Overlord II Comments by Kristan Reed

Might get this then.

Sold :P

"in what has been a pretty underwhelming year for games so far"

I predict several comments disagreeing with this statement. For me, it's been pretty good (PC mostly, mind).

Reads more like a 9 really, I'd wager it's one of those 'add a point if you loved Overlord'. Looking forward to it.

"Reads more like a 9 really, I'd wager it's one of those 'add a point if you loved Overlord'. Looking forward to it."

+1

Sounds like fun - I enjoyed the demo. I loved the style and ideas in the first game, but it just felt like it was lacking that little bit of polish. It also felt a bit more linear than I would have liked; is the second game similar in this respect?

Anyway, I will try to pick this up at some point, as it sounds like the sort of game I would enjoy.

It's fairly linear, but not in a sense that detracts from the enjoyment. There are other sub quests you can do at different times, but mostly you'll just be focused on the next major task at hand.

cool! definetely be getting this for when my xbox gets fixed

Kristen: As you're around, how long does it take to get all the minion types? It was a large part of the first game, but I'd rather for a second round get all that sorted out in the first few hours, is that the case?

Thanks kruds. I will probably still buy it anyway, although I would prefer if it had small-ish free-roaming areas.

I also really liked in the demo the soppy elvish guys you had to beat up. Not at all meant to be a dig at Link, I imagine :)

I'd say about 10 or so hours, depending on how many times you screw up!

"Overall, in what has been a pretty underwhelming year for games so far, Overlord II feels like a shining beacon of quality."

I like it when EG do the bit in the final paragraph which somewhat undermines the score they are about to give it.

Shining beacon of quality in a year of underwhelming games might be correct, but that doesn't say much for review scores in an all-time sense.

The main problem with Overlord is the fact that sweep feature is something which sounds good on paper but is actually really rubbish and flimsy in practice. I liked the original for its charm, but found the gameplay lacking in bite, and I doubt this is any different, despite the additions, which are pretty perfunctory.

The hyperbole in this article doesn't really do anything to persuade me otherwise, either. Kristan how can you go from writing a really clinical and excellent review like the one for Virtua Tennis 2009 and then this one which is just a list of features, page of praise, and then a BUT paragraph which nearly almost spins the whole thing on it's head (but doesn't really).

Sounds great. I'd still bet a fair wad that it sells a paltry number, mind.

Just gave the PC demo a run to compare it to the 360 version and whilst everything works just a little slicker on the mouse with the camera, the sweeping is just stick emulation rather than having a cursor appear on screen for proper mouse control. Which is a little annoying and well, rather backwards when you think about it.

played the demo, more of the same. Still tired old game.

But for those taht like it: it looks even better than the original!

I'm quite interested in this game now, although it's currently a toss-up between RFGuerilla and this.

I have to say though, the numerical score is looking more ludicrous by the day (although the written review itself is a fair assessment). Compare the previous review (Monster Hunter Freedom) to this one. The previous review read like a lengthy apologia; making reference to rage-inducing grind, game-breaking camera, and a multiplayer concept which doesn't work outside of Tokyo city, while making every effort to emphasise the plus points. This review speaks ofa fun and interesting game which is hampered (but not crippled), by a couple of camera and map problems. Why did both these games receive the same score: 8/10?

In future, I suggest that the Japanese franchises not be delegated to the fanboys.

Well-written and thorough review. I'm glad I plonked down my preorder for this yonks ago.

It has been a pretty underwhelming year so far... but in the next few months its certainly going to start picking up :D

Really looking forward to this game, and cant wait to get it :)

@Harmonica:

Kristan how can you go from writing a really clinical and excellent review like the one for Virtua Tennis 2009 and then this one which is just a list of features, page of praise, and then a BUT paragraph which nearly almost spins the whole thing on it's head (but doesn't really).

Well it follows a pretty standard time-honoured format for writing a review: let the reader know how the game works, what elements have changed from its predecessor, what's been improved, what's new, assess their success at making the game entertaining, then move on to any caveats, before summing it all up in balance.

What's your problem, again?

The demo was a ton of fun to play although it was a bit too short. It just interesting then it ended leaving me wanting more. I guess that's the point though. Tried all three versions and decided on pre-ordering the cheaper PC version for the eye-candy and 60 fps framerate.

Any word on which console I should get this for or do I have to wait for the next format face-off?

There's demos of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions as well as the PC one too so you can check out for yourself which version looks the best to you. PS3 and 360 versions looked very similar to me, although I noticed some horrid framerate drops in the latter version near the start leading up to freeing the Yeti. AA looks a little bit weaker on the PS3 but that's what I expected. Anyway, go and check them out for yourself.

Cheers, I'll do that.

Oftentimes, the game throws up an exclamation mark on the map, but when you get there the nature of the goal is not always particularly explicit.

Why should it be?

You already have a minimap that shows unexplored areas and every interactive element in the scenery glows (in the demo at least). Do we really need more hand holding than that? shouldn't the player have something left to figure out for himself every now and then?

