So close, and yet so, so far...
Then the problems start.
In the beginning, you control a limited number of Minions, the small demon like creatures that are so fun when terrorising the neighbourhood, and it takes some vague sense of tactical nuance to avoid being flattened by gibbering obese Halflings, but when you start upgrading your armour and returning lost relics to your tower, many of which increase the number of Minions you control, it becomes almost insultingly easy. For a large chunk of the game, you may not even need to use your Overlord at all. And if you do, you have to be very careful not to accidentally belt one of your Minions in the ruckus - or set them on fire with a poorly aimed Fireball spell.
Whilst Overlord's controls handle more than well enough to send your Minions about painting the town red with the blood of the innocent, unfortunately there isn't a "call back Minions because they've decided to become stuck behind a haystack" button – although there is a "call back every minion not lost in a paddock" button. When you've lost five or six Minions for the fifth time in a row, this oversight starts to get very annoying.
Foresight isn't the only problem that seems to be afflicting Overlord, however. After retrieving a few slaves for my Dark Tower, I decided to have a little chat to them. All ten of them. With three responses they repeated ad infinitum. After only a minute or so of this parrot like behaviour, I started to regret not using them to stoke my smeltery. The same problem plague the Minions and other townsfolk as well. In the end, I began using my creatures to kill everyone around, just to shut them up.
Insultingly easy difficulty, lack of ability to use your character in combat, irritating Minions and repetitive phraseology aside, however, there is one glaring flaw which takes Overlord away from the realm of annoying and into the barren land of "broken".
Imagine, if you will: Oblivion, where the only quest you got was "Defeat Mehrunes Dagon." Who is this strangely named creature? You aren't told.
Or a Knights of the Old Republic where your mission is "Stop the Star Forge", right from the word go. Spend a lot of time looking for what the hell this was online, wouldn't you?
Mass Effect: "Save the Galaxy."
World of Warcraft: "Defeat Illidan."
Overlord: "Find the Red/Green/Blue Minions." "Get into Heaven's Gate." "Find a Mistress for your Tower."
The game abandons you just as it begins to get interesting. There isn't even a map in-game to help you on your way. There is one packaged with the 360 version of the game but it would've been more useful if it had just told me what order the quests were supposed to be completed in. This doesn't sound to bad at first, but when you spend half an hour trying to get at the Blue Minions' "nest", but can't because of some strange green mist, and then have to go online to discover you need the GREEN Minions to get the BLUE Minions – but the only way you can find to get the Green Minions requires Blue Minions to get across a stream of water… Well, you get the idea. This is a badly, badly broken mechanic – or lack thereof.
On the plus side, however, the game looks and sounds great – at least when it isn't talking. The landscapes and characters are crisp and well drawn within their slightly caricaturesque style, and the soundtrack is relaxing and melodramatic when it needs to be. When not parroting themselves repeatedly, the characters are amusing and well thought out, and the smelting, allowing you to upgrade or forge your own items, dungeon, allowing you to battle creatures you've already defeated once for precious 'life force' and the Tower upgrade mechanics all work well, and are actually enjoyable. The plot twist at the end is interesting, and each of the bosses you face are well rounded (literally, in one case) and serve as little parables of how easy it is for a Hero to slip into the 'evil' espoused in the game.
Unfortunately, however, constant irritations began to take their toll, and, again, the lack of any form of 'tell you what to do' system is truly, truly game breaking. Rent this game, but stay far, far away from it in any store.
Although, slaughtering sheep with Minions was possibly the most therapeutic thing included in any game to date.