So, stupid as it may sound, I’ve just recently realized that you can play Overlord in a more evil manner.

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I’ve pretty much finished off both Mellow Hills and the Evernight Forest areas. I say ‘pretty much’ because the game has become somewhat nonlinear and puzzly, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find that I had to go back to those areas for something later.

I’ve recruited all four tribes of minions - brown, red, green, and blue. I’ve popped an obese halfling and cut down a deranged elf/tree hybrid. I’ve learned several new spells along the way. I recovered a number of items for my tower, learned how to forge equipment, and purchased all kinds of upgrades. I’m thoroughly enjoying myself, but I’m still left with the feeling that the designers of this game could have put in a little more evil.

Sure, I guess I have a choice in the matter… I could certainly go on a killing spree and just slaughter dozens of innocents. That is certainly true. But, while it is fun to cut down innocents, it doesn’t really do much for the game. Progress is generally achieved by completing quests…and the quests are, by and large, a little too nice for my tastes.

The box advertises the fact that you get to kill heroes and unicorns… But they’re are all twisted and corrupted - more evil than you are - and the peasants are all quite happy to see them killed. The peasants don’t cower in fear when you come to town… Instead they ask you to do things for them - kill monsters, recover food, rescue their family.

Don’t get me wrong… It’s all a lot of fun… And you can be evil anyway… But it just seems like the game is trying to steer you in a less-than-evil direction.

So, obviously, I spent a good chunk of last night playing Overlord.

So far I am very impressed with the game. The installer warned me that my system does not meet the requirements, but allowed me to continue anyway. I’ve seen too many programs either refuse to install entirely if you don’t meet the requirements, or provide no warning at all - neither of which is terribly helpful. But, despite the fact that my machine really shouldn’t be running Overlord at all, it actually runs pretty well.

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