abyss stones, the Overlord gains access to the Infernal Abyss gate in the Ruborian desert. Despite heavy resistance of its undead forces, the Overlord enters its main Labyrinth. After breaking through a wall constructed with the pieces of a shattered Kahn the warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
(who still cries out for Jewel), the Overlord confronts the Forgotten God for a final showdown. Apparently, the god was trying to gain access to the normal world after having been banished by the Mother Goddess after he was caught cheating on her (it is never answered as to how he managed to break into the mortal world, but there is a cutscene at the end of the first game that shows the Jester performing an evil ritual, sugessting he was the one behind this whole plan).
Upon his defeat, the Forgotten God tears down his domain and the Abyss gates, hoping to kill the Overlord. While the minions, along with the lost Jester, make it back to the normal world safely, the Overlord is stranded in the Abyss. However, the Overlord witnesses the Abyss' forces falling to their knees, as defeating their original master has made the Overlord the new God of the Abyss. Back in the normal world, Gnarl and the minions mourn their loss, and Gnarl admits that he had a soft spot for this particular Overlord and considers the possibility that he might return, ending the scene with the same quote with which he ended the previous game: “Evil will always find a way”, at this point revealing that the Overlord’s mistress (either Rose or Velvet, though canonically Rose) is pregnant.
Reception
As an expansion, Raising Hell was met with a positive reception with an 8/10 from EurogamerEurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
and Official Xbox Magazine UK.