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Overlord (2007 video game)
Encyclopedia
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
. The former two versions of the game were released in North America on June 26, 2007, then later in Europe on June 29 and Australia on July 6, 2007.
Development on the game began in early 2006 and the game was first announced in May of the same year, with actual gameplay demonstrated at E3 2006. After over a year and a half of development, its release in 2007 was met with generally favourable reviews and helped boost overall sales for Codemasters that year. An expansion pack entitled Overlord: Raising Hell
was announced on November 1, 2007 and released February 15, 2008 along with additional multiplayer maps and a local split screen co-op mode. A PlayStation 3
version of the game also entitled Overlord: Raising Hell was released in 2008 in Europe on June 20, and June 24 in North America, which included both the original game and its downloadable content. A sequel for all three systems entitled Overlord II
was announced the same year on August 13 along with a spin-off for the Wii
entitled Overlord: Dark Legend
and a Nintendo DS
game called Overlord: Minions
.
Overlord is set in an unnamed fantasy world, where the player takes the role of a resurrected
warrior known simply as The Overlord who has control over hordes of gremlin
-like creatures known as "minions". The player must defeat seven corrupt ruling heroes in order to reconquer the lands and establish his lordship over its inhabitants. The game features a corruption feature, similar to that of the Fable
games, but allowing the player to "be evil... or really evil," where certain actions and choices affect different aspects of the story and gameplay. While the Overlord is controlled in a third person perspective, the way minions are controlled brings elements of real time strategy and upgrades bring those of role-playing game
s. The game also uses black humour and is often a satire
and parody
of the traditional fantasy setting and plot.
The game centers around simultaneously controlling the Overlord and an army of goblin
-like minions to traverse the 3D gameworld and defeat the seven heroes who slew the Overlord's predecessor, and who have since been corrupted by power. Each one represents one of the seven deadly sins
.
There are four minion races, each of which have their own colour and abilities. Browns are melee
fighters, blues can revive defeated minions and swim, reds throw fireballs at enemies, can put out fires and are immune to fire attacks, and greens backstab enemies and can clear poisonous gas and plants. Minions are summoned from the spawning pits found scattered throughout the game. The player needs to pay life-force, which can be gained by killing creatures, like large bugs to summon minions. At the start of the game only five minions can be summoned at once; as the game progresses this can increase to a maximum of fifty. In addition to controlling minions, the player can sacrifice them at altars of blood and magic to restore the Overlord's health or mana. Once a forge is acquired, they can be used to imbue weapons and armour to increase the Overlord's abilities.
The player begins in an old ruined tower that has been plundered of its magical artifacts and acts as a central hub for the player. As the stolen tower objects are recovered, new rooms and spells become available for use, and the Overlord's maximum health and mana increase. The player also needs to recover the blue, green, and red minion hives to summon the respective minions. The player can customize the tower with a variety of visual items such as banners and statues; the available visual items differ depending on in-game actions. Armour and weapons can be purchased or improved in the forge. Most defeated enemy types appear as opponents in the dungeon, an arena where the Overlord can fight them again (excluding bosses such as heroes and one-of-a-kind beasts).
While the game assumes that the Overlord is evil, it also tracks how corrupt the Overlord is in accomplishing his goals. During the game the Overlord is tempted by each of the deadly sins while trying to kill their corresponding heroes. The player's choices will influence your corruption level, either raising or lowering it. Slaughtering inoffensive townsfolk, stealing gold and other activities can also increase the corruption level. The corruption level changes the way townsfolk treat the Overlord and will also change his appearance, a system similar to Fable
. As corruption increases, the Overlord's armour will become more devilish with horns protruding out of the back, shoulders, elbows and knees and he will acquire a black aura. The corruption level also determines which game ending the player sees and which high-level spells they can cast.
The game offers several multiplayer modes. Slaughter pits two Overlords against each other in a head to head combat with potentially hundreds of minions. In Survival, two Overlords team up against large armies of enemies. Pillage is a competition in which two Overlords and their minions compete to see who can pillage and plunder the most gold in a selected amount of time. The Xbox 360
version provides voice chat
over Xbox Live
. In the Playstation 3 version Raising Hell, the game features a mini-map on screen to help the player navigate through the game's world.
The player takes the role of the Overlord, the game's silent protagonist
/anti-hero
, whose motivations and personality are left for the player to determine. At the outset of the game, tiny gremlin
-like minions pry open his coffin and revive him. In rapid succession, his minions shove him into armour, name him successor to the previous Overlord, and task him with slaying his predecessor's murderers, the Seven Heroes. In the intervening years, the Seven Heroes each fell prey to one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Despite recalling nothing of his past, the Overlord begins to rebuild the tower at the suggestion of his adviser Gnarl. As the new Overlord, the protagonist holds absolute sway over his minions. Complementing this power, he possesses some proficiency using axes, swords, and maces. Through his tower, the Overlord can channel magical energies capable of wanton destruction or defense.
