Overlord: Raising Hell

Everything else

Graphics are OK, but nothing spectacular, and certainly not up to the standard of some other current PS3 titles.

Each realm has its own feel and colour palette. For example, the Abyss realms are red and fiery; the corrupted Elven realm is dark and foreboding, with twisted tree roots pulsing with evil energy.

Generally, the framerate is good, although it does occasionally take a nosedive when lots of minions and enemies are on the screen together.

There are several multiplayer options available in Overlord: Raising Hell, each of which can be played in split-screen offline mode or online.

Slaughter is all about the killing, either creatures or opposing overlords. In Overlord, evil is good, therefore killing is good, if you see what I mean. Pillage is all about collecting gold from objects, enemies or opposing players.


There’s a co-op campaign to which sees you and a partner seeing how long you can survive together against hordes of enemies – basic and boring perhaps, but also a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, there's nothing in Overlord: Raising Hell that hasn't been done before, and it's been done better elsewhere too. While online play isn't disastrous, there's nothing that will keep you really hooked. This is such a shame though, because the game is so much more polished in single-player mode.

Conclusion

Overlord: Raising Hell is a surprising game on so many levels. It's surprising that it hasn't been a bigger hit, given its simple yet involving gameplay. The basic premise of the game is simple and yet the difficulty curve is deceptive: at the beginning, throwing hordes of minions at enemies will get you by, but as the game progresses strategy becomes more important, and throwing hordes of minions into a battle will do little other than get those minions killed.

It's surprising that you get so attached to your minions too. Perhaps it's just that it's a shame to waste all that armour they've collected, or perhaps naming them all was a mistake. Of course, you can create new minions as needed, but it's not quite the same. You'll never be able to replace young Minion #7.

It's also surprising that you'll want to keep coming back to play more. There's at least fifteen or twenty hours of gameplay here, and once you've done that, there's the option to do it all again on legendary difficulty. Since you'll often be exploring several different realms in parallel, if you get stuck there's always another realm to explore in the meantime.

Sure, the graphics aren't stunning, the control system is often awkward and the multiplayer modes are shallow and lacklustre, but those are really just minor niggles. There's more than enough gameplay in the single player game to keep you occupied.

Everyone knows that being evil is more fun than being good, and Overlord: Raising Hell goes a hell of a way towards proving that - though if you don't believe me then you can discuss it in the forums.