A new Overlord spreads misery and evil in the Netherworld.
What’s it about?Overlord II is the sequel to Codemaster’s fantasy action adventure that sees you in the guise of an evil Overlord who takes great pleasure in killing and destroying everything in his path. Like any evil tyrant though, the Overlord doesn’t always do the dirty work himself but sends his mischievous Minions to cause absolute chaos across the kingdom, boosting his power and wealth in the process.
Picking up where Overlord: Raising Hell left off, the kingdom is now ruled by the Glorious Empire who are seeking to destroy anyone who possesses magical powers. A young boy, the son of the previous Overlord, is singled out by the Empire’s military forces for his magical abilities, but during his arrest the Minions attack and carry the boy off, hailing him as their new ruler.
The premise of Overlord II is exactly the same as the previous game - kill, destroy and steal everything and anything you can, causing misery across the lands. Steeped in black humour and with tongue firmly planted in cheek, this third person adventure puts you in control of various groups of gremlim-like critters (Minions) who you then use to fight your battles, fetch items to improve your wealth and cause destruction. Incorporating a fair degree of strategy, some micro-management and plenty of puzzle solving, Overlord II features four minion types: brown fighters, green assassins, red archers and blue healers. Each group has its own unique abilities and can be used tactically to take advantage of their strengths.
Uniquely, the camera stays behind your Overlord who you control with the left analogue stick and then you control the Minions with the right analogue stick, switching between the different classes to send them off to attack a range of fantasy creatures in sweeping formations, or to collect lifeforce and Netherworld objects that swell your wealth.
Customisation features heavily allowing you to tool up your Minions and upgrade their skills and spells. You'll also probably spend a fair amount of time improving the look of your fortress where you can display your wealth for all to see. While the basic gameplay is the same as the previous game, Overlord II now gives you the ability to disguise your Minions or even change the Overlord into a Minion, as well as using mounts, including wolves and spiders, which can be used to access otherwise hard to reach areas, or charge through groups of enemies. Other new features include more magical abilities for the Overlord and weapons for the Minions as well as a new mini-map to aid navigation.
Overlord II basically offers you the chance to make your evil fantasies come true by being a complete git and accumulating wealth beyond your wildest dreams. You may even get lucky enough to acquire a mistress or two along the way to pamper you.
Gameplay impressions overleaf..