Overlord, a 2007 release from Triumph Studios, is my favorite Xbox 360 game I’ve reviewed so far, but there’s a decent amount of nostalgia speaking. In this game you play as the new evil Overlord who sets out to conquer a fantasy land and its seven corrupted “heroes.” The Overlord can battle his enemies himself with spells and third-person melee combat though the main draw of the game are his Minions. These goblin-esque creatures are directed with the right stick and swarm enemies, destroy environments and loot treasure for themselves and the Overlord.

This game’s humor is the main draw for me and its biggest strength. It has a very British style of jokes and a similar “good or evil” spectrum as the Fable series (some of the village yokels have the same voice actors as Fable I’m sure.) It seems quaint nowadays, but listening to your Minions spew one liners while they terrorize villagers and poke fun at D&D and Tolkein tropes has a very laid back and fun vibe. I don’t think games have this kind of simple humor anymore; most games now lean too heavily on the Borderlands/Deadpool scatterbrained meme references.

The story comes from Rhianna Pratchett who has written for a ton of games since. The “heroes” are the villains represented by the seven deadly sins, with a hobbit who steals villagers’ food, a fallen paladin seduced by a succubus etc. Directing your army of Minions and watching them tear through the fantasy land is a delight; placing fire Minions on a hill as they rain fire, greens in the back to sneak and backstab and blue healers to revive your fallen ranks. There aren’t quite enough abilities to have overly complicated puzzles. I haven’t played the Pikmin games so I can’t compare them, but I imagine Nintendo has a more clever implementation to its puzzles. Finding all of the collectible tower items and spells make exploration a joy, though I wish there more side quests and reasons to return to each zone. On the other there’s something to be said for a breezy adventure that doesn’t overstay its welcome!

Game Design: 4/5 Vibes & World: 5/5 Fun to Play: 5/5

Bonus Points:

• Cartoonishly evil decisions; burn down the unicorns’ glade, trade in your polite mistress for her selfish, buxom sister and more
• Upgrading and decorating your dark tower
• Watching your horde of minions upgrade themselves with their enemies weapons as they become stronger and stronger.

Current ranking of all Xbox 360 games:

• #1 – Overlord
• #2 – Singularity
• #3 – Dead Island
• #4 – Kameo: Elements of Power
• #5 – The Club
• #6 – Too Human