In Overlord, you are cast in the role of an evil warrior who has been reawakened from oblivion by a gaggle of minions, replacing your previous boss who was unceremoniously destroyed by a band of do-gooders. You're starting from scratch, tasked with rebuilding your evil fortress by performing many quests within the surrounding land. Most of the work will be done by your horde of evil minions, which can be easily directed towards points of interest wherein they'll perform a suitable evil deed. For instance, send your horde towards a flock of sheep and they'll waste no time in butchering the entire herd. Send your horde towards a building and they'll bash down the door and ransack the place, delivering any treasure they find to your evil clutches.

While the tone of the game may sound grim, it's not. In fact, Overlord is easily one of the funniest games of the year, wielding a sharp English wit that relishes in making fun of the genre and source material, especially Lord of the Rings. In one case, you are tasked with invading a halfling party that is being held near “Spree”, a direct assault on the opening pages of the Lord of the Rings. Despite the fact that you are essentially engaged in genocide, slaughtering the innocent and spreading oppression, Triumph Studios have somehow managed to keep the entire affair comedic, and successfully so. Using humor in games tends to be more miss than hit, but Triumph have..triumphed, creating a game that hearkens back to the glory days of Ron Gilbert and his adventure creations at early Lucasarts. That's high praise and it's justified, even if the game does resort to some easy fart jokes and visual gags involving urine.

Visually stunning, Overlord offers up an attention to detail seldom seen, featuring set designs packed with details and subtle touches that brings the world to life. It's obvious the artists involved tackled this project with passion, using their skills to design engaging characters and an over-the-top fantasy world that is both a loving homage to the genre as well as a comedic assault on previous games. All to often, the voice-acting offered up in this industry leaves a lot to be desired, but once again Overlord delivers and exceeds expectations. Whether you're hearing the insane rambling of your demented horde or the thinly disguised insults of your court jester, all of the voices are excellent and professional. To top it off, you also get a superb orchestral soundtrack that is varied and sweeping. I usually turn off the music in games, but not so in Overlord.

In terms of gameplay, Overlord offers up a unique control scheme that allows for the easy direction of your minion horde. While you can handle things personally with your main character, using a weapon to assault opponents, its your horde that will be doing most of the dirty work. Things can get a bit tricky when you gain access to different horde types and need to toggle between the four available options, but with experience and practice it becomes second nature. There's also quite a bit of strategy involved in how the various hordes are used, so quick thinking in the heat of battle is a must, especially when using a waypoint marker that forces a particular horde type to stay at a specific location.

Properly using your horde is the cornerstone of Overlord and you may be surprised to find yourself developing an attachment to your gaggle of minions. As you progress through the game and ransack treasure and items from crates and barrels, your minions will accrue their own specific armor and weapons, all of which is visible on each minion. In this way, you pack of evil-doers gain defense and offensive bonuses, ultimately increasing their effectiveness. However, if a fully decked-out minion is lost in battle then it is lost forever and that can be slightly depressing. Though you can summon a newbie, you'll have to secure armaments and armor from scratch. All of this means you'll take extra care in how you manage your minions, which simply enhances the gameplay all the more.

I came to Overlord somewhat skeptical but it has won me over in spades. This game is one of those rare instances where the stars align and every element combines to create something fresh, original and great. Kudos to the entire crew at Triumph Studios...you've lived up to your name.