I hate to criticise what is a fairly charming game but moments like these do take away some of the overall enjoyment and instant likeability factor and may put off the more casual player from this pretty solid game.

Since the release of Overlord II I have heard many people comparing it to the outstanding 'Fable 2' and in all honesty that is an unfair thing to do as they are totally different games in terms of gameplay. I think the RPG elements and in particular the graphical presentation is where people are drawing comparisons between the two games although Overlord II does not offer anything like the depth of Fable 2.

 

I get the impression that the game is not trying to take itself too seriously and in this respect becomes more user friendly than various other RPG’s currently available and has a storyline that is pretty easy to follow and a charming graphical style.

 

 

Overlord II has a nicely presented fantasy world setting with scenery ever changing and nice interactive environments however it rarely had many jaw dropping moments in terms of it’s quality. That is not to say it is bad by any means although perhaps one could have expected slightly better on a next gen system.

 

 

As stated earlier in the review the game has a more charming feel rather than a serious one and this is also highlighted with the design of the various characters found throughout and overall this is done pretty well and fits in well with the fantasy theme.

 

My main criticism however is the camera angles used and although this has been changed since the first game in the series it seems to have not shown any progression, in fact some would argue that it has taken a backwards step. In Overlord II the developers have attempted to integrate minion control and camera to the same use of the right thumb stick and although a brave move which could have worked well more often than not leads to moments of sheer frustration. On the flip side I can see what the developers have tried to do and in certain aspects it works however there is still massive room for improvement.

 

 

Upon reading the manual which comes with the game the vast amount of controls may seem to lead the player into thinking that they are in for a pretty daunting task with every button and stick on the joypad used in one aspect or another. What has been implemented well is the first level which although sets the scene for the forthcoming story gets the player used to using the controls well and this I have to say has been very well done and a thoroughly welcome addition and quickly dispels any previous fears.

 

 

Whilst all buttons are used to control the lead character and has variety of weapons and powers it is the minion control which proves the most interesting as this is solely done using the right thumb stick with sweeping moves used to direct them in various directions and to attack other characters. It is pretty refreshing to see how this works and for the most part has been implemented well however all this good work seems to be undone with the confusion between the aforementioned minion and camera control.

 

There is no denying that the developers have been bold in the way that they have made changes and most importantly listened to players comments with the release of Overlord II and for this they deserve a big round of applause however there are still many ways in which improvements can be made.

 

 

If I was asked to sum up "Overlord II" in one word then the word I would use is charming and there is no doubt that the game has an abundance of charm throughout.

 

Unquestionably the game has many faults although if you look beyond these then I am sure you will find a fair amount of enjoyment from this pretty solid title which proves to be an excellent user friendly entry to the RPG genre.

 

 

 

 

+ Very charming game
+ Excellent tutorial level
+ Nice to be able to play as an evil character
+ Pretty user friendly game with RPG elements