Overlord could have been brilliant, but the overt streamlining and the lack of a map system drags it down.
Well, sort of. In theory, the game design combines all these games, but the look and feel is much different. It's like two parents came together and give birth to an autistic child- it's better in some ways, and unbearable in others. It's different. In essence, you're an evil dude with a tower, and you rebuild it to advance your evil empire against the heroes that stand against you... like Dungeon Keeper. And you have a horde of dudes that you directly influence with a thumbstick to solve puzzles, and you have four types of them at your disposal, different ones being able to go through different terrains (red minions can walk through fire, etc)... like Pikmin. So the story is pretty basic, but it has a deep-ish philosophy behind it. Rather, it's deep enough that gamers will find it thought-provoking, but 'artists' and critics for films and such won't find it to be too big of a jump for video games (no, Roger Ebert, we have not reached the same level of pretentious snottiness as you, let it be). These heroes that have killed the previous Overlord, while good in their own right, have let fame go to their heads and now personify the seven deadly sins. The idea is that 'Evil people who believe to do Good are more dangerous than those who will freely admit to being Evil'. It's sort of deep, but then again, basic philosophy.
Anyway, that's the story. It's very well written; the characters are of course all evil and chaotic and simply fun to watch. Even the wise Gnarl who advises you not to kill innocents (because it's not conductive to a long-term Evil plan) admits that, yes, it's good for a giggle. And indeed it is. The gameplay, in itself, is very entertaining. Even with only 15 minions at your disposal (50 at the end game), you'll be clearing out castles and villages alike. And oh, is it ever fun. If you actually know what you're doing, it all feels perfect, and yes, you feel like a true Overlord in the heat of the moment.
But only if you actually know what you're doing.
It takes less than half an hour to learn the controls. It probably takes more than an hour to actually -learn- the controls, as in, mastering the controls to the point that you can really use them properly. It doesn't help that the PC version has these horrendous mouse controls, especially for 'sweeping' (controlling the minions directly by holding down the two mouse buttons). I caved in and just plugged in an Xbox 360 controller, which by the way works wonderful, and doesn't require any configuration on the players' behalf. So the controls are a bit more complicated than necessary- that's not the main culprit in dragging this game down, however. Oh no, there is one incredibly stupid mistake on the developers' part that makes the game play almost unplayable at certain times, mostly exploration.
I speak of the completely unforgivable lack of a map system.
There is absolutely no reason for this. The worlds are large hallways, just like Fable. At first, the lack of a mini-map pleased me because at least the world didn't feel like a hallway- without that image of the 'walls' of the area being put in front of me, what I saw was an organic world with only a few paths, which suited me just fine.
But then I got lost. And quickly. The problem is that certain areas just look the same; one gate looks no different from the other. The gate that leads to the castle is indistinguishable from the one leading to the halfling village. Villagers often say 'GO EAST TO GET TO THE VILLAGE AND SAVE THESE DUDES' but, no, there's no compass, so these 'directions' really only serve to piss you off. It's like saying 'over there' without pointing or nodding or... anything.
Aside from that, Overlord is a very enjoyable experience. And, for the love of all things good, just buy the PC version- there is no reason whatsoever to shill an extra 20 dollars for the 360 version, unless you don't have the PC necessary to run this game. If you have a PC and a 360, even better, because the 360 controller just feels more natural. The final word? Buy this game; you'll get a little pissed off at times due to the somewhat irritating controls and the lack of a map system, but there really is nothing quite like ransacking a place with a horde of imp things wearing pumpkins on their heads. It's sort of like therapy.