As a game concept, they don't get much better than being an Overlord. The idea of having power and control over the evil creatures of the land, and spending your days burning villages, stealing from wealthy families, and being a downright scumbag is the sort of idea that sells in the modern market. The original Overlord achieved this admirably, giving players the opportunity to control a small band of goblin like minions to perform menial tasks for them. This was greatly expanded in the sequel, but rather than being a port of either of these titles, the Wii exclusive Dark Legend is a beast unto itself. Is the Overlord a good fit on such a family friendly console?

This is definitely a Wii version of Overlord, whether considering the pointing based controls, or the much tamer atmosphere seen throughout the game. There's none of the 'baby seal beating' seen in the HD versions of the game, and overall you aren't really that evil towards other creatures of the world. Your minions however are still victim to your wishes, used as sacrificial ways of regaining health, or as makeshift explosive materials. In fact, once you meet up with your mentor Gnarl and uncover the Overlord armour destined for you to wear on your 16th birthday, the minions are at your every command. Even at this early point the humour seen in the game is in full effect, reminiscent of Fable in its somewhat European sensibilities, with characters such as Gnarl using comedic accents and pronunciations of certain words. The world is well realised in this way, with comedy being one of the game's strong points.

With the switch of console comes the inevitable switch from standard control to a motion based one. In the same way that Pikmin controls on Wii, you direct your minions across the screen by simply pointing at where you want them to go. It's incredibly intuitive, and is much easier to deal with than using an analogue stick. You direct your minions to specific points of interest, such as enemies to attack, or boxes to break open, by pressing B, while A calls back your minions to follow you once more. It becomes second nature to walk around, moving your set of minions across the screen, spreading them from multiple foes. The longer you hold B across an enemy or other minion specific object-such as a block that requires 4 to push aside-the more that will gather there. This is effective in creating a simple gameplay style; letting the tactical nature of using different minions shine through.

Each minion is created a certain colour, these colours having different abilities in combat. Red minions for instance use fireballs to attack from a distance, while the brown type will fight foes up close with hand to hand attacks. Each has their own weaknesses too, which creates a kind of tactical play rarely seen in third person action games. The best moments in Overlord Dark Legend are the ones where you separate each colour into teams using their abilities to the fullest. With 4 different colours to deal with however this can become tough. You can switch between colours using the d-pad, making the tactical element of the game easy to handle. Unfortunately most of the time it can be enough to send all minions to attack on enemy, thanks to a healthy supply of new ones to choose from wherever you are. This can break the illusion of tactics, a small disappointment in the lacklustre boss battles especially.

In this way, Overlord Dark Legend is very simple, a perfect way to describe most aspects of the game. Very linear, the game rarely tends away from the norm, and becomes predictable quickly. There is the odd tougher section which comes as a surprise, where for example you need to send a specific colour to deal with a particular enemy, but for the most part, the game is very straightforward. This makes for a relatively short game too, lasting no more than 8 hours, and so the times where you really feel like the game is getting everything right don't add up to a fully fledged experience. Compared to the HD versions of Overlord, it's a tad disappointing.

Something that was to be expected with the Wii version though was a downgrade in graphics, but even with the lower tech, Overlord impresses graphically. Technically, it can have problems, with the framerate dropping when against a large number of enemies, but artistically Dark Legend has some distinct flair. Environments have a mixture of vibrant colours with deep darker colours, and the character designs retain the 'European' aesthetic. This extends to the sound design too, with a soundtrack that has a dark charm to it. In terms of presentation, Overlord Dark Legend does a good job to stick with what the Wii can handle too, and despite some slight problems, the aesthetics are executed admirably.

For those that have enjoyed Overlord prior to Dark Legend, the things that the game does well-namely the control-is not enough to make this get past feeling like 'My First Overlord'. For fans, the HD sequel would be a better choice, providing a longer, more realised adventure. That said, it's a game that utilises the Wii remote effectively and appeals to a much wider audience than some of the more recent 'hardcore' Wii games. It's never too brutal, but also never too tame, hitting just the right spot to have widespread appeal. If the difficulty had been this way too, then this would have been a great choice for any Wii gamer. As it is though, Overlord Dark legend is merely a good version of a great product.

Reviewed by Sam Atkins for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).