Overlord

by Troy Goodfellow on October 10, 2007

Game evil isn’t the same as real evil. In Overlord, you only know that your character is evil because your deputy keeps telling you so. In role playing games, evil generally means being a sarcastic jerk. Murdering civilians in strategy or GTA games is not simply approved of, it’s encouraged. So it’s not really surprising that your evil-tyrant-wannabe is greeted as a liberator by the peasants, or that the “heroes” you battle are twisted parodies of fantasy archetypes. This theme still works in Overlord because your deputy’s protestations of your evilness are so over the top that they provide a neat counterpoint to all the peasants greeting you as a liberator. It’s easy to believe that maybe you are tricking them, that they will be lambs led to the slaughter once you’ve consolidated your power.

Your first enemies are Halflings whose lifestyle of partying and dancing is based on enslaving and extorting food from the neighboring humans. The Halfling boss is a grotesque bulbous king, fattened on his ill-gotten gains. He’d fit in fine as a villain in any Bioware epic. This storyline is so successful that it almost masks the simplistic gameplay. You control four types of “minions”, each with different strengths. In a Pikmin-like way, you direct them to complete basic tasks and solve minor puzzles. Like all evil foozles, you’ll rely on your underlings to get anything done, no matter how powerful you get. Sauron the Demon Herder might not sound intimidating by himself, but these little guys are beer swilling, home trashing, sheep burning, fire quenching machines.

Overlord is a testimony to the power of good art design. It has learned from World of Warcraft the lesson that an exaggerated cartoon world can be more convincing than a photorealistic one. There’s a Wile E. Coyote franticness to a lot of the action as your hyper-caffeinated minions toss obstacles aside or frightened villagers run away screaming. The game effectively marshals its resources to keep moving you ever onward to better spells, creepier heroes and more fantastical settings. The save points are far enough apart to induce caution but close enough to prevent frustration. A minimap would have helped, especially when the paths and levels get more elaborate.

Overlord is fast food, designed to amuse more than innovate. It’s likely that the theme came well before the design document, with the shepherd act being merely a means to move you from Evil Location A to Evil Location B. It’s a great gaming Happy Meal, though, with enough to delight the eyes that you can forgive how little of it is original.