A humorous and colourful adventure which puts you at the helm of a horde of crazed, gremlin-like beasties.
Through a central hub (your castle) you teleport to different parts of the world map, completing quests which result in you receiving key items required to restore both your castle and your good self to your former "Overlord" status.
I found myself giggling everytime I sent my horde on their destructive path. Watching the little fellows running towards a pumpkin patch, arms flailing, smashing and bashing their way through it. Some returning with treasure, others returning with yellow glowing orbs, and some just happy to make a little helmet out of a discarded pumpkin and put it on their head. It is quite hysterical to watch, and very reminiscent of the movie Gremlins with regards to the way the horde behave. The visuals are very similar to those of Fable. Cartoonish and colourful in appearance. Character models are solid and the control system feels very comfortable. The horde animations are particularly pleasant to watch and the audio (especially that of the horde) is quite good. The only thing missing is a mini-map (which was introduced into the sequel) It is sometimes quite easy to get oneself lost and lose track of where to go next.
Unfortunately, I found the game to become a bit repetitive very early in the piece. Yes, you slowly gain different types of minions, each with their own special abilities, however, the ongoing task of farming for orbs which in turn, allow you to increase your horde size, became somewhat boring after awhile.
The game has a very good sense of humour about it, and the micro-management of your minions is easily pulled off. As the Overlord, you have weapons and spells at your disposal which allow you to fight alongside your minions, should you choose to, but this too becomes repetitive and mundane. I simply became tired of the game after a few hours, which was a shame as I did find myself laughing out aloud on occasion. Just a pity the occasions became less frequent as the game ploughed on.
For those of you who don't mind a bit of inventory stockpiling in a game, namely the farming of orbs to replenish and increase your horde on a regular basis, then Overlord is certainly worth a look.
For me, I found the orb farming to be an annoying necessity that broke up the whole feel of the game.
In a word… Repetitive