There were two games I was upset were unavailable on the PS3 when I purchased the system. One was Bioshock, the other was Overlord.
Though Overlord didn’t get the greatest reviews on the Xbox, conceptually, it is one hell of a great idea. We’re all sick of playing happy, blonde, skinny elves with noble hearts and idealistic warriors whose do-gooder attitudes make them about as much fun as cardboard boxes. Today’s discerning gamer demands variety. We want to be evil, dammit, and destroy the world!
I was happy to see that the Overlord series is coming to the PS3 in the form of Overlord:
Raising Hell.
It looks like it’s going to be the original Xbox release with all the content and hopefully a few updates. I was happier to see that there was a free demo on the PS3.
It’s great that developers are allowing us to play these free demos because I would sure hate to waste my money on a piece of crap like Overlord. While the concept remains good, this game, like many a PS3 hopeful, sucks (see Viking, Haze, Iron Man). It belongs on the PS2. The camera is cranky, the control of minions is clunky, and the graphics are just plain mediocre. In an era of overall masterpieces (GTA IV, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Resistance: Fall of Man) and graphical wonders (Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune) this type of subpar game is just simply inexcusable (again, see Viking, Haze, Iron Man, etc.).
If developers insist on re-releasing on a different platform, they should at least take the time to get it right. This one is mailed in.
Thankfully, some developers are giving us a free sampling of the shit sandwiches they are peddling, and, since most of us prefer turkey or roast beef, we get to not waste our money buying the final product.
I hold out hope for the PS3 Overlord, but I’ve learned my lesson with Viking: Battle for Asgard (god I’m sick of games with :colons: in their title, is that required now?). I certainly won’t be waiting in line to pick it up on the release date.
Check it out yourself. It’s free, and if you’re a nerdy loser (you are, since you’re reading this) like me, you’ve got the 30 minutes to download, play, and be disappointed. Maybe the developers are playing a cosmic trick on us: only a truly evil Overlord would subject people to something this bad.
Let me just give you one final frustrating example of what is wrong with this game. You are allegedly an evil bastard. You come upon a farmer who has been tied up as a scarecrow by some Halflings who took over his farm. He begs for your help. Your minions go destroy his farm (good, er, I mean, evil!) and kill the halflings, but when I tried to kill the scarecrow farmer as well (I am a merciless and evil overlord, right?) I could not cut him to shreds. Lame.
On a side note, I wonder how the free demos actually work out for sales. They certainly can’t help bad games. I’m assuming in the future developers will realize this and junk games will no longer have free downloads, just like crappy movies never allow critics to review them before the release date.
Elf Needs Food 