Although the titular Overlord is the protagonist, the game relies heavily on Gnarl, the oldest minion, to advise and guide the player. For the majority of the game, he remains by the Tower Heart relaying information and reminders since "there are evil deeds that need doing". He acts as narrator for the plot. Eventually, the Overlord's mistress also comes to reside in the tower. She redecorates the rooms and upgrades the minions and the tower as well as shares opinions on certain actions. Rose is the first potential mistress rescued from bandits. Despite the Overlord's menace and actions, she is initially strong-willed, cheery and unafraid of the Overlord's minions. The other potential mistress is Rose's sister Velvet whose evil tendencies are less ambiguous than her sister's and dresses far more provocatively. She repeatedly ask for presents and lusts for the Overlord and shows a distinct lack of empathy or grief over her fiancé's murder at the hands of the Overlord.
The "seven heroes" are corrupt themselves, each with a representing trait of one of the seven deadly sins
. The Halfling
leader Melvin Underbelly has become gluttonous
and as a result, morbidly obese – he has taken to sending bands of armed (also obese) halflings to steal food from neighbouring Spree to feed his unending hunger. The mightiest Elven
warrior of Evernight Forest, Oberon Greenhaze is in a constant sleep and his sloth has caused his nightmares to haunt the forest. His apathy allowed the dwarves to invade Evernight and kill or enslave most of the elves, but they were in turn driven out when the creatures of his nightmares became real. The ruler of Heaven's Peak and Velvet's fiancé, Sir William the Black shows strong lust
towards unorthodox sexual interests such as having relations with a succubus
, and indulges in decadent parties with a secret cult. The presence of the succubus has caused a plague of undeath in the fortified city. The Dwarf King Goldo Golderson of the Golden Hills has become overly greedy and desires wealth over all the other aspects of life where he has even forced the remaining elves to mine for it. His paranoia that his riches will be stolen has led him to heavily militarise the entire dwarven empire – he himself rides a war-like steam roller named "Rollie". Envy
drives Jewel the Thieving Hero to steal anything valuable even though she cares nothing for possessions, and Kahn the Warrior is very protective of her and is driven wild with wrath whenever anything appears to threaten her. Both of them command the bandits and beholders from the Ruborian Desert. The Previous Overlord, having possesed the body of the Wizard (who was the founder of the group of heroes), shows pride
in his work, which involves deception and an urge for supreme power, and is the game's main antagonist
.
At Evernight Forest, the roots of a tree where Oberon Greenhaze sleeps cover the Elves' home, nearly extinct after being ransacked by Dwarves. The Green minions are found and Oberon is slain. The Elves' sacred statue, however, has been stolen by the Dwarves, angering Jewel, the Thieving Hero, who wanted to steal it for herself. At Heaven’s Peak the town is overrun by zombies and demons. Here the Overlord gains the Blue minions. At the town’s inn, it is discovered that town leader Sir William the Black had fallen for a Succubus
, calling off his wedding to Rose’s sister Velvet. Killing Sir William in Angelis Keep, Velvet offers her services to the Overlord and he must choose between her and Rose.
The Overlord then turns to the Dwarven Golden Hills and their leader Goldo Golderson, who has become greedy for gold. Here the remaining enslaved Elves claim the last of their women are being held in the Royal Halls of the Dwarven Keep. Meanwhile at the Dwarf construction site, Gnarl recommends that the Overlord stash a few minions inside the Elf sacred statue and allow Jewel to take it in order to follow her to her homeland, the Ruborian Desert. Back at the Royal Halls, where Goldo is defeated, the Overlord can either take his stash of gold or free the remaining Elf women before the halls collapse. The Ruborian desert is found and Jewel is captured and interrogated. An enraged Kahn the Warrior, protective of Jewel, strikes back and the Overlord now has to save Spree and Heaven’s Peak from his wrath.
Back at the tower the minions submit to the previous Overlord who has secretly possessed the Wizard, originally father to Rose and Velvet, and who now lays claim to his previous title. The old Overlord tells the current one that he was originally the eighth hero who came to slay him, yet fell from a great height and was left for dead by his companions while they looted the Tower. The Old Overlord however put him in the sarcophagus to heal his wounds in order to use him to defeat the other heroes. The Overlord battles the old Overlord, during which the old Overlord brags of being responsible for the corruption of the heroes. Upon the old Overlord's death, the Overlord reclaims his tower and minions. Depending on the Overlord's corruption and choices throughout, the ending will show 4 of 8 different ending cutscenes where either the Overlord is met with bliss and praise or he pillages and scorches the land and tortures the inhabitants. Regardless of the player's unique ending, the Jester is shown performing some sort of ritual, with Gnarl narrating "Evil will always find a way", opening up the events for Raising Hell
.
and PC
, advertised as being a next generation game set in a "twisted fantasy world where players have the choice to be evil ... or really evil!" Along with this announcement, the first screenshots and artwork were released to game websites. Early concept art showed the Overlord with a clearly visible human face as opposed to his form in the final release as a dark covered shadow with lit up eyes. At E3 2006, the majority of the game mechanics were revealed within the same month, while the multiplayer component had yet to be announced.
