Overlord: Raising Hell review (PS3)

Overlord was released last year for the PC and Xbox 360 to generally positive reviews. As with any game that receives a better-than-average reception, an expansion pack soon followed in its wake. In this case, the expansion was entitled Raising Hell and was sold as an add-on to the existing versions. Reassured with the game's quality, Codemasters saw fit to release the game and its expansion as one title on the PS3.

On the surface, Overlord presents a fairly attractive third person fantasy action adventure game. You are a tall intimidating anti-hero in scary armour and you have a huge axe to batter things with. The set up is not an uncommon one. However, your main weapon (and the unique selling point of the game) is a horde of unruly minions that will pillage, burn, loot and destroy for you as you wreak merry havoc upon the local countryside.

Minion

Your minions really are the stars of the show throughout the game and it’s clear that a lot of effort has gone into their conception. Their animations and voices are full of character, and the way they interact with their surroundings is addictive to watch. By holding R2 you direct your minion horde to run ahead of you, where they will attack enemies, break objects, collect loot or torment peasants to their hearts content. Upon finding an item or a sack of gold, they will gleefully gather it up and hold it aloft, running back to your feet and presenting it to you proudly. Interaction like this between your minions and their environment is both simple and amusing.

There is virtually no need to micromanage your creatures through the first part of the game as the brown warrior variety you start with are a one-trick pony; they hit stuff. When finer control is required, the right analogue stick sweeps your minions around the terrain, allowing you to direct them along specific paths towards your enemy. This allows you to order your horde to fetch items or attack enemies that might normally be out of reach.

The United Colours of Hell

As the game progresses, more minion types are unlocked and the complexity of combat increases. The first new minion you encounter are the reds. These are weaker than the war-like browns, but have their melee attack replaced with a ranged fireball. In addition to that they are immune to fire attacks and can remove flaming obstacles in your path. Following on from this, you liberate the green minions which specialise in attacking from the rear where they deliver a devastating backstab to foes. They can remove poison clouds that hamper your progress. Finally, the blue minions are all but useless in front line combat. However, their ability to resurrect your dead minions and cross bodies of water (usually fatal to your other creatures) makes them invaluable as the fights become more challenging.

By the time you have unlocked all four minions, the tactic of blindly directing your rabble towards the enemy becomes less effective. For more difficult fights it’s necessary to keep your reds and blues behind the front line while your browns soak up the brunt of the damage. This allows you to sweep your green minions behind the enemy to deliver the killing blow. When performed correctly, combat is immensely satisfying. It only takes one mistake, however, for you to loose a large chunk of your forces. A lot of the time these mistakes become frustrating. Your brown minions blundering into fire/water/poison clouds will instantly slaughter them all, and some boss creatures have attacks that can decimate whole groups of your lackeys in a few seconds.

Death Comes

When the inevitable deaths occur, you can replenish your horde at creature nodes that dot each level. Each summoned creature costs you one essence of the applicable colour. The essences can be found by killing the wildlife you encounter that shares an affinity with the desired minion. Fire monsters drop red essence for example. Occasionally you will find yourself low on one particular type of minion that is required for a challenge you are trying to overcome. This requires you to revisit older areas of the world and collect more essence to fuel your army. Enemies are plentiful and they respawn when you leave an area, so collecting essence like this is rarely a problem unless you find yourself committing accidental goblin genocide on a regular basis.

Beyond rampaging around villages, fields and dungeons, there are a few other distractions to amuse you as the game progresses. The first of these is the ability to customise your evil lair with statues and decorations purchased with your ill gotten wealth. While it’s fun to see your base of operations glow in scale, the effect this has on your game is largely cosmetic. Empowering your weapons and armour with the lives of your sacrificed minions serves a more practical purpose, however. You gain this ability when you locate and salvage a smelter from the first area. Each minion that you send to its death during the forging process will boost a different stat. Infuse enough minions and your weapon will take on a coloured glow, adding to your imposing appearance.

Game Overlord

Overlord is entertaining from the outset, and never really loses its charm. The occasionally-witty “evil” dialogue and premise of slaughtering your way through corrupted fairytale creatures evokes nostalgia from the Dungeon Keeper games, which can only be a good thing. There is a fair amount to distract you from the main quest and there are additional items, spells and tower objects to recover from various locations. Take the time to master the nuances of minion combat and you will find a lot here to keep you entertained.