GC 2008: Overlord: Dark Legend First Look
Bad is back as Codemasters spreads its evil onto Wii.
UK, August 22, 2008 - We had first word on Codemasters's new Wii game, Overlord: Dark Legend, just prior to this year's Leipzig Games Convention. Now though, we've had chance to see game in action and we reckon it's shaping up to be something very special indeed.
If you never managed to play the original Overlord on Xbox 360, it's best described as a mix between Pikmin's RTS-lite gameplay and Fable's aesthetic sensibilties. Playing as the titular Overlord, it's your job to roam the land, wreaking havoc and destruction by commanding your army of nefarious Minions. On the surface, Dark Legend looks very similar indeed, with players controlling the Overlord directly in third-person and influencing Minions by targeting the specific area of the game world you want them to interact with.
Actually, when we say it looks very similar to its Xbox 360 we mean it literally. On firing up the demo, Dark Legend's title screen featured a background FMV of fly-bys and cut-scenes which we assumed had been culled from the original game. It quickly became apparent though that these scenes had been taken straight form this Wii version, its in-game engine offering some truly stunning visuals that really haven't been done justice by the first batch of Dark Legend screenshots.
Inspired by classic fairy tales -- and skewering them into far less innocent tales for its own nefarious purposes -- Dark Legend plays out across a lavish fantasy landscape, with our demo set amongst ramshackle cottages, rolling green hills and cascading waterfalls. The world features vibrant colours, sharp textures, real-time shadows, bloom and incredibly detailed character models in what's possibly the best looking third-party Wii title we've seen so far. While closer inspection reveals some obvious visual downgrades in terms of polygons and other tricks, it's an object example of how some careful consideration and a creative approach to the console's technical limitations can still yield spectacular results. It's all the more impressive when you consider the number of Minions the engine is shifting round on-screen at any one time and how far off completion the game still is.
It's pretty obvious that developer Climax has approached this version of Overlord from the ground up for Wii. Alongside it's visual lustre, Dark Legend also sports a point-and-click style command interface, making full and sensible use of the console's control options. It's incredibly streamlined and far less cumbersome than the control pad interface employed on 360 -- you simply select the Minions you want to control using the on-screen pointer then click on the object you want them to interact with or obliterate. You can also use the pointer for mouse-look style camera control, simply by moving the cursor toward the edge of the screen.
It wouldn't be a Wii game without motion control of course but Climax has decided to use it sparingly -- for instance, you can fling fireballs by flicking the nunchuck but it's not a move you'll use too often in play. As the game's associate producer explained, motion controls are used purely to intensify the connection between the player and the game world where appropriate. Dark Legend is thankfully far from the sort of wearying flick-a-thon that most third-party titles turn into, with their ill-judged use of Wii's motion sensors.
Set prior to Overlord on 360, this prequel offers plenty of fan service by retroactively establishing game law, offering subtle nods to characters and scenarios in the first game. One example given revolves around the quick boss fight we witnessed against an evil jester. When he's defeated, one of your Minions picks up his hat, subtly showing the birth of the jester Minion present in your castle in Overlord 360. Speaking of your castle, Dark Legend also features a similar central hub environment you'll return to between missions. As the reach of your evil spreads across the land, it changes to reflect your progress, dust sheets lifting from statues, trophies lining the walls and so on.
Beyond battles, Codemasters is also promising a much greater focus on puzzling this time around. While basic Minion mechanics remain the same, with red, blue, green and brown all featuring unique elemental abilities that you'll need in conjunction with some lateral thinking to overcome obstacles, Dark Legend should present players with much deeper, more satisfying puzzle elements. Other changes include a stronger exploration element with plenty of secrets to uncover as your evil influence develops and more pronounced personalities for your Minions, who'll now interact with a whole host of non-essential items -- dangling from a windmill as it turns, for instance. It's now also possible to pick up and exam your Minions closely -- offering a better look at their attempts to accessorise as they roam the land pillaging everything from pumpkins to bonnets to wear. That's not all though -- while examining Minions, a quick shake of the Wiimote sends them into a state of agitation, effectively turning them into smart bombs. Plonk them on the ground and they'll whizz off toward an enemy, exploding in the case of red Minions, forming shields if blue and a couple of undisclosed other tricks for yellow and brown varieties.
We're hugely encouraged by Codemasters's apparent dedication to quality on the Wii. Dark Legend looks to make the most of the console's hardware and seems to retain all of the original 360 game's charm, humour and appealing game mechanics. Overlord: Dark Legend is due for release around June next year and we can't wait to get our hands on the game in the coming months.
Looks like I might have to pick this one up. I was particularly impressed with their statements about the graphics, that they thought the first cutscenes were taken from the 360 version, but they were actually from the Wii version. Looks like another developer is actually working to get the most out of the Wii.
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