Overlord: Raising Hell

There are a lot of games on the market fighting for your attention, but Overlord snuck quietly onto the market and personally blew me away. Give this game a shot; you'll probably like it as much as I did.

An entertainingly amoral addition to the strategy cannon. [July 2008, p.82]

What we have here is the definitive edition of Overlord. It is however, kind of annoying that it has been released at a full retail price, especially when you consider the time the game has been out on the 360 already.

You ought to at least give Raising Hell a rental, as the expanded content adds plenty of value to an already good game. Besides, I can't think of a better way to indulge that evil streak in all of us.

Overlord may not be the most dazzling game you'll play this year, but it is one of the freshest in execution.

If you hated the kiddie aspect of Pikmin, I suspect its stellar gameplay – most of which is present in Overlord – will turn you into a fan of Codemasters’ series now that Nintendo’s overly happy atmosphere has been replaced by a world that’s darker, more evil, and likely more appealing to the average gamer.

Take the time to master the nuances of minion combat and you will find a lot here to keep you entertained.

If you missed Overlord the first around or the Playstation 3 is your console of choice, there's no excuse not to have some fun with Overlord: Raising Hell.

Most definitely one of the most inventive games on the PS3. It blends a number of genres into a great package topped off with some great humor.

Probably one of the best games currently available on PS3, blessed with clever design, engaging characters, sharp dialogue and a moreish appeal that drags you through even when the going gets tough. The skillful melding of action-adventure with strategic puzzle elements marks it out as something distinct, and it's got cult hit written all over it.

There's a nice amount of content, but the updates do little more than gloss over lingering issues, and choosing to upgrade the audio over the graphics is just plain puzzling.

Griping over old issues aside this is a great package for any PS3 owners to pick up if you’ve never played Overlord in any form before.

With a no-nonsense approach to being evil and plenty of fun to be had, this is a great game to pick up for some quick laughs.

Ultimately, if it weren't for an oddly skewed sense of gameplay delivery that offers two separate genre types (action and puzzle) rather than a comfortable mixture of both, Overlord: Raising Hell would be the thoroughly refreshing genre experience that the Xbox 360 version couldn't quite become. As it is, despite the game's platform-specific tweaks and its plush design, genuine humour, and intuitive minion controls, the game still doesn't lend itself to being anything other than a smile-inducing distraction... that is already available for a far smaller asking price on the Xbox 360 and PC.