The original Overlord proved to be a highly entertaining title that had both humor and exciting action. Its formula was a success as gamers have always craved the ability to play as an anti-hero character that doesn’t care about the well-being about the world, but instead, his fame and glory. Now, two years later, Codemasters and Triumph Studios are ready for gamers to jump back into the saddle and take control of the reigns of a tyrant hell bent for his own personal interests. Carrying onward from the Raising Hell downloadable content of the original Overlord, Overlord II has the devilish minions looking for a new overlord to call their master. They eventually turn to the son, known as Overlad, of the previous overlord. The storyline isn’t the most exotic in the structure, but the locales you visit are much more diverse than the original.
You’ll begin your journey outside of Nordberg, a place full of snow and ice for your tutorial. From there on out, you’ll begin your terror on the empire that is trying to rid the world of magical creatures. The humor carries over from Overlord II, though it’s a bit smarmy at times due to how hard the team has tried to crack a smile from the gamer. The minions, your gremlin-like servants, are going to gain most of the laughter by either their physical humor or their quick quips at the events unfolding. Many of the beasts in the game are exaggerated for comic relief such as the seals, wolf mounts, spiders, and even a salamander boss. If you were comfortable with your team the last time around, you’ll be pleased to find that al four types of your minions have returned. The brown are your bruisers, the red are your range fighters throwing fire, blue are great medics and the green are great for stealthy poison kills.
In the past, the minions weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, so the development team has dedicated a much better computer AI for your set of minions when they go into battle. They won’t overwhelm your enemies, but you won’t have to worry about them every second in battle. If you weren’t a fan of the original’s control, you’ll find yourself disappointed to learn that the controls aren’t radically different. There are a few improvements, especially in the camera department, but the controls aren’t forcefully changed. Still, as a fan of the original, the controls aren’t too hard to pick up and play, so there shouldn’t be any issues in learning the tricks of the trade before too long. The replay value is tremendously higher than it was in the past with a high amount of side-quests to complete, along with a long campaign to begin with. The sequel also adds in multiplayer aspects with four game modes that are available both online and offline.
There are two versus game modes (Pirate Plunder and Dominate) that are simple in design. In Dominate, you’ll try to take control of as many zones as you can before the timer ends. In Pirate Plunder, you are asked to collect as much as gold as you can via a pirate ship. The other two game modes are cooperative. The first is Invasion where you and a friend must work in tandem to keep progressing through the levels to fight a boss. The last cooperative mode is called Invasion where you must survive the gauntlet of enemies that are thrown at you and your partner. The multiplayer overall is a superb addition that was an unexpected surprise. If there’s one game of the summer that is needs the attention of offline single-player gamers, then it’s Overlord II. The longevity of the title is great for a summer pick-me-up. The voice-acting is still hilarious at times, the soundtrack is fitting, the graphics are lush, and the humor is more often on, than it is off. Pick up Overlord II and you won’t be disappointed with one of the few hidden gems available this summer.
