Overlord Minions

Overall, Overlord Minions is a missed opportunity for the Nintendo DS

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Welcome back Giblet, Blaze, Stench, and Zap, the elite minion crew, who are back in an all new Overlord game designed exclusively for the Nintendo DS. Overlord Minions is an action/puzzle game that tests your strategy skills and your ability to play the DS with a stylus. While using the minion's unique powers, it is your job to navigate a series of levels fighting foes and solving puzzles for the Overlord.

Pros

  • Good storyline with lots of clever elements

Cons

  • Controls are frustrating and lack accuracy, you can only save at the end of a level

Bottom Line

Overall, Overlord Minions is a missed opportunity for the Nintendo DS. It had a lot of potential, but it was lost to the inaccuracy of game play. If the controls were adjusted even a little, it would vastly improve the game.

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The problems arise early on in the game, due to Overlord Minions being a completely touch-screen controlled game. There are only two actions for the game: either taping or swiping. So controlling the minions via the stylus tends to work well part of the time, other times the controls are just plain frustrating.

For example, during a fight in a tight space, you have your minions on the screen. You tap your stylus, and struggle to get your minions to hit switches or enemies. This inconsistency for non-moving actions works part of the time. But most of the time, you get stuck tapping and swiping across your DS screen trying to get the minion to do the simplest task.

These issues only get worse as you move forward in the game. For example in a boss battle, you may have to go between minions to fight. Having Giblet throw an item, and switching to Blaze to throw fireballs at the right moment to light it on fire. This doesn't always happen, because the game lacks the accuracy needed for its intent. So you end up having a minion do something you don't want them to.

The graphics are done very well for the DS, and images on the screen are easy to decipher. The cartoon minions are fun for all ages. While the sound is slightly repetitive, the music adds a sense of theater to the game.

Overall, Overlord Minions is a missed opportunity for the Nintendo DS. It had a lot of potential, but it was lost to the inaccuracy of game play. If the controls were adjusted even a little, it would vastly improve the game. The storyline was really good. It had a lot of clever elements, while keeping the sense of humor the series is known for. Fans of the series will like the new Overlord experience, but falls short of making Gnarl happy. With a few adjustments with the controls, Overlord Minions would have done a lot better.

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