Overlord Firstlook May 29,2007 - Games like Knights of the Old Republic and Fable have done a lot in recent years to popularize the concept of games that present players with moral choices, requiring them to choose between walking the path of good or the path of evil. The developers at Triumph Studios seem prepped to unleash a fresh take on this concept when their latest game, Overlord for the Xbox 360, hits shelves in late June. Those who felt that walking on the dark side of the moral divide was the most enjoyable part of KotOR and Fable may be in for a treat here: Overlord doesn't so much give you a choice between good and evil as it gives you a choice between evil, eviler and evilest.

Overlord looks like it may be a breath of fresh air in the gameplay department, as well. Being a ruler isn't much fun without someone to order around, and in Overlord you'll have up to fifty minions willing to do your bidding at the drop of a hat. You may need to put some thought, though, into just what types of units you want making up your small army of followers. You'll have four distinct types of minions at your disposal, color-coded for your convenience: your standard brown warrior minions, your red minions who are impervious to flame and can throw it at their foes, your blue minions, capable of swimming and of healing their allies, and your sneaky green minions, adept at backstabbing unsuspecting enemies. This aspect of Overlord invite obvious comparisons to Nintendo's Pikmin series, but the minions here are set apart from those cute and colorful fungi by having desires of their own. If you don't keep an eye on things, your minions may well shirk their duties in favor of some ale or the affections of a hot demonic babe.

Despite the rather vast number of minions you can amass, the developers are keen to make controlling them simple and intuitive. The right thumbstick will move them around, but you can also select individual minions or groups or identify targets for your minions to investigate or attack. Your minions will grow more powerful as they gain experience, and are also clever enough to equip themselves with gear from fallen enemies.

No self-respecting overlord can go without a dark tower, and as you progress, your ruined home will be rebuilt and become increasingly larger. This kind of undertaking requires money, though, so you'll need to complete tasks to amass gold. The game's structure is mission-based, with some of the missions being required and some optional missions as well. Progressing through the game will earn you the ability to control more minions (you start out with a paltry ten) and increasingly powerful spells. Not unlike other games that present you with moral choices, your character's appearance in Overlord will be affected by just how evil you are. While some aspects of the game's visual style, like your dark tower and the very imposing armor you wear, seem influenced by rather serious fantasy works like the Lord of the Rings films, your tiny minions have a distinctly mischievous quality, and watching them pillage and wreak havoc can be quite humorous.

In addition to the single-player campaign which publisher Codemasters promises will be lengthy, Overlord will also offer a few online modes in which players can compete one-on-one against another overlord or cooperate with one against enemies. We're very much looking forward to getting our evil little hands on this game. We'll bring you more information about Overlord as soon as it becomes available.

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