Controlling a mysterious figure that has inherited the legacy of the evil, long-dead Overlord, the player emerges, near death, from the ruins of the old Overlord's Dark Tower.

Only the player's actions determine if they will rise to become the new all-powerful Overlord; it's all down to how much of a bad ass they want to be in order to succeed...evil or really evil!

Played out with plenty of black humour and dark irony, the game immerses players in twisted parodies of classic fantasy scenarios and characters.

Overlord's key innovation is the introduction of an array of impish creatures – the Minions. They believe you are the old Overlord reborn and will use their unique skills to fetch, fight and die for you.

Throughout the game players actively control a horde of these gremlin-like critters and they follow your every instruction no matter how despotic or, for the Minions, life threatening it is. [Codemasters]

Surely a God-sim by any other name, Codemasters’ Overlord on the Xbox 360 gives the player a more dark-edged tongue-in-cheek perspective on controlling the wills of others by tasking the player not to approach the game with either bad or good intentions – but rather to willingly accept the evil Overlord’s mantle and simply be bad… or very bad.

The possibility of becoming the videogame version of Sauron from Lord of the Rings? Sounds like maniacally egoistic fun from the off, if you ask GamerSquad. Without further ado, let’s find out whether the gathered critical masses were able to assume their central gameplay roles as sick, twisted dictators who tell everyone exactly what to think and do?

Spend or Lend?

80% - 1UP - "Maybe the boneheaded A.I. is intentional; maybe they're supposed to be feral lemmings, and the game's forcing you to slow down for tactics – but I ain't buying it. With a throng of mischievous pets as the game's centerpiece, you'd expect 'em to be a little better housebroken."

80% - EuroGamer - "More than the script (generally witty and sharp, if occasionally undercut by an iffy voice-actor) or the graphic design (a brother to Fable's faux-fantasy charm), the constant capering of your charges is what gives the game its personality. That is, they have a lot of personality and so does the game."

75% - Game Informer - "Observing the little beasts gleefully swarm, destroy, and stab every creature and object in sight is one of the most entertaining things I’ve ever seen in a video game. The problem is that Overlord only shines this brightly when you’re just watching it. When it comes to managing your minions and directing them through the puzzles, the game is just as frustrating as it is humorous."

75% - GameSpot - "The pure joy of commanding a small army of malicious minions more than makes up for Overlord's minor shortcomings."

69% - Team Xbox - "The concept is there in spades; it’s the execution that doesn’t go the distance."

Verdict: Lend

Footage provided by GameTrailers.com.