The Xbox 360 demo was released for download over Xbox Live
on June 8, while the PC demo was released just days later over the internet, weeks before the game's first release in North America. The demo included only the initial portion of the game, which contained the game's introductory cinematic and narration, the tutorial and the Overlord's battle to free human peasants from a Halfling
operated slave camp.
During post release, along with patches, by August there were already outlined plans for downloadable content
for both versions. These were said to include the introduction of new multiplayer maps, offline co-op and the possibility of an extension or an additional chapter to the game's single-player plot. A patch was released for the PC version of the game, updating the software to version 1.2 and fixing a number of bugs, including one which occasionally prevented players from completing the game. The corresponding Xbox 360 update arrived several weeks later. The first official downloadable content was announced in November the same year, along with news of an official expansion, in the form of a "Challenge Pack", which was to add 7 new maps and 2 modes to the Multiplayer feature, an off-line split screen version and a "Legendary" difficulty for single player, with corresponding Achievement Points for the 360 version. These new modes were made available on February 15, 2008 over the internet on various gaming sites for the PC and Xbox Live for the 360, costing 400 Microsoft Points
for the new Multiplayer options with the Split-Screen option for free.
In July 2007, shortly after the release of Overlord there were rumours of a port to the PS3 of the game due to job advertisements at Triumph Studios, which mentioned one position needed "Porting X360/PC code base to PS3". A spokesman for Codemasters however quickly corrected this by stating "We are not porting Overlord to PS3." It wasn't until February 2008, when Codemasters confirmed a PlayStation 3
version of Overlord was in development. However instead of a straight port of the original, the version is to include both the original game and its additional downloadable content and expansion on one Blu-ray Disc
, under the title Overlord: Raising Hell to be released in Summer 2008. The demo was made available over the online Playstation Store
on May 15, 2008 and later fully released the following month in June.
to be released for all three platforms for the last Overlord to be released sometime in 2009. According to developers, the game "massively increases the scope of the original concept" while taking the role of a different Overlord due to the events in the story of Raising Hell, continuing where the last game finished with a new "Roman
-inspired" prime foe. Control over minions will also be expanded allowing to do other tasks like "riding mounts, using war machines and sailing warships" In the same announcement for the official sequel were plans for a spin-off for the Wii
entitled Overlord: Dark Legend
to feature a new Overlord although plot continuity with the main series has yet to be explained but is to establish "the idea that there have been a series of Overlords throughout time". Being developed entirely for the Wii, it has motion controls implemented such as "pluck[ing] a minion from the horde, hold[ing] him by the neck and shak[ing] him around" by using this feature. Another spin-off entitled Overlord: Minions
is to be released for the Nintendo DS
handheld game console
but with more puzzle based gameplay and only controlling the minions. Both Nintendo spin-offs were developed by Climax Studios rather than Triumph Studios would just be developing Overlord II. All three games were eventually released during June, 2009.
Before its release, at E3 2006, Overlord won GameSpot
's E3 2006 Editors Choice Award of Best Surprise. Overlord gained a generally positive response from game critics with an average review score of 77% for the Xbox 360 version and 81% for the PC at Game Rankings
. Many sources praised the game for its concept, noted for being similar to that of Pikmin
, which was popular for the same reason.
GameSpot
noted "the satisfaction of running amok with your legion of wickedly enthusiastic minions is what makes Overlord worth playing" while Game Informer
praised the game's personality, notably that of the minions, where "The satire is funny, and the evil is deliciously over-the-top, but the minions are the real stars". IGN
stated similar pros, calling it "evil, yet light-hearted, humor" and that with the "richly detailed world combine for a game that is worth diving into". 1UP
noted the personal element of controlling the minions, stating "If they (minions) die, just call up more. Something happens along the way, though: You start getting attached to the little guys".
Despite the game's premise as the choice to be "evil or really evil", numerous reviewers pointed out that some of the game's choices within missions are more good than evil; such as, for example, the option to return the peasants' stolen food stocks. While mentioning this too, Eurogamer
added that, since the game humour is mainly satire, these good deeds "kind of becomes the joke. Especially early on, there's a fairly obvious irony in that everyone else in the world is assuming that you're this brave hero when in fact you're clearly a sociopath". In December 2007, Overlord was included in Eurogamers Top 50 Games of 2007.
