Overlord: Raising Hell

Before we get on with the review we though we’d let you know about a little competition the evil Overlord is running over on his blog, he is on a quest to see if there are any bosses in the UK worse than him. The end date has just been extended until Friday 25th July, so get your nominations in.
Check it out here

You arrive in a fire-ridden domain with your horde of loyal minions. Disloyal peasants trapped, having been misled by a mystical force, beg for your forgiveness. Save them or leave them to rot in hell for betraying you. It’s your choice; this is your life now, master.

Overlord hits the PS3 in full force, with the Raising Hell expansion pack included. The 360 version of the game hit the market last year and now, it’s the PS3’s turn. This is your chance to rule everything and everyone and have your enemies at your feet, begging for mercy. The expansion pack gives the game 3 new domains, well sub-domains. These are Abyss’ and are unlocked in sequence, when you finish one the next is then unlocked for you to travel to.

The game can be played in one of 2 difficulties; Normal or Legendary and begins with the Overlord being resurrected after the ruin of his kingdom. You’re then put through a short tutorial on the game’s controls and minion control before being led up to the main area of your Tower. To begin your reign of terror you’re sent on your first mission, to find the Tower Heart, a magical source of energy that will teleport you to the domains you need to go.

Choices play a part in this game, with you being given choices between being bad or good. Such as, choosing to give starved peasants food you rescued or keep it for yourself although you already have plenty. Killing peasants has its bonuses also, giving you money and weapons and armour for your minions to pick up. However the game always leaves you feeling incomplete up in that twisted evil mind of yours, is what you’re doing really all that evil? I was expecting mind-blowing evil actions to be available at my disposal but I must admit I feel let down in that aspect by the game.
The combat system for your Overlord is quite basic with only one button for attacks. However magic attacks are unlockable for you including the ability to attack your enemies with fireballs. The game can begin to feel rather repetitive at times with the same battle tactics being used over and over again.

Your minions are your main fighting and problem-solving force. These are available in 4 different colours:

• Brown – the fighters, they cause the most damage to enemies and are able to take the most damage.
• Red – these guys can throw fireballs at the enemy and absorb any fire that’s in your way.
• Blue – use these minions to resurrect your dead minions and also to travel through water.
• Green – experts with poison, they can absorb poison.

It’s impossible to do much without your minions by your side, but to acquire minions you need Lifeforce.  This can be obtained from enemies, peasants and sheep. There’s different Lifeforce is required for each type of minion, so knowing where to find certain Lifeforce is vital. You can then use this Lifeforce to summon minions from their portals, which also differ for each type of minion. Minions can assess many places you can’t such as smaller spaces and tents and bring back any items they find for you like health, magic and money. They’ll keep weapons and armour for themselves however, but weapons will improve their attacks and armour will improve their defence. Your faithful minions can also be sacrificed in special portals; these then give you a health or magic boost depending on how many minions you sacrifice. Since minion portals are only available at a few different points in each domain, you’ll find yourself wandering backwards and forwards until you have the correct army with you. This can make the whole process very tiresome after a while.

Onto your evil base, your Tower. This is your main hub for all your evil-doing and accessories for your Tower can be added including banners, statues and outer add-ons to your Tower. Buying things for your Tower is one way to spend your gold, another is to use it to upgrade and create new weapons or armour.  Your jester will follow you around the main part of your Tower and compliment you on your evil-doings, reminding you of what you’ve done in the past. However if you find him too annoying you can simply give him a good few kicks and he’ll soon shut up.

New objects can be found for your tower, such as the Tower Heart. This can help you in many ways, perhaps by unlocking a new area in your Tower, allowing you to control more minions or giving you a vast amount of gold. Whatever they offer you, they’re worth carrying back to your Tower. Anything that needs carried can be carried by your minions, usually requiring a certain amount to do so however.

Domains can differ greatly from Mellow Hills; a bright, grassy domain with forests and a small village, to Heaven’s Peak; a drained, dark domain infested by humans infected by a deadly virus.
Music in the game isn’t used that much apart from in Mellow Hills, where it is bright and happy. In any evil domain there’s usually no music at all and you have to settle with the dying screams and roaring of fire. Minion voices can be quite entertaining but are all exactly the same, which is quite disappointing. But some of the comments they make and their overall character can be an interesting thing to watch. Peasants have quite a limited collection of voices and dialogue, similar to the minions.
The graphics in the game are good but aren’t concentrated on creating a realistic picture, which is probably the best way to go with Overlord: Raising Hell. Your Overlord definitely looks the part with steel armour and a helmet hiding his appearance totally. Minions are funny, unusually creatures with all but the blue minions looking scruffy and clueless. The blue minions look very sleek and have interesting marks on them, making them look somewhat mystical. Peasants once again, don’t have very much variation on how they appear but can come in the form of your typical hillbilly type to the slightly smarter dressed.