Monday, December 31, 2018

Overlord: Fellowship of Evil (Xbox One) Review


The first Overlord arrived on the Xbox 360, and combined action with squad management.  Using your minions for combat and puzzles was a fresh take on a third person action game.  I enjoyed it, but haven't finished it yet.  A sequel, Overlord II, was made, and then years later Fellowship of Evil released on the Xbox One and PS4.  I'd heard unflattering things about the game, but couldn't resist buying it when it had a deep discount.

Instead of the original's closer camera, FoE goes for an isometric view, more akin to Diablo.  Also unlike the original, it's a multi player experience.  Thankfully, you don't have to play it with others.  Because there are multiple people, you aren't playing as an overlord, but rather a resurrected champion of evil.  You have a normal attack, that is fast and weak, a stronger attack that can sometimes be charged, and a special attack.  The special attack requires a meter to fill beforehand, but it seems to charge rather quickly.  I first chose Malady, the dark magician, and she was pretty cool.  Her special attack was a giant laser, but I usually forgot about it since her charged strong attack was so good.

To make the game even more different than its predecessors, you will run across challenges in the various levels.  These are pretty much races, where you have to get from one point to another in a set time frame.  Little white crystals dot the route, which give you extra time if you pick them up.  I say "if" because the hit detection on them is spotty.  It might seem harsh, but these sections are dumb.  There's no other way to accurately describe it.  They aren't useful, they aren't fun, and they don't feel like they belong at all.  A few are fairly easy to win, while others are way too twisty to complete on your first try, even with Malady's teleport.  At least the only drawback to losing is not getting a random bonus to your loot at the end of the level.

In the better Overlord games, the minions were invaluable.  The damage your overlord could output was limited, and minions were expendable.  While that made the ultimate evil feel a little weak, it worked for the game type and style.  FoE goes to the opposite end.  Your chosen champion (remember, they aren't an overlord) far out damages the minions, and is probably a lot less dumb.  The minions really seem to like running into traps and dying.  If you aren't fighting something, it's easier to just recall them all, rather than lose them to their own stupidity.

In fact, the minions can be worse than not helpful, they can be detrimental.  If they touch “the golden”, they turn into enemies. So, they will try to hurt you.  If the golden is present, your minions are almost sure to run into it, meaning this is a problem you will encounter.  They aren't even good at picking up stuff for you when the loot drops.  If you didn't need the minions to solve puzzles or hurt bosses, you could easily play the whole game without them.  That's not good.

Neither is the game's performance.  Every minute or so, everything pauses for a second.  It reminds me of the similar fault in Deadpool, but I don't know if the fix is the same, or even possible.  Usually that isn't too bad, but it will queue up any button presses during that time.  I ended up summoning extra minions because of that.  Plus, that time doesn't register button holds.  Meaning, I would be trying to summon some minions, the game would lag, and I would summon all of my minions, or use my special attack.  Making a menu selection also counts as an attack, since Malady will always shoot her wand after I make one.  For some reason, unless I feather tap the A Button, she will attack twice.  The other champions don't do this.  It's pretty shoddy.

But wait!  There's more.  It's also very rough and glitchy.  I've been stuck in a treasure chest, which required going back to the hub and losing level progress.  Using Malady's blink defensive move has shot me through the ceiling, and dropped me through the floor.  The first made it impossible to finish races on time, and the second would just kill me.  Sometimes minions just die with nothing to kill them.  I've taken damage when there isn't anything around to do so.  There's even an unobtainable achievement in the Xbox One version.  Not fun.

Going through the campaign isn't too hard, or too long, thankfully.  Maxing out your minions or champion will require extra grinding.  There isn't any multiplayer exclusive content, which is good because there aren't any people playing online.  I can't blame them either.  Overlord: Fellowship of Evil isn't a good Overlord game, or even a good game period.  I got it for cheap, but even that might not be worth it.


The Good:
Can be completed in a few days, some lines are funny the first time.

The Bad:
Very rough, several glitches, and overall not good.

The SaHD:
I feel like this game spoiled the ending of the second, but that might be the least of its transgressions.

(Overlord: Fellowship of Evil was purchased by the reviewer)