Other reviewers noted that the game can become frustrating at times, due to the controls not being able to keep up with the game's pace, and apparent glitches between platform and regional versions. IGN US gave the 360 version a 6.6/10 due to a game crashing bug, calling it "the equivalent of having to critique a good book only to pause three quarters of the way through and have the author rip the remaining pages out simply because you took a break at the wrong moment". IGN UK and Australia, however, did not find such a bug, giving Overlord a higher score of 8.1 and 8.0. GameSpot had a similar issue over the poor camera control in the PC version, at first rating it with a 6.0, but re-rated the game higher after reviewing a newer version. They still, however, held the shortcoming of the "controls that you'll occasionally struggle against". GameSpy
noted the multiplayer mode being "sloppy" and "unstable" at times, not being as enjoyable as the single player mode, having "experienced a couple disconnects, and had more than one game end prematurely due to simple frustration".
When Overlord: Raising Hell for the PS3 was released, it was met with similar praise and complaints as the previous two versions with a current review average of 75% at Game Rankings. Eurogamer continued its praise, even calling it "probably one of the best games currently available on PS3". IGN however found the PS3 version to harbour many technical issues including drop in frame rate, long load times and lag in multiplayer, issues that GameSpot also found by concluding while the PS3 version is the best value for money, due to "the unpredictable frame rate, sluggish controls, and fickle camera in the PS3 version", it suggested others to "pick up the technically superior Xbox 360 version and spend a little extra to get the downloadable content". Game Trailers also found a few technical issues but concluded that "when things are clicking... With plenty of humor and a substantially long quest, players will be surprised at how enjoyable Overlord can be."
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
action-adventure game
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...
developed by Triumph Studios
Triumph Studios
Triumph Studios is a computer game development company based in Delft, the Netherlands, founded in 1997. It has developed several games for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.- Games :* Age of Wonders, released 31 October 1999...
and published by Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and 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...
. The former two versions of the game were released in North America on June 26, 2007, then later in Europe on June 29 and Australia on July 6, 2007.
Development on the game began in early 2006 and the game was first announced in May of the same year, with actual gameplay demonstrated at E3 2006. After over a year and a half of development, its release in 2007 was met with generally favourable reviews and helped boost overall sales for Codemasters that year. An expansion pack entitled Overlord: Raising Hell
Overlord: Raising Hell
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...
was announced on November 1, 2007 and released February 15, 2008 along with additional multiplayer maps and a local split screen co-op mode. 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 game also entitled Overlord: Raising Hell was released in 2008 in Europe on June 20, and June 24 in North America, which included both the original game and its downloadable content. A sequel for all three systems entitled Overlord II
Overlord II
Overlord II is a 2009 third-person action-adventure game and sequel to the 2007 video game Overlord, developed by Triumph Studios and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3...
was announced the same year on August 13 along with a spin-off for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
entitled Overlord: Dark Legend
Overlord: Dark Legend
Overlord: Dark Legend is a 2009 third-person action-adventure game developed by Climax Studios and published by Codemasters for the Nintendo Wii. The game was released on 23 June in North America, 26 June in Europe, and 2 July in Australia....
and a Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
game called Overlord: Minions
Overlord: Minions
Overlord: Minions is a 2009 puzzle video game developed by Climax Studios and published by Codemasters for the Nintendo DS. It features the minions from the 2007 Overlord video game as the primary protagonists, tasked with the mission to solve puzzles and fight enemies. They are controlled by the...
.
Overlord is set in an unnamed fantasy world, where the player takes the role of a resurrected
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
warrior known simply as The Overlord who has control over hordes of gremlin
Gremlin
A gremlin is an imaginary creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented, with a specific interest in aircraft. Gremlins' mischievous natures are similar to those of English folkloric imps, while their inclination to damage or dismantle machinery is more...
-like creatures known as "minions". The player must defeat seven corrupt ruling heroes in order to reconquer the lands and establish his lordship over its inhabitants. The game features a corruption feature, similar to that of the Fable
Fable (video game)
Fable is an action role-playing video game in the Fable series. It was developed for Xbox, Mac OS X, and Windows platforms, by Big Blue Box, a satellite developer of Lionhead Studios, and was published by Microsoft. The game shipped for Xbox on October 14, 2003...
games, but allowing the player to "be evil... or really evil," where certain actions and choices affect different aspects of the story and gameplay. While the Overlord is controlled in a third person perspective, the way minions are controlled brings elements of real time strategy and upgrades bring those of role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s. The game also uses black humour and is often a satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
and parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the traditional fantasy setting and plot.
