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 Overlord: Raising Hell
PS3 - Codemasters
2008
Pros: Interesting game concept; unique art style; well-done voice acting; you get to pick up a wench to take care of your tower; decently challenging game play.
Cons: Not EVIL ENOUGH; temperamental controls; a bit too simplistic when it comes to boss strategy; annoying load times between levels.
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In the last couple of months I have been playing a lot of shooting games, and I just got so sick of them. I mean how many ways can you shoot someone with a sniper rifle already?!? So I thought I would give something new a try, in both genre and concept. I went with “Overlord: Raising Hell”, and even though it had its ups and downs, I still recommend it to anyone who wants a change of pace from what’s out on the market now.
Overlord takes the classic “hack & slash” game dynamic and adds a little strategic twist. You are a dark overlord who has been raised from the dead by your minions to find you evil kingdom taken away. On a side note, if you are really that badass, how come your kingdom has fallen?…Anyway, instead of just doing the normal “hack & slash” dungeon routine you actually can summon minions to do your bidding, and loot and pillage for you. This gives the game an interesting strategy element to help you rebuild your tower and evil empire.
Even though this was originally an XBOX 360 title, the PS3 version promised some added bonus levels and such. But you can just tell it’s a multi-platform title because just like in GTA, they built the graphics engine on the lowest common denominator factor. Don’t get me wrong; it still looks great, but it’s no “Heavenly Sword”. With that in mind, the developers, Codemasters, went for a unique art style that reminds me of Gnomes for sale in Skymall Magazine. It’s cute, yet creepy at the same time.
Weapon, spell and tower customization is pretty simple, but well-done. You can upgrade spells, use your forge to amp up your weapons, and have the wench, Rose, help you customize the tower. This is where having a wench around helps. She ain’t no Martha Stewart, but she gets the job done and at least she is cute.
Ok the annoying part: the controls can be very frustrating at times. You have to control around 20-30 minions and yourself in combat and sometimes the minions just do their own thing. This is cute at first but when they start diving into fire like a bunch of idiots, and dying, it’s really annoying. At times it feels as though you are trying to get your cat to do back flips down a flight of stairs…yeah… not going to happen. It can be hard to control them where you need them to go, and what to get at times which makes quests more tedious than they need to be.
Overall, this game was fun for a weekend. It’s not a long-term investment but it’s a good change of pace from what is out there. If they could improve on the controls, this would be way better. But the personality they give this game, coupled with the strategy element, makes it an enjoyable ride. So sit down, put some death metal on and reclaim your shit.
written by: Alex Chechs posted by: JoJo BA
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