Overlord - Heir Apparent to the Dungeon Keeper Throne?

[Spino]

It's been months since this was announced but I just stumbled upon it today. Overlord has Peter Molyneux/Bullfrog's influence all over it, there are too many parallels to the Dungeon Keeper series and Black & White to be a coincidence. I remember back when the DK series was still around there was talk of the 3rd game going above ground and allowing you to take the fight to the heroes' realms.






Screenshots taken from press annoucement here...

http://www.triumphstudios.com/press.php

Codemasters signs Triumph Studios’ "Overlord", coming summer 2007 for Xbox 360 and PC.

Next-generation gaming in a twisted fantasy world where players have the choice to be evil...or really evil!

Codemasters today announces an original next-generation title with the signing of Overlord from developer Triumph Studios, whose pedigree includes the award-winning strategy series Age of Wonders.

Overlord is a groundbreaking action adventure, set in a seriously warped fantasy world. Scheduled for a summer 2007 release, Overlord will launch for PC and as a console exclusive for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Controlling a mysterious figure that has inherited the legacy of the evil, long-dead Overlord, the player emerges, near death, from the ruins of the old Overlord’s Dark Tower. Only the player’s actions will determine if they will rise to become the new all-powerful Overlord; it’s all down to how much of a bad ass they want to be in order to succeed... evil or really evil! Played out with plenty of black humour and dark irony, the game will immerse players in twisted parodies of classic fantasy scenarios and characters.

Overlord’s key innovation is the introduction of an array of impish creatures - the Minions. They believe you are the old Overlord reborn and will use their unique skills to fetch, fight and die for you. Throughout the game players will actively control a horde of these gremlin-like critters and they’ll follow your every instruction no matter how despotic or, for the Minions, life threatening it is.

Says Lennart Sas, Director at Triumph Studios: "Overlord offers a wealth of freedom and allows players to experience classic fantasy like never before. Working with the minions, players can loot and pillage their way through the game’s world or maybe resist the temptations of evil. In Overlord, player choices truly shape the world."

Says Barry Jafrato, Senior VP of Brand for Codemasters: "Overlord comes loaded with innovative and compelling game mechanics wrapped in a scenario that’s played out with plenty of black humour. We’re delighted to be working with Triumph on the title, bringing something fresh and original to next-generation gamers."

With more details on this unique gaming property to be revealed through the course of its development, Codemasters will publish Overlord for Xbox 360 and PC in summer 2007.

Gamespot preview...

http://www.gamespot.com/features/615...6151435&page=5

Interview with the developer...

http://www.oxm.co.uk/articles/featur...lord_interview

Looks cool eh?

[Navaros]

When I think of Codemasters only one word comes to mind: Starforce.

I won't be reading a single darn thing about this game until/unless it is officially confirmed that this game does not have Starforce, although chances are it will seeing as Codemasters is publishing it.

[GoreBag]

If this really is the successor to Dungeon Keeper, I'm getting it and any new hardware I need to play it.

[Kekvit Irae]

When I think of Codemasters only one word comes to mind: Starforce.

I won't be reading a single darn thing about this game until/unless it is officially confirmed that this game does not have Starforce, although chances are it will seeing as Codemasters is publishing it.

To me, Codemasters bring to mind Operation Flashpoint

[Zalmoxis]

Yay, Dungeon Keeper 2 was great fun for me, so maybe this will be good too.

[Spino]

Well I think it's going to be more like Populous meets Powermonger meets Dungeon Keeper. As I stated earlier Overlord sounds very much like a Bullfrog god game.

Tragically I don't think we'll ever be seeing a true sequel to Dungeon Keeper. Apparently Electronic Arts owns the rights to the DK series, and we know how well EA handles its franchises don't we?

Does anyone remember the original Overlord which came out in the early 90s on the Amiga and PC? I loved that game, it looked and sounded spectacular on my Amiga 500, made the PC version seem like freeze dried monkey poo...

http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/overlord-/screenshots

[Fragony]

You guys should try Evil Genius. Hardly a worthy successor for dungeon (the hardest word in the english language, always spell it 4 times wrong at least) keeper but these evil overlord games are rare this one goes down pretty well.

[The_Emperor]

I loved Dungeon keeper and this might be worth a look. Too bad they never released a third.

Personally though i always enjoyed Dungeon keeper 1 a lot more than 2, the game grew to be really fun when you had multiple Horned reapers in your dungeon and had to keep them happy... Each one of mine had his own personal lair and hatchery since the horned one does not like bunking with the other minions.

[GoreBag]

Yeah, Dungeon Keeper 2 was too cartoon-like and not evil enough.

[Xiahou]

You guys should try Evil Genius. Hardly a worthy successor for dungeon (the hardest word in the english language, always spell it 4 times wrong at least) keeper but these evil overlord games are rare this one goes down pretty well.

Oh wow, I totally forgot about that game... I could probably pick it up fairly cheap by now.

Does it have much to do in replayability terms other than the main game? Customized super-villians, mods, anything?

[Gurkhal]

I think I'll need a new computer this summer...

I wonder just how evil one can be in this game...