Gameplay
Goblin
A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
-like minions to traverse the 3D gameworld and defeat the seven heroes who slew the Overlord's predecessor, and who have since been corrupted by power. Each one represents one of the seven deadly sins
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
.
There are four minion races, each of which have their own colour and abilities. Browns are melee
Mêlée
Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
fighters, blues can revive defeated minions and swim, reds throw fireballs at enemies, can put out fires and are immune to fire attacks, and greens backstab enemies and can clear poisonous gas and plants. Minions are summoned from the spawning pits found scattered throughout the game. The player needs to pay life-force, which can be gained by killing creatures, like large bugs to summon minions. At the start of the game only five minions can be summoned at once; as the game progresses this can increase to a maximum of fifty. In addition to controlling minions, the player can sacrifice them at altars of blood and magic to restore the Overlord's health or mana. Once a forge is acquired, they can be used to imbue weapons and armour to increase the Overlord's abilities.
The player begins in an old ruined tower that has been plundered of its magical artifacts and acts as a central hub for the player. As the stolen tower objects are recovered, new rooms and spells become available for use, and the Overlord's maximum health and mana increase. The player also needs to recover the blue, green, and red minion hives to summon the respective minions. The player can customize the tower with a variety of visual items such as banners and statues; the available visual items differ depending on in-game actions. Armour and weapons can be purchased or improved in the forge. Most defeated enemy types appear as opponents in the dungeon, an arena where the Overlord can fight them again (excluding bosses such as heroes and one-of-a-kind beasts).
While the game assumes that the Overlord is evil, it also tracks how corrupt the Overlord is in accomplishing his goals. During the game the Overlord is tempted by each of the deadly sins while trying to kill their corresponding heroes. The player's choices will influence your corruption level, either raising or lowering it. Slaughtering inoffensive townsfolk, stealing gold and other activities can also increase the corruption level. The corruption level changes the way townsfolk treat the Overlord and will also change his appearance, a system similar to Fable
Fable (video game)
Fable is an action role-playing video game in the Fable series. It was developed for Xbox, Mac OS X, and Windows platforms, by Big Blue Box, a satellite developer of Lionhead Studios, and was published by Microsoft. The game shipped for Xbox on October 14, 2003...
. As corruption increases, the Overlord's armour will become more devilish with horns protruding out of the back, shoulders, elbows and knees and he will acquire a black aura. The corruption level also determines which game ending the player sees and which high-level spells they can cast.
The game offers several multiplayer modes. Slaughter pits two Overlords against each other in a head to head combat with potentially hundreds of minions. In Survival, two Overlords team up against large armies of enemies. Pillage is a competition in which two Overlords and their minions compete to see who can pillage and plunder the most gold in a selected amount of time. The Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version provides voice chat
Voice chat
Voice chat is a modern form of communication used on the Internet. The means of communicating with voice chat is through any of the messengers, mainly Skype, Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, inSpeak Communicator or Windows Live Messenger...
over Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
. In the Playstation 3 version Raising Hell, the game features a mini-map on screen to help the player navigate through the game's world.
Characters
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
/anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
, whose motivations and personality are left for the player to determine. At the outset of the game, tiny gremlin
Gremlin
A gremlin is an imaginary creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented, with a specific interest in aircraft. Gremlins' mischievous natures are similar to those of English folkloric imps, while their inclination to damage or dismantle machinery is more...
-like minions pry open his coffin and revive him. In rapid succession, his minions shove him into armour, name him successor to the previous Overlord, and task him with slaying his predecessor's murderers, the Seven Heroes. In the intervening years, the Seven Heroes each fell prey to one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Despite recalling nothing of his past, the Overlord begins to rebuild the tower at the suggestion of his adviser Gnarl. As the new Overlord, the protagonist holds absolute sway over his minions. Complementing this power, he possesses some proficiency using axes, swords, and maces. Through his tower, the Overlord can channel magical energies capable of wanton destruction or defense.
Although the titular Overlord is the protagonist, the game relies heavily on Gnarl, the oldest minion, to advise and guide the player. For the majority of the game, he remains by the Tower Heart relaying information and reminders since "there are evil deeds that need doing". He acts as narrator for the plot. Eventually, the Overlord's mistress also comes to reside in the tower. She redecorates the rooms and upgrades the minions and the tower as well as shares opinions on certain actions. Rose is the first potential mistress rescued from bandits. Despite the Overlord's menace and actions, she is initially strong-willed, cheery and unafraid of the Overlord's minions. The other potential mistress is Rose's sister Velvet whose evil tendencies are less ambiguous than her sister's and dresses far more provocatively. She repeatedly ask for presents and lusts for the Overlord and shows a distinct lack of empathy or grief over her fiancé's murder at the hands of the Overlord.
