"Everybody wants to rule the world." These words have always stuck with me. Mostly because I have always wanted to. Hell, that's why I really enjoyed Sim City 2000. I hated those little [censored] telling me what to do. I was their evil ruler and I made them suffer for their indiscretions. Black and White was another great game. It was fun to kill everyone with my pet. If you can't tell that I enjoy evil deeds yet then you have obvious problems, The truth is: we like power and control. Video games have given this to us in abundance and we love it.

I have recently started my bid for domination in Overlord II and I have to say that I enjoy making peasants fear me. That sense of power is like some kind of drug that you just can't let go.

Graphically speaking, this game is superior to the first Overlord. It still has a cartoon-like look about it, but it doesn't hinder the game in any way. The only real problem that I had with the graphics were the backgrounds. When I first loaded up the game I had to turn the camera to look around and see my surroundings. I know in the first look around if I'm going to be severely disappointed or not in most games. I was very disappointed in Overlord II. The camera went through a tree and made it semi-transparent, which I'm fine with, but at the same time it pixelated the crap out of the tree. It looked like they took Tetris pieces from an old NES game and put them together to make the tree limbs. It had disastrous effects on my desire to continue playing the game, but play on I did. While I found many of the same problems further on I also found many graphical changes for the better. The minions look better than ever. I personally like how the Reds have a lava-like glow to them now. Even your character looks better than he used to. Models are great, but environments had some serious issues here.

The other issue revolves around the fact that even though you are playing a game based on destruction and world domination there is surprisingly little carnage and blood. Stuff blows up and people die, but blood is scarce. The game is child-like in its graphical styling, but I don't find this to be a bad thing really. It worked in the first one, and the second game is no different.

The audio in the game has the same dark tones and ego boosting power of its predecessor. The minions spit out catchphrases that seem funny at first, but get tired as they say the same thing repeatedly. Gnarl is the narrator and real reason I even pay attention to the voice acting. He has some pretty funny lines and doesn't repeat himself much because his lines are mostly story based. The voice acting in the game is good, but you have to get past the tired use of repeated lines by enemies in order to enjoy it. The villagers spout a few lines worth note once you enslave their minds. It's always a good idea to make people do what you want. They are stupid cows, but at least they are YOUR stupid cows. Speaking of stupid...

When it comes down to the AI in the game you aren't really going to be amazed. With how easily your minions will follow you into water and drown themselves you might even be mortified. These guys are more apt to win Darwin awards than they are to win a school spelling bee. This really isn't a new thing though. It was a huge problem in the first Overlord as well. There isn't a ton of thinking needed on your part either. The only real strategy comes from knowing which color of minion to take against certain enemies or into certain areas. This game is simple all around. Even the controls are simplistic.

At least the controls being simplistic is a good thing. They are the same as before with the exception of your spells. The spell book is smaller and easier to use now. Sweeping your minions and using your minions in groups is exactly the same, which can get annoying if you want to control three or four different groups of minions to multitask your attacks. Having your reds shoot fire from behind, then having your greens set up to ambush the enemies running at you. After that your brown minions, preferably on the wolves that they can now ride, take out the rest of the enemies. Your blue minions then save any of the rest that are dead. It's an easy thing to think up, but can be a pain to set up and then move your minions around. Once they are set they get the job done well, but if you want to keep them separate and move them around that way it can be a pain. You have to get them all back into a group and have them follow you until you decide to break them up.

Overall this game is fun to play. You have the ability to have multiple mistresses and along with the other upgrades this game is definitely worthy of being considered a good sequel. The few problems that I do have with this game are easily overlooked or worked through when I get far enough into the action to no longer pay attention. The ability to take over the world with pure evil and an army of crazy little minions that follow you around destroying things for fun. Your character looks cooler and your minions have more abilities than in Overlord. If you want a game worth playing that gives your inner demented world ruler something to feed on then Overlord II is an excellent idea.