I’m going to make this short, because (1) the demo didn’t exactly just come out, (2) it’s a sequel, and (3) I’ve already written a long (highly positive) review about Overlord, even though I never finished it or posted it.
So Overlord II is more of the same, quite unabashedly so, and there’s nothing wrong with that, because the first game was awesome on quite many levels. Rather famously, the sequel starts with your minions clubbing baby seals, which is a great touch, and that’s part of what you’ll be playing with in the demo (which I think is just a tad too short — it doesn’t give the game time to show how the gameplay develops a bit).
I like the game’s additions, like mounts for your minions (it’s gimmicky, but cute), but the main hope for this sequel was that the controls would be better — controlling your minions had always been a little awkward. And, lo and behold: they’ve made it worse!
Apparently, people couldn’t cope with the lack of camera controls (even though all you had to do was just turn your own character around), so the right stick now controls both the camera and the minions, so that you can’t, for instance, look somewhere while you’re pointing your minions elsewhere (which can be useful, particularly in boss fights). Also, in the five minutes the demo lasted, I failed several times to send my minions to sweep the terrain — nothing I did could make them move.
It could be that the developers think that sweeping minions is the “wrong” way to play the game, that it’s just there as a crutch, and you’re really supposed to select targets and dispatch minions to attack one by one… but that would be a weirdly stupid misunderstanding of what’s actually fun about their game: it’s all about sweeping the horde of brown minions and watch them destroy everything in their way.
Still, you should download the demo anyway… then decide to buy the original Overlord, which you’ll find heavily discounted at your favorite store. Countless hours of fun with your little gremlins.
As for Overlord II itself, I don’t think I’d be in any hurry to buy it.
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