Overlord II (Xbox 360)
It's good to be evil.
6/26/2009 5:06 PM | 5 Comments | Page 2 of 2
What's Hot: Genuinely funny; Fiercely original; New minions; Expansive, detailed game world
What's Not: Obscure objectives; Occasionally frustrating
Scott Jones
Status: Coffee makes me feel 4-percent sexier.
The game is a surprisingly sophisticated satire on politics, environmental issues, power, evil and even small-town life. From the paunchy soldiers to the hippie, peace-loving elves (who bear a striking resemblance to Link for some reason), the world of
Overlord II is a world with attitude; it's a game with a very distinctive point of view. Very few games have either of those things.
The writing -- credited to Rhianna Pratchett -- is superb. There are hints of Dr. Seuss, Tim Burton, Tolkien and even Peter Molyneux's
Fable to be found here. The writing is so dense, and the jokes fly at you at such an alarming rate, that many of them will sail right by you if you're not listening carefully. "The game isn't afraid to let the audience miss something,"
John Teti said to me during our discussion of the game. "That's so important in comedy."
Look closely, and you'll see one of your minions wearing a hat made from a baby seal's head. Man, I love these guys.
is far more geographically expansive than the original. And there are more minion types to fool with, and a tacked-on multiplayer mode that no one will probably ever play. The control scheme has also been tweaked. The right stick controls the camera and the minions simultaneously. "Sweep" the stick forward to send in your minions. Or lean back on it to adjust the camera. This works well enough, except when things get more hectic later in the game, when a miscue on the stick results in the camera swinging around you wildly while your minions idle at your side.
What initially seems like an easy game -- send in your minions, stand back, wait for the results -- becomes more interesting and complicated during later battles. You'll need to send in the proper minion types to soften up certain enemies, waiting for them to expose weaknesses, then send in another minion type to finish the job. It feels a bit random at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's very gratifying.
Unfortunately, obscure objectives derail the game every 20 minutes or so, draining away whatever dramatic momentum the game might have had going for it. I got frustrated and nearly gave up on the game at several points. But I always figured it out. I always found my way. And I was always glad that I did, because there was always something interesting -- or hilarious, or poignant -- on the far side of every single one of these frustrating moments.
This review is based on a retail copy of the Xbox 360 game provided by the publisher. The game was tested on the PlayStation 3. No significant differences were noted.
