Overlord (2007 video game)
| Overlord | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Triumph Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Codemasters |
| Platform(s) | Xbox 360, Windows |
| Release | NA June 26, 2007 EUR June 29, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy, Action Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer, Co-op |
Overlord is an action-adventure game that lets the player control Minions and order them as the player sees fit. In the story, the Minions find the main character in the rubble of the old Overlord's tower, and thus believe him to be a reincarnation of the old Overlord that was killed by the Seven, now corrupted Heroes. These minions, therefore, aid and serve the player loyally as their master. The game was released in North America on June 26, 2007 on both the PC and Xbox 360. The story revolves around the ever growing Minion armies who are trying to kill the Seven Heroes who destroyed the original Overlord. Since then the Seven Lords have slowly become the living embodiment of the seven deadly sins.
Gameplay
The player plays as an Overlord resurrected by an Old Minion to help them kill the seven corrupted heroes. The main aspect of the game centers around controlling minions, of which the player can control up to 50. Many fights require the careful deployment of the player's swarm of minions. And only minions are able to move or manipulate the many objects scattered around the world.
The player starts in an old ruined tower that has been plundered of its many magical objects. As the stolen objects are recovered by the Overlord's minions, new rooms and spells become available for use. The player has the option to customize his tower by doing things such as adding spikes to the towers, or placing statues in the throne room. Armor and weapons can be improved or replaced in the armory. Defeated enemies appear as opponents in the dungeon, where the Overlord can fight them again in order to practice combat skills and tactics.
While the game assumes that the Overlord is evil, it also tracks how "corrupt" the Overlord is in accomplishing his goals. Acting in an unrestrained fashion (for instance, slaughtering otherwise inoffensive townsfolk) increases the corruption level. Certain quests offer the opportunity to choose between two courses of action, and typically one choice will increase corruption while the other reduces it. For instance, an early quest forces the Overlord to make a choice between keeping food (which will provide more minions) or returning it to the starving villagers that it was stolen from. The corruption level changes the way towns folk treat you and will also change your appearance. If you choose the corrupt route (ie, killing 'innocents' or keeping items for yourself), the Overlord's armor will change to be darker and more evil-looking. The corruption feature is similiar to that which can be found in the game Fable. Your corruption level also helps to determine which game ending you receive.
Minions
There are four Minion types:
- Brown Minions - They act as the fighters and are the basic minion type. Browns can use all kinds of armour, weapons and helmets that they find lying around.
- Blue Minions - Support Minion. They can heal and resurrect the player's other minions and can walk through water to reach places where others can not (lair can be found in Heavens Peak Swamp, greens required to obtain it).
- Red Minions - Have a Ranged attack. They throw fireballs at enemies and are immune to fire (lair can be found after killing Melvin Underbelly in Melvin's Kitchen).
- Green Minions - The Assassins. They sneak behind the enemies and assassinate them, and are immune to poison (lair can be found in Evernight Swamp).
Minions can be summoned through minion pits found scattered around the levels. The player needs to pay lifeforce, which can be gained by killing creatures, like sheep or large bugs. At the start of the game, only 5 Brown Minions can be controlled, but as the game progresses the player will be able to, eventually, control up to 50 minions at a time as well as gaining the ability to summon all 4 different types of minions. In addition to controlling minions, the Overlord can also use spells to attack in battle. Minions can be sacrificed at certain Pits to restore the Overlord's health and/or mana (used for spells).
Seven Lords
- Melvin Underbelly - The first of the seven lords the player meets. He is the boss of the halflings. He represents the sin of gluttony. Melvin is taller than a normal human, and so obese that he's nearly spherical. Melvin is found in Mellow Hills, the first area in the game.
- Oberon - Oberon represents the sin of sloth. The elf Oberon merged himself into a tree and is sleeping. His nightmares have come to life, and haunt the forest around him. Oberon is found in the Evernight Forest.
- Goldo - Ruler of the Golden Hills. Goldo represents the sin of greed. Goldo has let his desire for wealth, taking over all other aspects of his life.
- Sir William - Representing the sin of lust, Sir Willaim the Paladin is now interested exclusively in sensual pleasures. His interests now primarily range from decadent parties to sexual liaisons, even as a plague ravages his city. Sir William is the ruler of the city of Heavens Peak.
- Jewel - Representing the sin of envy, Jewel, the thief is now only interested in stealing others possessions. She leads a group of Ruborian thiefs and is loved by Kahn. Jewel dwells in the Ruborian desert.
- Kahn - Representing the sin of wrath, Khan is quick to anger and is very protective of Jewel which at times annoys Jewel. He cares only about protecting Jewel and destroying anything that angers him. He has control over beholders. He seems to dislike The Wizard. His name and what he represents may be an allusion to second Star Trek film, The Wrath of Khan.
- The Wizard - The Wizard represents the sin of pride. He is responsible for the corruption of the other lords. The Wizard is the final boss of the game.
Multiplayer
The game also offers a interesting variety of multiplayer modes. The first is Deathmatch, where two Overlords face each other in an all-out battle, with possibly hundreds of minions at once. The second mode is Co-Op, where two Overlords team up to fend off large armies of enemies. The third and final is Plunder Challenge, where two Overlords and their minions compete on who can pillage and plunder as much gold in a selected amount of time. The Xbox 360 version will provide through Xbox Live the possibility to speak to other Overlords as well.
Domains
The player starts in the Tower ruins, from where all other domains can be teleported to. As the player progresses through the game, the Tower can be repaired, and rooms like the Dungeon and the Forge can be opened. A Mistress can further decorate the Tower as the player sees fit.
The domains of the outside world include:
- Mellow Hills - Home to halflings, human peasants and sheep, and terrorised by the former halfling Hero, Melvin Underbelly. Here the village Spree can be found, as well as a slave camp and the underground halfling kitchens.
- Evernight - Elven ghosts dwell in this defiled forest, accompanied by bloodthirsty unicorns and forest trolls. The forest is under the control of Oberon, the elven hero who fell into an eternal sleep after his return. Oberon has fused with a enormous tree and his nightmares afflict the entire forest.
- Golden Hills - Home of the proud, stubborn dwarven race. Ruled by Goldo the dwarven hero. He is obsessed with gold and riches. He now only lives for gathering more supplies for war machines. He wears a golden armour and has a long white beard. Even his axe is made out of the best gold he could find.
- Heavens Peak - Home to humans whose land has been infected with an unknown plague that turns its victims into zombies. The paladin Sir William rules the city, and the priests of the Silent Order maintain a temple here as well.
Updates
Triumph Studios and Codemasters have announced their plans to provide future updates in the form of patches and downloadable content over PC and Xbox 360. This includes the introduction of new multiplayer maps, an extended amount of monsters, more weaponry, and even an extension of an additional chapter to the game's singleplayer plot.
Demo
On June 8 2007, a demo was released onto the Xbox 360 Marketplace. On June 11 2007, a demo was released for the PC on various websites. The demo consists of a tutorial of the basic controls and game play, which culminates in a simple boss-battle. The demo also outlays the general atmosphere of the plot, along with introducing the player to one of the game's outside world domains.