The "seven heroes" are corrupt themselves, each with a representing trait of one of the seven deadly sins
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
. The 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...
leader Melvin Underbelly has become 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...
and as a result, morbidly obese – he has taken to sending bands of armed (also obese) halflings to steal food from neighbouring Spree to feed his unending hunger. The mightiest Elven
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
warrior of Evernight Forest, Oberon Greenhaze is in a constant sleep and his sloth has caused his nightmares to haunt the forest. His apathy allowed the dwarves to invade Evernight and kill or enslave most of the elves, but they were in turn driven out when the creatures of his nightmares became real. The ruler of Heaven's Peak and Velvet's fiancé, Sir William the Black shows strong lust
Lust
Lust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
towards unorthodox sexual interests such as having relations with a succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
, and indulges in decadent parties with a secret cult. The presence of the succubus has caused a plague of undeath in the fortified city. The Dwarf King Goldo Golderson of the Golden Hills has become overly greedy and desires wealth over all the other aspects of life where he has even forced the remaining elves to mine for it. His paranoia that his riches will be stolen has led him to heavily militarise the entire dwarven empire – he himself rides a war-like steam roller named "Rollie". Envy
Envy
Envy is best defined as a resentful emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another's superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it."...
drives Jewel the Thieving Hero to steal anything valuable even though she cares nothing for possessions, and Kahn the Warrior is very protective of her and is driven wild with wrath whenever anything appears to threaten her. Both of them command the bandits and beholders from the Ruborian Desert. The Previous Overlord, having possesed the body of the Wizard (who was the founder of the group of heroes), shows pride
Pride
Pride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
in his work, which involves deception and an urge for supreme power, and is the game's main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
.
Plot
The game begins where Gnarl and the Brown minions awaken the Overlord from his tomb. From here they suit him in his armour and proclaim him Overlord in his old and dilapidated tower – the previous Overlord having been killed by heroes, ready to reconquer the lands. The Overlord first turns to the Mellow Hills, where the Halflings and their leader Melvin Underbelly are using the townspeople of Spree and Red minions as slave labour. The Overlord storms the Halfling Homes, slaying Melvin and reclaiming the Reds and Spree (to the peasants’ delight or disgust depending on whether the Overlord returns their stolen food). Castle Spree however has come under attack by bandits. After flushing them out, the castle mistress Rose offers her service to the Overlord.At Evernight Forest, the roots of a tree where Oberon Greenhaze sleeps cover the Elves' home, nearly extinct after being ransacked by Dwarves. The Green minions are found and Oberon is slain. The Elves' sacred statue, however, has been stolen by the Dwarves, angering Jewel, the Thieving Hero, who wanted to steal it for herself. At Heaven’s Peak the town is overrun by zombies and demons. Here the Overlord gains the Blue minions. At the town’s inn, it is discovered that town leader Sir William the Black had fallen for a Succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
, calling off his wedding to Rose’s sister Velvet. Killing Sir William in Angelis Keep, Velvet offers her services to the Overlord and he must choose between her and Rose.
The Overlord then turns to the Dwarven Golden Hills and their leader Goldo Golderson, who has become greedy for gold. Here the remaining enslaved Elves claim the last of their women are being held in the Royal Halls of the Dwarven Keep. Meanwhile at the Dwarf construction site, Gnarl recommends that the Overlord stash a few minions inside the Elf sacred statue and allow Jewel to take it in order to follow her to her homeland, the Ruborian Desert. Back at the Royal Halls, where Goldo is defeated, the Overlord can either take his stash of gold or free the remaining Elf women before the halls collapse. The Ruborian desert is found and Jewel is captured and interrogated. An enraged Kahn the Warrior, protective of Jewel, strikes back and the Overlord now has to save Spree and Heaven’s Peak from his wrath.
Back at the tower the minions submit to the previous Overlord who has secretly possessed the Wizard, originally father to Rose and Velvet, and who now lays claim to his previous title. The old Overlord tells the current one that he was originally the eighth hero who came to slay him, yet fell from a great height and was left for dead by his companions while they looted the Tower. The Old Overlord however put him in the sarcophagus to heal his wounds in order to use him to defeat the other heroes. The Overlord battles the old Overlord, during which the old Overlord brags of being responsible for the corruption of the heroes. Upon the old Overlord's death, the Overlord reclaims his tower and minions. Depending on the Overlord's corruption and choices throughout, the ending will show 4 of 8 different ending cutscenes where either the Overlord is met with bliss and praise or he pillages and scorches the land and tortures the inhabitants. Regardless of the player's unique ending, the Jester is shown performing some sort of ritual, with Gnarl narrating "Evil will always find a way", opening up the events for Raising Hell
Overlord: Raising Hell
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...
.
