Overlord: Raising Hell Review
Overlord:Raising Hell harks back to a recent gaming past, when evil was popularly depicted as a cheeky cartoon-like model(see Dungeon Keeper).
How the times have changed.
We now live in a time of cinematic quality graphics & fully blown story arcs & characters within our gaming experiences. Evil is not represented in such an obvious manifestation in the majority of games released in this, the 21st Century. So with Codemasters releasing a title in Overlord Raising Hell which throws the player back to a period of gaming rarely revisited in almost 10 years. Can the modern gamer feel happy to be returned to this earlier time?
PS3 owners welcome to Raising Hell the Overlord way…
Overlord originally came out on the XBOX360/PC & as with many title releases, the PS3 version now follows with an expansion of content added in the form of an extended storyline & armour/weapons which can be forged by the player.
In the role of the mute Overlord, players command 4 types of minion to do their evil bidding. From damaging property & livestock, retrieving items once lost to the Overlord, lifting items that block pathways to attacking pretty much any of the worlds populace. Each minion type has a specific role that comes into play: Browns are the Fighters able to take the most damage, Greens are the Assassins with their silent strikes, Reds strike from afar with bolts from their bow & lastly Blues are the Healers that can also do magical damage to the Overlord’s foes.
Progressing through a lengthy storyline to return the once fallen Overlord to a position of ultimate power, a sour feeling began to dawn on me. The minions were actually having most of the fun & not only that but commanding them to do the evil deeds of the Overlord was much more satisfying than the actual gameplay of the Overlord himself. As an Overlord surely I should have felt a stronger connection to the character but this was not so & as the evil-doing wore on, I felt that the minions were becoming more central to the game than their master.
minion slaves have all the fun
Playing as the Overlord, you soon discover just how frustrating it is to command your minions. Where the minion is fast on their feet, making light work of any task – the Overlord is cumbersome, hard to control & frustrating when directing commands. Mute means, as Overlord, the player has to be in a perfect position to send out instructions. If you face the wrong way or don’t have clear sight, orders to your minions will not always be interpreted correctly & can often lead your Overlord to an unlikely defeat.
All roads lead to Hell – but don’t expect any shortcuts
Although Overlord Raising Hell has plenty of weight within its storyline content, the world itself is not an open one. There are no short cuts to destinations already known & the player must tread the same paths each time an area needs to be revisited. Improvements to the original Overlord game means that the PS3 version gets a mini map to guide you & your minions through the world. This would have worked far better in conjunction with a full map option but sadly this has not been included.
Multiplayer was an area of the game I really wanted to investigate before attempting a review of Overlord Raising Hell. I delayed summing the game up for a week in an attempt to log into any of 3 multiplayer game types. Unfortunately it seems that the online community for Overlord Raising Hell is either dead or very small, as I couldn’t find a single game to join on my numerous attempts.
In summing up the PS3 version of Overlord Raising Hell, I have to say, yes it is a game that has some well delivered dark humour & plenty of storyline content to explore. Minion play is fairly satisfying, helped by the 4 classes & their collection of skills. The animations are fairly average, considering this is title is on the cutting edge of console gaming, with very weak attempts of lip-sync during the many cut scenes.
In this age of gaming where open-world gameplay is becoming the standard, Overlord Raising Hell plays to a past age with all linear paths leading to a comic hell.
Tags: Codemasters
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August 4, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I enjoyed the first game. It’s designed for gamers who love being evil in games. Just watching the way my minions swarmed and pounced on enemies was satisfying for me.
But it is a strictly linear adventure, and there’s not much gameplay beyond simply controlling minions (who have no skills beyond their normal attacks). I enjoyed it for a short while, but it doesn’t last. And there are so many better games that Overlord is something you buy used.
September 22, 2008 at 7:59 pm
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October 10, 2008 at 6:22 am
overlord is the best game ever made by anyone