I enjoy the Overlord series. A mix of high fantasy and parody that's only a few pedophilic steps shy of Xanth, you play as the titular Overlord, an evil master of a swarm of multi-colored minions, who sweep across a fantasy world, sewing death and destruction in your wake. You control your Overlord and your minions simulatinously, walking across the battlefield, slinging spells and swinging your weapon of choice, while your minions fill a cannon fodder role, exactly as willing to run into the heart of an impossible fight for you, as they are to put anything and everything they can find upon their heads.

In Overlord 2, you take the place of the son of the last Overlord, and rain hell down upon the Solariun Empire, a Roman-esque empire that has built itself upon the ashes of the conquered world of Overlord 1. With plenty of new mechanics, including mounts for minions and a psuedo-alignment system, the game is a solid improvement over the last game. If this premise sounds enjoyable to you, you will likely get a kick out of this game...

But a very frustrating kick.

The game lacks for adaquate instructions often, leading to the occasional moments of frustration, as the game gives vague or sometimes entirtely unrelated pieces of advice, leaving you hanging, scratching your head, and forced to look up instructions on what to do, to progress. Some semi-spoilery tips, that the game refuses to tell you, that any players should know:

1: Nordberg cannot be completely conquered until you retrieve all 4 types of minions, so do not worry if you're sitting at 70 or so when you first get the quest, and are left scratching your head. Just keep playing. Same goes for Everlight City, though in that one, you have to wait for a quest.

2: If you cannot find the last 1 or 2 citizens in a city, wander around, firing your Evil Presence spell: it causes free citizens to begin screaming and running, helping make them stand out from already conquered citizens.

3: When escaping the temple, on the third spider run, the third button cannot be hit directly. Try going around the obstacle. You do have enough time, even if it does not seem like it.

4: When fighting the salamander boss, and you cannot figure out how to progress as he rolls back and forth: the ramp he jumps off of can be attacked by your blues from the water. It's not marked as such, but can be targeted.

5: When fighting the final stage of the final boss, if you find targetting the head node difficult, leave some Reds on a banner upon the ledge you entered the fight on. They'll automatically hit it when it becomes available.

All of the obstacles, and many others like them, could be explained, in-game, by simple hints, which the head Minion Gnarl is oft heard to shout, but the game just doesn't do so.

The game does have several other issues, including a frankly garbage targetting system that often targets scenery in the middle of battle, glitchy pathing on your minions that can leave you missing several minions and causing you to retrace your steps to find them and keep going, and visual cues on spells that are either too small to reliably see, or are just non-existant. And when what you're targetting and how long you're casting spells for can mean the difference between continuing your play through, or restarting to your last save, such issues can leave you with a sour taste in your mouth.

Despite these issues, however, I recommend this game. Fights are enjoyable, and many area-specific mechanics are quite fun. Getting your minions drunk is always a hoot, and, when you're not stuck on something that a single visual cue or something similar could make clear, you do feel like a powerful Overlord. Just know you are going to get frustrated. Often.

I enjoy the Overlord series. A mix of high fantasy and parody that's only a few pedophilic steps shy of Xanth, you play as the titular Overlord, an evil master of a swarm of multi-colored minions, who sweep across a fantasy world, sewing death and destruction in your wake. You control your Overlord and your minions simulatinously, walking across the battlefield, slinging spells and swinging your weapon of choice, while your minions fill a cannon fodder role, exactly as willing to run into the heart of an impossible fight for you, as they are to put anything and everything they can find upon their heads. In Overlord 2, you take the place of the son of the last Overlord, and rain hell down upon the Solariun Empire, a Roman-esque empire that has built itself upon the ashes of the conquered world of Overlord 1. With plenty of new mechanics, including mounts for minions and a psuedo-alignment system, the game is a solid improvement over the last game. If this premise sounds enjoyable to you, you will likely get a kick out of this game... But a very frustrating kick. The game lacks for adaquate instructions often, leading to the occasional moments of frustration, as the game gives vague or sometimes entirtely unrelated pieces of advice, leaving you hanging, scratching your head, and forced to look up instructions on what to do, to progress. Some semi-spoilery tips, that the game refuses to tell you, that any players should know: 1: Nordberg cannot be completely conquered until you retrieve all 4 types of minions, so do not worry if you're sitting at 70 or so when you first get the quest, and are left scratching your head. Just keep playing. Same goes for Everlight City, though in that one, you have to wait for a quest. 2: If you cannot find the last 1 or 2 citizens in a city, wander around, firing your Evil Presence spell: it causes free citizens to begin screaming and running, helping make them stand out from already conquered citizens. 3: When escaping the temple, on the third spider run, the third button cannot be hit directly. Try going around the obstacle. You do have enough time, even if it does not seem like it. 4: When fighting the salamander boss, and you cannot figure out how to progress as he rolls back and forth: the ramp he jumps off of can be attacked by your blues from the water. It's not marked as such, but can be targeted. 5: When fighting the final stage of the final boss, if you find targetting the head node difficult, leave some Reds on a banner upon the ledge you entered the fight on. They'll automatically hit it when it becomes available. All of the obstacles, and many others like them, could be explained, in-game, by simple hints, which the head Minion Gnarl is oft heard to shout, but the game just doesn't do so. The game does have several other issues, including a frankly garbage targetting system that often targets scenery in the middle of battle, glitchy pathing on your minions that can leave you missing several minions and causing you to retrace your steps to find them and keep going, and visual cues on spells that are either too small to reliably see, or are just non-existant. And when what you're targetting and how long you're casting spells for can mean the difference between continuing your play through, or restarting to your last save, such issues can leave you with a sour taste in your mouth. Despite these issues, however, I recommend this game. Fights are enjoyable, and many area-specific mechanics are quite fun. Getting your minions drunk is always a hoot, and, when you're not stuck on something that a single visual cue or something similar could make clear, you do feel like a powerful Overlord. Just know you are going to get frustrated. Often.