Overlord: Minions

Overlord: Minions

North American cover
Developer(s) Climax Studios
Publisher(s) Codemasters
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Puzzle action
Mode(s) Single-player

Overlord: Minions is a 2009 puzzle action[2] video game developed by Climax Studios and published by Codemasters for the Nintendo DS. It was announced August 14, 2008 alongside addition franchise expansions Overlord 2 and Overlord: Dark Legend.[3]

It features the minions from the 2007 Overlord video game as the primary protagonists, tasked with the mission to solve puzzles and fight enemies. They are controlled by the DS stylus. There are also items to find in the levels and a timer of how fast the player in finish. The minions can be controlled directly by the player, unlike the original game where the player controlled them by controlling an eponymous Overlord-character. Controlling the Special Forces team of four, players negotiate fiendish levels and take on a huge range of warped enemies to hunt down the Kindred, a cult dedicated to resurrecting the mighty Dragon Kin, a race of humanoid dragon hybrids, determined to replace the Overlord's despotism with their own.

There are only four minions from four types, which makes all of them specialized in skills, for example Giblet, a brown minion from the first Overlord game, is the strongest in melee combat, Blaze is a wild pyromaniac, which grants him the ability to sling fireballs, Stench is the most stealthy of the bunch, and Zap can swim/heal.

Plot

Giblet, Blaze, Stench, and Zap are the elite minion forces of the Overlord, sent to deal with troubles outside the kingdom of the Overlord quickly and efficiently (so that the Overlord can finally get a break). Their first mission was to deal with mysterious fungus growth in the neighboring Withering Woods. As they fight through, they find that the fungi is also infecting not only plants, but humans too! They finally discover the secret of the fungus: it's really part of a sentient fungus nourished by pollution created via large pipes. After the sentient fungus is destroyed, the minions are sent to follow the pipes to a Halfing town and fight off ghosts, the undead, and the Kindred. After making it through, the minions confront the monstrous glutton, Grub.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings60.82%[4]
Metacritic58/100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1UP.comD+[6]
Destructoid7/10[7]
GamePro[8]
GameSpot4.5/10[9]
GamesRadar55%[10]
GameZone6/10[11]
IGN6.1/10[12]
Nintendo Power7/10[13]
Nintendo World Report7/10[14]
Official Nintendo Magazine51%[15]

A Eurogamer preview of the title observed the debt to The Lost Vikings video game, and claimed the developers had sensibly revised the genre and gameplay to be more relevant to the host console.[16]

The game was met with mixed reception upon release, as GameRankings gave it a score of 60.82%,[4] while Metacritic gave it 58 out of 100.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Overlord Minions Release Information for DS". GameFAQs. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Codemasters - Overlord™: Minions". Codemasters. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ Graft, Kris (August 14, 2008). "Three More Overlords". Edge. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Overlord Minions for DS". GameRankings. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Overlord Minions for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ Palacios, Tina (July 1, 2009). "Overlord Minions Review". 1UP.com. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ Sterling, Jim (July 12, 2009). "Review: Overlord: Minions". Destructoid. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ O'Neill, Chelsea (August 10, 2009). "Overlord Minions". GamePro. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  9. ↑ Stella, Shiva (July 20, 2009). "Overlord: Minions Review". GameSpot. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ Martyn, Charlotte (August 2009). "Overlord: Minions review". Nintendo Gamer (GamesRadar): 77. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  11. ↑ Valentino, Nick (July 19, 2009). "Overlord Minions - NDS - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  12. ↑ Harris, Craig (June 26, 2009). "Overlord Minions Review". IGN. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Overlord Minions". Nintendo Power: 91. August 2009.
  14. ↑ Miller, Zachary (July 7, 2009). "Overlord Minions". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Overlord Minions". Official Nintendo Magazine: 96. August 2009.
  16. ↑ Walker, John (May 6, 2009). "Overlord: Dark Legend, Overlord: Minions (Page 2)". Eurogamer.

External links