Zero Punctuation: Overlord 2

[Cortheya]

lol lawful and chaotic evil

 

[Astropunk]

The Americans make games where you are evil because you can kill like Jason Voorhees.
The Japanese make games where you are evil because you enslave harems of school girls with tentacle beasts.

If only the two cultures could come together to make a overlord game that simulates true depravity. >:3

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

This is not the first alignment joke the chaotic neutral Yahtzee has made. Is he a closet D&D nerd? Does he organize campaigns to torture Matt and Yug when they're not playing Rock Band or tonguing each other? The world may never know.

Also, once again I found myself wondering (in this case at the "Real Time Stupid" moment): who the hell is that guy Yahtzee keeps using to represent everything that is banal and stupid about gaming?

He's absolutely right about Steam and he just saved me another few dollars that I can use for something like food.

 

[brass munkey]

hilarious review and i loved the semi colon at the end

 

[Midniqht]

ive actually heard really good things about both overlord games. despite the mostly negative review on it i think im gonna try it out anyway - couldn't hurt.

i still always think these are hilarious, regardless of my like or dislike of the game in review

 

[Gerazzi]

Played it... a little
didn't like it either.
I liked PIKMIN BETTER. O_O
that's scary.

 

[veloper]

Controlling the minions in overlord was hard?

I must have rare skills.

Still I get the impression the sequel isn't quite as good. I may get it from the bargain bin.

 

[solidstatemind]

I don't necessarily agree with those opinions, so I ignore them.

Not very open-minded.

I didn't say I didn't consider it, I said I didn't agree with it so I discarded it. That's not being close-minded, that's being logical: weighing a dissenting opinion and then choosing to not factor it in your own decision.

I also disagree about his take on the function of critics-- reviews and the like may contribute a bit to the refinement process, but as someone else pointed out, it's all about profit motive, as is thoroughly demonstrated by the steaming mounds of turd-like game sequels that are constantly shovelled out the door. No, the primary role critics play is to help their audience make informed decisions about what they do with their entertainment dollar, instead of just opting to toss it out the window. Yes, that does have a bit of an impact on profit motive, as it might help shape sales somewhat, but when you correlate the numbers, it is, at best, tertiary.

That way of looking at things is exactly what causes "steaming mounds of turd-like game sequels". The game industry is an industry, and will always be directed by profit, but if good design and writing are required to achieve success, we will get them. This is why critizing games as works of art and craft is a small act of opposition to this trend of industrialized blandness. It is worth doing.

Look, if you don't understand what I was saying, then say so instead of trying to come up with some sort of inflammatory but incorrect point so you can argue. To imply that I was saying criticism is without value is completely false (bolded above for clarity). To simplify, Yahtzee's statement seemed to me to say that the critics provide direct feedback to the game production process in what they say. I can promise you that 99.99% of the time, projected sales are the only thing publishers care about, not favorable reviews of past products... if that were not the case, Looking Glass Studios would still be making games today! Critics are relevant, but only in terms of how they influence sales-- well, and maybe influence future game-designers, but yet again, that is not as direct an influence as Yahtzee is implying.

If that doesn't make sense to you, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[squid5580]

Let me guess, you quit right after the spider boss. That was the most frustrating bit in the game so far. And the 360 controls by the sounds of things aren't much better. The delay when trying to sweep your minions sucks.

 

[lleihsad]

Aww. I like the Overlord games. Oh, well. It least the review made for a good ZP. Hopefully Yahtzee's review can drive down the price a bit. Cheers.

On the subject of D&D, WotC has been trying to push it as being cool, hip, and not (just) for nerds anymore. Reminds me of when they tried to make Loony Toons X-TREEEME!!

 

[Atarine]

I liked the game but I agree with him too witch made me laugh more.

 

[Verbera]

Hm, I thought about renting the game, but this does not sound too promising. Maybe I'll borrow it off a friend.

Also, I realise that this is a minority problem, but why are all minions everywhere always female? Some of us dudes here might like some more options, and I am sure that some ladygamers would have similar views.

 

[Anaphyis]

Oh bullcrap. What is so bad about linearity? Not every game can be a good sandbox game - in fact, most sandbox games are shit. Actually most points aren't criticism but nitpicking and the latter never improved humanity in the slightest.

ZP doesn't improve humanity by the power of valid criticism. It makes people laugh. At least it should but this fell flat for me due to this self-indulgent critic bit at the beginning. And the most frustrating aspect of this is: I don't even like the stupid game. There could've been so much said about its flaws. But no, generic fantasy world and flimsy design, wow. Next time Yahtzee pans a game for "realistic" graphic he has officially declared himself a hypocrite.

 

[Dr.Poisonfreak]

absolutely brilliant review as always, was thinking about getting the game but i think i will pass now....

Hmm I was actually thinking about buying this off of steam and now I know not to thanks yahtzee.

Seriously?

This is something I never understand - you were thinking of trying the game out, but because Yahtzee, someone that sensationalizes poor points about a game and generally acts as though he hates everything for comedic effect says its bad, you won't try it...

That's pretty stupid...besides which the role of a critique is not to improve aspects of the game it is to criticise them...criticism is subjective, and going on about the bad points of the game without offering any form of suggestion as to how it could be improved helps nobody...

i said i wouldn't buy it, but i will rent it just to see if it is any good, i have the original overlord and i really like it

 

[deleted_scifidownbeat]

DELETED

 

[jad4400]

Hahaha another good ZP

Sorry Yahtzee, while I love your satirical reviews, I have to disagree with you on Overlord 2. The sweeping works better on console and I genuenly enjoy the writing style of the game.

Oh bullcrap. What is so bad about linearity? Not every game can be a good sandbox game - in fact, most sandbox games are shit. In fact most points aren't criticism but nitpicking and the latter never improved humanity in the slightest.

I agree with you on that one, linear games are not all that bad and Overlord 2 is semi-linear, after all you can go anywhere on th any of the small maps you are on.

However I think they can mabe include a few more fetures in this game. For example I liked how you would get your missions from people requesting an audience, I wish they could have expanded upon that even more and gave you more optional side quests from these people (and you could either agree or send them plumiting to their deaths).

 

[Nazulu]

Hold on, you make linearity sound like a really bad thing. All well, Good stuff Yahtzee.

i really enjoyed today's episode
but i have a question... who the hell is this guy at 0:33?????
i have seen him in almost every episode of ZP

I have a question for you. What is that you put as your avatar? I swear I see that thing everywhere while surfing the net.

 

[TaborMallory]

I remember when these used to make me laugh hard enough to annoy my family.

 

[AVATAR_RAGE]

i enjoyed overlord 2 but i must say that some bits were annoying.
i found that the minions wear funny, the mistresses usless (apart from on video near the end of the game)

but i think the main problem here was the fact the pc version was used i have the ps3 version and the minions control just fine