Development
Overlord was officially announced by the start of May 2006 under the same name for the Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, advertised as being a next generation game set in a "twisted fantasy world where players have the choice to be evil ... or really evil!" Along with this announcement, the first screenshots and artwork were released to game websites. Early concept art showed the Overlord with a clearly visible human face as opposed to his form in the final release as a dark covered shadow with lit up eyes. At E3 2006, the majority of the game mechanics were revealed within the same month, while the multiplayer component had yet to be announced.
The Xbox 360 demo was released for download over Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
on June 8, while the PC demo was released just days later over the internet, weeks before the game's first release in North America. The demo included only the initial portion of the game, which contained the game's introductory cinematic and narration, the tutorial and the Overlord's battle to free human peasants from a 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...
operated slave camp.
During post release, along with patches, by August there were already outlined plans for downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
for both versions. These were said to include the introduction of new multiplayer maps, offline co-op and the possibility of an extension or an additional chapter to the game's single-player plot. A patch was released for the PC version of the game, updating the software to version 1.2 and fixing a number of bugs, including one which occasionally prevented players from completing the game. The corresponding Xbox 360 update arrived several weeks later. The first official downloadable content was announced in November the same year, along with news of an official expansion, in the form of a "Challenge Pack", which was to add 7 new maps and 2 modes to the Multiplayer feature, an off-line split screen version and a "Legendary" difficulty for single player, with corresponding Achievement Points for the 360 version. These new modes were made available on February 15, 2008 over the internet on various gaming sites for the PC and Xbox Live for the 360, costing 400 Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows - Live Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, and Zune online stores. The points allow users to purchase content without a credit card and to reduce the number of small credit card transaction fees, which Microsoft would...
for the new Multiplayer options with the Split-Screen option for free.
In July 2007, shortly after the release of Overlord there were rumours of a port to the PS3 of the game due to job advertisements at Triumph Studios, which mentioned one position needed "Porting X360/PC code base to PS3". A spokesman for Codemasters however quickly corrected this by stating "We are not porting Overlord to PS3." It wasn't until February 2008, when Codemasters confirmed 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 Overlord was in development. However instead of a straight port of the original, the version is to include both the original game and its additional downloadable content and expansion 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...
, under the title Overlord: Raising Hell to be released in Summer 2008. The demo was made available over the online Playstation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
on May 15, 2008 and later fully released the following month in June.
Overlord: Raising Hell
On November 1, 2007 Codemasters announced Overlord: Raising Hell, a downloadable expansion pack. The premise behind this is that an Abyss appears in each of the five kingdoms (Mellow Hills, Evernight Forest, Heaven’s Peak, the Golden Hills and the Ruborian Desert), causing the residents to disappear (they enter the abyss because they believe it will save them from the Overlord). In each of the Abysses there is a hero being tortured and an Abyss stone. In order to obtain the Abyss Stone and gain control over the Abyss, the Overlord has to battle the residents of the Abysses (Wraiths) and the fallen heroes. Once the Overlord has control of the Abysses, he will be able to battle the one who summoned these Abysses and fight for the domination of his realm. Along with the additional multiplayer content, Raising Hell was released over official game download websites for the PC and Xbox Live for the 360, costing 800 Microsoft Points ($10/£6.80) on February 15, 2008.Sequel and spin-offs
Following the games release on the PlayStation 3, the same year on August 13 Codemasters announced a sequel entitled Overlord IIOverlord II
Overlord II is a 2009 third-person action-adventure game and sequel to the 2007 video game Overlord, developed by Triumph Studios and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3...
to be released for all three platforms for the last Overlord to be released sometime in 2009. According to developers, the game "massively increases the scope of the original concept" while taking the role of a different Overlord due to the events in the story of Raising Hell, continuing where the last game finished with a new "Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
-inspired" prime foe. Control over minions will also be expanded allowing to do other tasks like "riding mounts, using war machines and sailing warships" In the same announcement for the official sequel were plans for a spin-off for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
entitled Overlord: Dark Legend
Overlord: Dark Legend
Overlord: Dark Legend is a 2009 third-person action-adventure game developed by Climax Studios and published by Codemasters for the Nintendo Wii. The game was released on 23 June in North America, 26 June in Europe, and 2 July in Australia....
to feature a new Overlord although plot continuity with the main series has yet to be explained but is to establish "the idea that there have been a series of Overlords throughout time". Being developed entirely for the Wii, it has motion controls implemented such as "pluck[ing] a minion from the horde, hold[ing] him by the neck and shak[ing] him around" by using this feature. Another spin-off entitled Overlord: Minions
Overlord: Minions
Overlord: Minions is a 2009 puzzle video game developed by Climax Studios and published by Codemasters for the Nintendo DS. It features the minions from the 2007 Overlord video game as the primary protagonists, tasked with the mission to solve puzzles and fight enemies. They are controlled by the...
is to be released for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
handheld game console
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
but with more puzzle based gameplay and only controlling the minions. Both Nintendo spin-offs were developed by Climax Studios rather than Triumph Studios would just be developing Overlord II. All three games were eventually released during June, 2009.
