Players are used to video games with graphic themes, even those with a comedic twist such as those offered here. But it’s what Overlord: Raising Hell does inside the game that makes it so much more than the average thrash-everything medieval adventure. And it’s all thanks to real-time strategy combat, whose moves, character formation, button layout and gameplay executions are nearly identical to Pikmin, the undervalued GameCube hit.

But Overlord wasn’t designed to meet the “all ages” criteria found in most Nintendo games. Its dark themes and anything-but-friendly atmosphere are so aggressive that the average Pikmin-hater (and especially those who haven’t played it) may not even notice the incredible similarities.

Console-Made

There’s a reason why most RTS games suck on consoles: they were originally developed for PC. Even with the greatest gameplay and control tweaks, you still end up with a PC experience that’s tailored for consoles.

While I can’t say for sure that the Overlord series was envisioned as a console game from the start (the default camera perspective and semi-stiff character movements are suspiciously similar to old PC action games, making me skeptical), the final product most certainly was. Most gamers won’t love the way the overlord controls but they’ll definitely accept it. If you’ve played a hack-n-slash game then you know what to expect. There’s just one catch: this is a strategy game, and the overlord is far from the most important warrior on the battlefield.

Whether you like the overlord’s controls or not, you will surely be engrossed by the stellar command of his allied units. These minions are living, breathing freaks that attack and react simply but seamlessly. With the tap of the R2 button, one minion runs straight into combat. If there are no enemies to attack, he’ll look for something to destroy – crates, plants, pumpkins, etc., anything at all that he can get his hands on. When held, the R2 button sends your whole team into battle. They too will seek out crates, unearth valuables, and carry large collectibles back to one of the mysterious teleportation devices, which transports goods to the overlord’s lair.

Gotta Collect ‘Em All

Once discovered, minions are obtained very easily. Any living creature has a soul, and every soul corresponds to one of the four minion types: brown, green, red and blue. Minions will pick up wandering souls automatically, but you can use the overlord to grab them manually if you wish. When at least one soul has been collected, players can summon new minions from the fiery (or is that frothy? It’s hard to tell) openings that form in multiple locations of each stage. Each soul is equal to one minion. But only a certain number of minions can be summoned at one time. As you likely guessed, that number rises with the game’s progression.

Before any minion can be summoned, however, it must first be found. You start out with the brown team, a vicious bunch that’s ready for action. They’re a great, well-round crew but lack the special abilities of the other colors. Only red minions – who throw fireballs but are weak at close combat – can walk through fire. Only blue minions – who cast damaging spells and may resurrect fallen comrades – can swim. If this sounds eerily close to that Nintendo game I mentioned, you’re not alone. If this doesn’t sound familiar at all, you’re in for a moderate learning curve. Even hardcore RTS fans will find something new to master, as Overlord has nothing in common with any other strategy game except for you-know-who.

As leader of the minions, you won’t just order them to fight and walk away. You’ll have to intervene often and keep a close eye on things always. When narrow paths, low passageways or steep hills are too much for the overlord to conquer (he says he’s not old but I think he’s secretly a member of the AARP), players can sweep their minions anywhere they please with the right analog stick. The minions move together in a giant cluster, attacking enemies along the way. It’s a great move and is just as seamless as the other minion controls.

Look Ma, No Camera!

But if the left analog stick controls the overlord and the right analog stick controls your minions, that can only mean one thing: you don’t have any control over the camera. Though it can be snapped into place with a tap of the L1 button, the camera is generally stiff. It’s not an unforgiving beast; you won’t lose a game because the viewing angle wouldn’t cooperate. But given the game’s massive environments, attractive graphics, and the large number of minions/enemies shoved onto the screen at one time, I’m surprised the developers didn’t give us some sort of camera control.

On the controller end it would have been easy; to move the camera, players could theoretically hold a button before pushing the right stick. That button would prevent the minions from moving, allowing players to move the camera instead. But I suspect it was an issue far more complex than that – one that Nintendo fought as well when designing Pikmin (you can’t control its camera either).

Overlord is a quick RTS, and this new PS3-exclusive edition offers split-screen play for two – a solid addition that many will enjoy but no doubt be annoyed by the camera problems (which are typically more noticeable when two games are thrown onto one screen).

 
“Happy Halloween!”

If you’re looking for things that Pikmin doesn’t have, Overlord offers magic casting, multiple weapons for the overlord and his minions, and a lead character that can actually participate in combat (as opposed to Pikmin’s leader, who stands back while the Pikmin do all the work). Overlord also lets you choose between being good or evil. Either way you slice it, he’s an overlord and is still pretty bad. But when it comes to everyday humans, you can choose to attack or let them live. The latter choice may be worthwhile but remember: you can’t be a completely evil and revered overlord without mindless bloodshed.