Overlord: Dark Legend [Wii]

The level of detail that we’ve got on Wii is probably unparalleled at the moment. It’s thanks to the engine that we’re using, but it also is thanks to the techniques that we’re using, as well. We’re using a lot of instant shading, we’re doing visual calling, so when you go around corners things are added on the fly. We’ve managed to pack in an abnormal amount of data in only 64 MB around, so it’s quite an accomplishment.

This is a fantasy game and magic is involved, spell is important, so you’ve got a whole range of spells that you can aim and target and use with the pointer. It is kind of a shooter element in there. With the spells you have, you can shoot them straight into the world at the same time you’re commanding your minions or running the Overlord around. The pointer is important to the core gameplay, ordering the minions, you can run the pointer over things in the world, it shows you what that thing do… it has a lot of uses.

No WiiMotion Plus, not available in the devkit, yet. Most of the game is already done, it would’ve meant a delay at this point.

It’s going very, very well, we’re on track for a summer release. The game is looking spectacular for a Wii title. We’re very happy with the content, so very well. Developing it for 13 months. A little bit more to go. Don’t have a release date from Codemasters yet.

The first thing you'll notice is that the game looks really good. The Overlord wreaks havoc through lush, expansive environments, the game runs in widescreen, and the character animation is very realistic. To put things in perspective, the other IGN Xbox and PC editors at the event all stopped to look at Overlord: Dark Legend and said, "man, this looks really good." This is one of the prettier Wii games we've seen.

Several well known fairytale characters make appearances in Dark Legend, but they are presented with that quirky Overlord twist. Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, and the Gingerbread Man are here, but a little more sinister than you may remember. We don't have a lot of detail about the story, yet, but we know it will show how the Overlord came to be. An early cut scene we saw showed a skinny kid stepping into the familiar armor of the despot. The same voice actors from the first game are on board, so we can expect to see some characters return.

Playing the game, it was obvious the developers designed the controls for the Wii. While the analog stick moves the Overlord, the pointer function of your remote will direct your minions and spells. Basically, the B button will send minions and the A button will call them back to your side. Tapping left and right on the D-pad will cycle through your minion types, and down will select them all. Up on the D-pad will activate your spells. Using pointer controls makes it easier to send minions to multiple locations. You can also hold down the B button and then point to sweep all your selected minions at once.

You can center the camera by tapping the C button, or hold it down to fix it behind you. Players can choose to perform a melee attack by pressing the Z button or waggling the nunchuk -- an obvious choice.

The minions of Dark Legend possess a new ability not found in the first game. By holding the A and B button and giving your remote a shake, you can throttle a minion and light their fuse, so to speak. Then let go and they'll run off, only to explode in a few seconds.

Your posse will also find a greater variety of scavenged items around the game world. Instead of just pots and pans or pumpkin shells, they'll pick up zany hats like sombreros or chef caps.

There are four colors of minions, and each has unique abilities. Brown minions are your grunt soldiers; red throw fireballs and are immune to heat; blue can wade through water; green are immune to poison gas. Each color also has a unique bomb effect that can be used to clear obstacles. Certain vines are susceptible to flames, for instance, so sending a red minion on a suicide mission will burn them away.

On the 360, PC, and PS3 the Overlord's minion cap is 50. Here on the Wii, because of less processing power, that cap is currently at 25. The developers are tweaking the game to see if they can't raise that number a tad.