Overlord Dark Legend (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

Starting out on the Xbox 360, the original Overlord title gathered a decent following but was also prone to comparisons with another big open world title which was released close to this, that being Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. As a result, Overlord didn't quite get the following it deserved as it brought together action adventure gameplay with a slice of strategy seen in the likes of Pikmin. However, Codemasters have seen fit to realise a sequel to the game on the two more powerful consoles and have also decided to bring the game to the Nintendo Wii for the first time, in the form of a prequel story. But as we know, bringing a title from the other consoles to the Wii can lead to mixed, and sometimes horrible, results. However, Codemasters and developers Climax believed they could do a good job.

Gameplay

Dark Legend is set prior to the original title and focuses on the story of how you become the Overlord. Taking place on his 16th birthday, the Overlord's father has gone off in search of necessary help in rejuvenating his once glorious kingdom while his mother has run off with a nobleman from a neighbouring kingdom. As a result, he has been left in the hands of his older siblings but as they decide to go off and do their own things on his birthday, the Overlord is left to his own anarchy and is soon gifted with a armoured glove which allows him access to a suit of armour and weapons and gives him control over his minions, small gremlin like creatures used for all sorts of puzzles and attacking during the game. But all doesn't go to plan as Halflings soon break into Castle Gromgard and set it alight and it's the Overlord's job to put it out. The forms the basis of the beginning of the game and the initial mission you will go on. Subsequent missions carry the story on from where the previous one ended and will have your character and his minions crossing several counties to complete them. There are also side missions added into the game which are completely optional and while they add some extra length to the game, they never stray off of the beaten path of linearity much like the main story.

Once you've been to one area or have gotten upgrades to control larger numbers of minions, you're virtually free to explore them at your own pace but progress through these areas and missions is more linear than that of the other console counterparts and this probably comes down to the lesser power available with the Wii. But this doesn't mean that the experience isn't as fun. If anything, it's a better experience overall because you know exactly where and what you need to do to progress so there is no running around like a headless chicken. Of course the main draw of the Overlord titles is the controlling of those pesky minions and thankfully, they remain as mischievous here and help to push forward the humour which the game is drenched in. While some areas have had to take a hit to get the series on the Wii, I'm thankful that the humour has remained because that was one of the best things about the title. And while the use of the minions makes for some interesting gaming and humour, the AI for them is very hit and miss. At times, they are extremely helpful and will bring you pots of gold or life force, which is necessary for ascertaining new minions, and will even pick up items in the field to further themselves but at other moments, they'll just stand there and do nothing. In set piece fights, I found that even though I had told them to attack a target, they'd initially do as such but suddenly stop and just stand there and have to be prompted again and again to attack. It detracts from the experience somewhat yet it's only one of the game's shortcomings. The game will suffer from a significant drop in the frame rate later in the game as your minion numbers increase and there are a few bugs that can plague play. It's also a relatively short experience compared to its older brothers, and can be completed in 7 hours or under.

Controls

Getting a decent setup with the Wii's controls was always going to be a hard task, especially for this title, yet Climax have done amicably in getting it all to work as smoothly as you could hope. Combining the Wii-mote and Nunchuk, it's virtually what you would expect from the controls but with some odd button choices. For example, the attack button is the Z button and while you'll probably send in your minions to do most of the attacking, being the passenger isn't all it's cracked up to be and you'll want to jump in and help but it just feels sluggish because of the button being used. The game does make use of the IR pointer to help and direct your minions and this works extremely well, with you highlighting areas where you want them to go, what to attack or where to set up attack points for ranged and close encounter attacks. It adds some depth to the strategy you can utilise in the game. The one big problem that comes from the controls is the camera and this is controlled with the C button but it's not particularly great and won't always centre behind your character when you press it and as a result, you'll sometimes not be able to see where you're going because the camera doesn't always keep up.

Graphics

Overlord's steampunk visuals return in this Wii game and for the most part, they look impressive. Characters have that exaggerated look to them which is distinctive with the style and the same can be said with the buildings. All the characters are animated extremely well, looking fluid in their motion. Yet while there are lots of high points, there are low points. The environmental detail isn't of the highest standard and will look blurry and blocky, as if it had been lifted from an N64 title. The draw distance is virtually a couple of metres in front of the Overlord so you'll see lots of pop-in and pop-out of visuals. For all of the bad points though, there are moments when the game does look really good, which comes down to a blend of the steampunk visuals and some superb lighting work but it still doesn't match that of Twilight Princess from nearly 3 years ago now.

Sound

While some of the humour in the title comes across in the cutscenes, the majority comes through from the voice work and the game has some great voicing. From the eerie sounds of the minions to the howls of the bandits as they run away scared, the sound has made the leap across the technical gap and remained true to itself and is one of the real selling points for the title as the whole game is voiced. The music, likewise, has managed to cross the gap as well and remains well suited to the action that takes place if a little over the top at times.

Final comments

Bringing a title down from the more powerful consoles isn't the easiest of tasks yet Climax has done a very good job in bringing the Overlord series to the Wii. They've managed to keep the essence of the series as pure as possible on a new console by playing to its strengths and provided something that fans of the series can easily enjoy while newcomers can get stuck in without having to worry about not having played the previous title. Yes, there are some big drawbacks in terms of the bugs and frame rate issues as well as its length, but in the end Overlord: Dark Legend is a decent title and a valiant effort from the developers with ample room for improvement should they continue to bring the series to the Wii.

Pro: Very humorous, good sound, minions are fun to control
Con: Frame rate takes a bashing sometimes, few bugs, visuals are a bit of a mixed bag
Final score: 7.8

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