"It's fairly linear, but not in a sense that detracts from the enjoyment. There are other sub quests you can do at different times, but mostly you'll just be focused on the next major task at hand."

Even so, when did being linear become a bad thing? Take a game like oblivion. It's not linear but it makes fuck all difference. It's still a linear experience in whatever way you play it.

STEAMING a demo down to see what this is like. RTS game leads me to think PC > PS3 for this one.

"Even so, when did being linear become a bad thing? Take a game like oblivion. It's not linear but it makes fuck all difference. It's still a linear experience in whatever way you play it. "

The difference is you have a choice.

Not that linearity is necessarily a bad thing.

any live achievements in the pc version?

Loved the first one, so I'll definitely be picking this one up. Probably not a day one purchase, but I'll get it first hand because the Codies should get proper support for making a decent quirky game.

Games with character seem to be becoming incredibly rare (how many grumpy, gravelled-voiced, 20-something protagonists have we already had this year? How many more before Chirstmas?) so this kind of game should be cherished :D

Nephirion - It's a Games for Windows title so that means widescreen and Xbox 360 contoller support as standard (as used in the demo) but it's not a Games for Windows LIVE title as far as I know so no Achievements.

Do PC gamers really care about Achievements though?

I know I don't... in fact the presence of Games for Windows LIVE fills me with dread as it has been known to cause problems with games, for example most recently with GTA IV for which is required an emergency update to prevent it crashing when GfWL was running. It's nice that GfWL games are automatically updated but that's as far as the good points go really IMO. And since only a handful of PC games support GfWL anyway any worth that Achievements would have had are substantially diminished unless you also play games on the 360.

Call me insane, but I like linear games sometimes.

Expect PETA to cocme bitching about this game in 3....2.....1.....

I also think it's been a pretty good year so far, what with the likes of Killzone 2, Flower, inFamous, SFIV, Red Faction 3.

Regarding the linearity comments; I would have liked a bit of free-roaming exploration, but I know linearity in a game is hardly to its detriment. In adventure games like this I just like to be able to fanny around exploring and go off the beaten path. I'm currently playing Viking: BFA and I think that game does it really well - there's a fair bit to explore and find, but the game world isn't too large.

I'd disagree that it's been an underwhelming year for games. Okay, so I didn't think Resi 5 was as good as it should have been but I enjoyed FEAR 2 and Bionic Commando and Prototype were fantastic games. Then you've got the stuff that I haven't played like Red Faction and Street Fighter 4 and it's hardly a poor start to the year.

I like linearity. All those openworld,sandbox style games with orb collecting and pointless running around. urg. give me Dead Space or silent hill or something any day of the week..

I've been pretty underwhelmed byt htis years games so far. yeah, there've been some good games. Prototype and bionic commando as someone else mentioned and maybe a few others but nothing has been particularly outstanding really..
that should all change in 0ctober/November though..

Shame they don't give you back your minions when you return to a checkpoint. I enjoyed the first game but the grinding near the end was bloody annoying.

I've still got the first Overlord sitting on the shelf. I'll finish that and get this when its cheaper

£20? Never really played the first one but I'll purchase this one thanks.

Odd. That review reads like a 9, boardering on a 10... then an 8 out of no-where.

Edit: Good review though! Just an odd score. Sorry Kristan.

8/10 :O Sounds good

You really should re-review Halo: CE now though... clearly rated it too low if games like this get an 8

"I like linearity. All those openworld,sandbox style games with orb collecting and pointless running around. urg. give me Dead Space or silent hill or something any day of the week."

Fully agree, though there's not really a distinction between linear games and sandbox as such. The content in pretty much every sandbox game is 100% linear. The only freedom you have is determining in what order to pursue the linear activities (or not pursue them at all and just waste time, though I don't think many EG visitors will go exclusively for this latter option).

I played the demo on the PS3 and found that my minions got stuck all over the place... is this sorted in the full game?

@Psychotext - You can summon the minions to you by pressing and holding down the O button (B on the Xbox 360). While not ideal, it's a fix for the occasionally wonky path-finding. I doubt it'll be any better in the full game though but it's not a problem for me as I never had any issue with it in the three demos I've tried.

Am I the only person who had 1000s of minons by the end of the first game?

Rex: Most I've had was about 4,000. I chucked them all into armour and stuff.
Tried going for the 10k minions achievement, but it's damned hard work.

Yay! Loved the first game and I'm pleased to see this sequel improves on aspects of the original, will definitely be getting this when it's released.

The camera control on the right analogue stick seems to work surprisingly well which I didn't expect when I realised that it still controls the minions too. I never had any issue with it in the demos and it's a huge improvement on the first game which required you to hold down a bumper button to move the camera. That for me is one of the nicest things about the sequel, it feels more like a proper third-person game now with RTS elements and less like a clumsily implemented RTS game with third-person elements.