Reception
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Xbox 360 | |
| Eurogamer Eurogamer 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... |
8/10 |
| GameSpot GameSpot GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which... |
7.5/10 |
| 1UP 1UP.com 1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009.... |
B+ |
| Game Informer Game Informer Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations... |
7.5/10 |
| IGN IGN IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment... |
6.6/10 |
| Official Xbox Magazine Official Xbox Magazine Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and... |
8/10 |
| GameSpy GameSpy GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current... |
3.5/5 |
| Microsoft Windows | |
| IGN IGN IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment... |
8/10 |
| PC Gamer PC Gamer PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries... |
91/100 |
| Playstation 3 | |
| Official Playstation Magazine UK PlayStation Official Magazine (UK) The Official UK PlayStation Magazine is a now-defunct magazine, launched in November 1995 to coincide with the launch of the PlayStation console. It ran for 108 issues, with the last hitting news stands in March 2004. The first issue sold 37,000 copies... |
7/10 |
| 1UP 1UP.com 1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009.... |
B+ |
| IGN IGN IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment... |
6/10 |
| GameSpot GameSpot GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which... |
6/10 |
| Game Trailers | 7.4/10 |
Before its release, at E3 2006, Overlord won GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's E3 2006 Editors Choice Award of Best Surprise. Overlord gained a generally positive response from game critics with an average review score of 77% for the Xbox 360 version and 81% for the PC at Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
. Many sources praised the game for its concept, noted for being similar to that of Pikmin
Pikmin
is a strategy video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube video game console in 2001. Pikmin is the first game in the Pikmin series of video games, and the third game for the Gamecube overall. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto. Pikmin was released on October 26, 2001...
, which was popular for the same reason.
GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
noted "the satisfaction of running amok with your legion of wickedly enthusiastic minions is what makes Overlord worth playing" while Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
praised the game's personality, notably that of the minions, where "The satire is funny, and the evil is deliciously over-the-top, but the minions are the real stars". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated similar pros, calling it "evil, yet light-hearted, humor" and that with the "richly detailed world combine for a game that is worth diving into". 1UP
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
noted the personal element of controlling the minions, stating "If they (minions) die, just call up more. Something happens along the way, though: You start getting attached to the little guys".
Despite the game's premise as the choice to be "evil or really evil", numerous reviewers pointed out that some of the game's choices within missions are more good than evil; such as, for example, the option to return the peasants' stolen food stocks. While mentioning this too, Eurogamer
Eurogamer
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...
added that, since the game humour is mainly satire, these good deeds "kind of becomes the joke. Especially early on, there's a fairly obvious irony in that everyone else in the world is assuming that you're this brave hero when in fact you're clearly a sociopath". In December 2007, Overlord was included in Eurogamers Top 50 Games of 2007.
Other reviewers noted that the game can become frustrating at times, due to the controls not being able to keep up with the game's pace, and apparent glitches between platform and regional versions. IGN US gave the 360 version a 6.6/10 due to a game crashing bug, calling it "the equivalent of having to critique a good book only to pause three quarters of the way through and have the author rip the remaining pages out simply because you took a break at the wrong moment". IGN UK and Australia, however, did not find such a bug, giving Overlord a higher score of 8.1 and 8.0. GameSpot had a similar issue over the poor camera control in the PC version, at first rating it with a 6.0, but re-rated the game higher after reviewing a newer version. They still, however, held the shortcoming of the "controls that you'll occasionally struggle against". GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
noted the multiplayer mode being "sloppy" and "unstable" at times, not being as enjoyable as the single player mode, having "experienced a couple disconnects, and had more than one game end prematurely due to simple frustration".
When Overlord: Raising Hell for the PS3 was released, it was met with similar praise and complaints as the previous two versions with a current review average of 75% at Game Rankings. Eurogamer continued its praise, even calling it "probably one of the best games currently available on PS3". IGN however found the PS3 version to harbour many technical issues including drop in frame rate, long load times and lag in multiplayer, issues that GameSpot also found by concluding while the PS3 version is the best value for money, due to "the unpredictable frame rate, sluggish controls, and fickle camera in the PS3 version", it suggested others to "pick up the technically superior Xbox 360 version and spend a little extra to get the downloadable content". Game Trailers also found a few technical issues but concluded that "when things are clicking... With plenty of humor and a substantially long quest, players will be surprised at how enjoyable Overlord can be."
External links
- Overlord at CodemastersCodemastersThe Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
- Overlord: Raising Hell at Codemasters
- Overlord at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...