Everything is so confusing now-a-days. Playing an RPG used to mean choosing a guy, killing things and levelling up. Now it's all "you must find the sacred whatsit of who-jami-callit." I miss the old days; fantasy worlds that weren't knee-deep in mythology, simple controls and hub-based gameplay. If only someone, somewhere could release a game that brought it all back… Hang on. What's this? Overlord, eh? Could be fun - let's try it out.

Taking control of the titular Overlord, the game's main storyline sees you rebuilding the Dark Tower by reclaiming parts of it that were looted after your predecessor was slain by townsfolk. How unfortunate. At the beginning of the game, all that remains of this Seat of Evil is a pile of rubble, leaving you with little option but to venture out into the world beyond and attempt to find those vital parts. As is usually the case, however, the locals have adopted other uses for these components (using the Tower Heart's evil powers to grow pumpkins…) and you must find ways of 'convincing' them to part with these items.

Although initially simple, as you progress, more and more side quests are added to this central plot. Some are optional and give access to new spells or upgrades, whilst others are necessary to progress further. There's a fair amount of these side quests to be discovered, which creates a much lengthier story element to the game. To further add to the longevity, levels must often be replayed in order to gain access to previously inaccessible areas, once your powers are sufficiently bolstered. A drawback, however, is that the side quests can often become overwhelming. Being told one minute to find food and the next to kill a God does often make the game confusing, especially as a lot of the time you must guess the direction in which each quest lies. This lack of direction evidences itself in the lack of a compass or in-game map, both of which have been inexcusably omitted. Although the game does come with a paper map, navigating the areas to complete these side quests can become tedious. Venturing into caves leaves you with no map whatsoever and it's easy to become lost. This aside, the main quests are generally in easy to find areas and are usually preceded by a cut scene that shows you exactly what to do.

To help you in your quests, you have control of your Minions, tiny imp-like creatures that do your every bidding. They can be used to attack enemies, destroy buildings or carry objects and they are the most powerful weapon in your arsenal. Although the Overlord can gain upgraded weaponry and spells, it is the Minions that cause the most destruction. Split into four types - brown, red, blue and green - each colour of Minion performs a different task.

Browns are the fighters, laying waste to anything in their path. They loot the dead and collect armour and weaponry to use, as well as making hats from pumpkins and pans! They are voracious and swarm all over enemies in an attempt to destroy them, but their quips and high-pitched accents make it a comical affair as they are flung around like rag dolls. Red minions are the ranged characters; set them near an enemy and they hurl fireballs at it. They can also absorb fire, allowing you and your minions to progress past burning rubble. Green minions can absorb poison in much the same way, and they can perform devastating sneak attacks on unsuspecting foes, while the Blue minions are the only ones who can traverse water and heal or resurrect other minions.

Initially, you can only control a group of five browns, but this number quickly increases to fifteen. Summoning minions requires Life Force, which can be collected by killing almost any living thing. The drawback is that different coloured life force is required for different coloured minions, and you can quickly run out entirely. Also, your maximum Horde size is universal, so often you must get rid of one colour minion and swap it for a more necessary one. This does allow some scope for tactics, though.

Minions follow you around loyally in formation, casually causing mischief and smashing anything that can be broken. Controlling them is a doddle; target an object with the left trigger and press the right trigger to send a single minion to it, or keep pressing to send multiple minions flocking to your target. You can also use the right stick to 'sweep' them around, allowing you direct control over their movement. This sweeping technique plays a huge part in crossing the environment, as you must often find paths for them around water and past obstacles. Once you have found the red minions, you can place a 'Guard marker' that tells minions to stay at that location indefinitely. Minions are also the only way of returning an object to the tower. All your minions can be recalled with a press and hold of the B button, a simple control system that really allows you to cause maximum mayhem with the minimum of effort.

The three other Minion types can only be summoned once you have found their hives and returned them to the tower, by following quests. Once you have the ability to summon all four, the game's more advanced tactics become available. Greens become invisible, allowing stealth attacks, blues can resurrect fallen minions and reds can be positioned at range for maximum carnage. Minion AI is quite competent and they won't run through fire or water when returning to you. Set them at a guard marker and they will arrange themselves with the strongest on the outside, protecting the weaker ones inside. Overlord's control system and Minion tactics are very reminiscent of the Gamecube classic Pikmin and allow even inexperienced players to get a lot out of Overlord.

Of course, being evil wouldn't have the same feel about it if you couldn't share it with people, but Overlord provides the means via Xbox Live. You and a friend can team up and take on numerous waves of opponents in a co-op/survivor mode, which is actually quite a bit of fun for a short while. The minions are all available in multiplayer and seeing your horde size effectively double as your comrade's minions join the fray is hilarious. There is also the option of a head-to-head Slaughter match - essentially deathmatch - in which you must attempt to take down the enemy Overlord and avoid his designs on wiping you out. Again, using minions to achieve this can lead to some amusing moments. Similarly, Pillage sees you trying to steal loot from your opponent whilst defending your own. A major drawback is the limited number of arenas for each game type. It's fair to say that multiplayer is average and it might take a little while to get a game over Xbox Live. It doesn't offer much of an attraction in my opinion, and the single player game is actually much more fun to play. It's a nice thought, but it doesn't really add that much to Overlord's appeal.

Somewhat like Fable's guild house, The Dark Tower acts as a Hub from which you choose the area to teleport to. As new areas are discovered, new teleport options become available from the tower. This makes it easy to travel to new quests and areas, and it allows you somewhere to safely retire to, should the going get too tough. In addition, throughout the game, the Dark Tower's rooms open up, allowing you to visit the dungeons to get some fighting practice, the living quarters to spend some time with your mistress, or, perhaps most importantly, the Forge. This room, once you have retrieved the smelter, allows you to create new weapons and armour or imbue your existing gear with minions to improve it.

As befits the game's fantasy setting, the environments are colourful and filled with strange beasts. At first you may meet halflings who dwell in homes remarkably similar to the hobbits of Bag End, but soon unicorns (with a strange penchant for human blood) and water dragons make their obligatory appearance. The twisted style of the game makes each creature a delight to behold; fat Halflings waddle their mammoth bulks around, trolls break wind then sniff their hands and elves are rather effeminate. The enemy animations make discovering new creatures quite comical. Despite the apparent mythological element, however, the game does not attempt to bombard you with lore and back-story, but keeps it simple and delivers just enough information to whet your appetite. This is a refreshing twist in this age of two hour cut scenes and encyclopaedic user manuals, allowing you get on with what's really important: killing hobbits (sorry, halflings).

Fable-esque accents have been used throughout, offering a decidedly British twist to the proceedings, which is refreshing and makes Overlord almost like a Monty Python sketch. Stupid accents deserve recognition! The environments are also interactive, meaning you can use a fireball to torch a hayfield and kill anyone within it, or knock down walls to form bridges. It's just a shame that the almost isometric camera angle doesn't show off enough detail to make the game world really shine. Clicking the right stick does switch to a more traditional third person view, but it still does not show off the amount of detail in the game particularly well. There's a lot going on, but most of it's hidden by these limited angles, which is a shame.

Triumph Studios have made a triumphant return to old-school gameplay that offers entertainment in abundance. Wacky creatures, traditional fantasy settings and simple controls are a delight in this ultra-serious age, and the Fable style accents top off the silliness. If you liked Fable or Monty Python then you'll love Overlord. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to ride me bike t' top o' t' hill for get some chips for tea. See thee!

Reviewed by John Barnes for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).