Several games in recent years have given players the opportunity to strut their evil stuff. However, this was usually restricted to opting between two branching morality paths that did not ultimately affect the content of the game. Sure, you could choose to waste a few more innocent lives than necessary or pilfer some pieces of gold from an unsuspecting fool's coin purse. For doing so, you might draw a few scowls from NPCs or see a different cutscene at the end of the game, but there was essentially a limit to your malevolence. Then there was Overlord; the genre-bending Xbox 360 game from Codemasters and Triumph Studios. This third-person, real-time, strategy-action-adventure-role-playing-game was designed to give the player two options: be evil or be really evil.

You are the Overlord, a would-be despot that has awakened in a truly desperate hour. Heroes have ravaged your dark tower and killed your predecessor, leaving evil in a battered and broken-down state. With the help of your loyal and multi-functional minions, you will spread heinousness and indecency across the land once again and regain evil's sinister stature. Evil actions range from mere misdemeanors, like trampling a garden of sunflowers or stealing booze, to more violent acts of villainy such as slaughtering sheep and murdering townsfolk whilst trampling their garden of sunflowers and stealing their booze. The more destructive your deeds, the more corruption percentage you accumulate. The more you accumulate, the more doors open to extra content that would otherwise remain hidden to those more compassionate. Your actions are centered around a sequence of quests that involve rebuilding your evil tower and eventually extracting revenge on the heroes of the world.

Heroes have left your evil tower in shambles.

As the brains of this ominous operation, you will leave most of the heavy lifting to your dependable and devoted staff of disgusting little minions. These color-coded creatures come in four flavors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Within minutes of popping Overlord into your 360, you will be commanding a small platoon of brown minions. These are your basic fighters, with more strength and health than other minion types but no additional distinguishing attributes. Other varieties offer resistance to poison, fire, or even heal their barbarous brethren. These minions will literally die for you. You can sacrifice them at restoration pits throughout the game to regain health and mana. Although you will employ these fearsome followers on your quest in many ways, you won't be reduced to becoming a simple spectator on the sidelines. With different weapon types at your disposal, and both offensive and defensive magic abilities, you can get in on the action and pillage to your evil heart's content. The game also packs in an unexpected multiplayer component that can be enjoyed, but is nothing to write home about. You can battle against other dark masters or even join them in a cooperative mode to rid the land of its resources as an evil team.

Overlord's control configuration does take some getting used to, but it offers precise control that would otherwise be very difficult to implement. A tap of the right trigger will point one sadistic servant to his destination while holding the right trigger down will unleash the entire horde. Similarly, a tap of the B button recalls a single minion while holding the B button sends them all running back to their master. If a situation arises in which you will need more direct control of your band of boorish beasties, you can use the right analog stick to move the whole brigade simultaneously through narrow paths and tight spaces. Although using the right analog stick for this purpose does offer a more precise level of control, it does come at the expense of a controllable camera, which has almost become second nature among third-person games. Despite this necessary sacrifice, Overlord's camera does a good job of staying on the action. However, certain environments might make you pine for the ability to control it yourself.

Many will bemoan Overlord's lack of an in-game map. Although this omission can prove particularly frustrating as you frantically travel in circles, especially in the first few hours, it doesn't take too long to get a sense of your surroundings. A bare-bones paper map was included with the game's instruction manual, but it is not nearly detailed enough to merit repeated use. Adding insult to injury is the below average visuals that make Overlord look like a late-generation Xbox game. While you're wandering aimlessly, trying to find the correct path to take, you will repeatedly notice the same ordinary level of graphical detail that would have stood out in the last console generation. Although the water effects can be nice, the character models and environments will not impress in the post-Gears of War world. Overlord isn't an ugly game by any means, but it is certainly not up to today's standards. Oddly enough, the animations of the minions are smoother than that of the Overlord himself, who seems rather stiff and robotic.

Leave the heavy lifting to your loyal band of mischievous minions.

The sound of the game is another dimension in which Overlord performs tolerably but does not stand out. You will hear the same few English voice actors playing the part of many townsfolk and the entire audio production bears a striking similarity to Fable. In fact, the atmosphere of the whole game resembles the work of Peter Molyneux, minus a few coats of polish. This lack of refinement is apparent in many instances where the voice acting does not match the subtitles on screen as they move at different paces. Also, when you reenter certain areas, you might see a duplicate cutscene provoking you to eliminate a character you've already killed. Although the latter example is a rare occurrence, it does demonstrate the lack of polish from which Overlord would have benefited greatly.

It can certainly be said that Overlord is a fun game. The injection of humor and whimsy into an otherwise dark tale makes it a memorable and engaging experience. An unconventional control configuration makes for enjoyable gameplay, but comes at the expense of a controllable camera, which may be an obstacle for some. The lack of an in-game map will frustrate players, while the below-average sound and visual elements leave much to be desired. Despite its flaws, this game is clearly greater than the sum of its parts and is a welcome addition to the console's game library. With an uncommon premise and entertaining gameplay, Overlord provides a pleasant experience that is unique on the Xbox 360, but lacks the polish and technical flair that would have propelled it to classic status.