
In addition to these new abilities, you can name your minions, and you will also be able to command a Minion Champion, who can lead groups of more than ten minions into battle. Blues, however, miss out on the whole mount party. The spider-riding Greens will now be able to ascend walls and web-up enemies. Described as "living flamethrowers" they will be capable of shooting out concentrated fire blasts, as well as be able to "dig into gnome holes to chase out the little buggers" and snaffle their goodies. Reds, meanwhile, get to ride fire salamanders. Not only can they travel faster than before, but they can jump gaps, knock over opponents and cause greater damage with their ferocious bite. So, Browns can now ride wolves and form a fast and vicious cavalry charge. Where it gets interesting is the minions' ability to mount other creatures, adding an extra layer of abilities. You can still rely on the same base abilities, so Browns are your best melee fighters, Reds are your best ranged weapon with their fireball-lobbing abilities and resistance to fire, Greens bestride toxic areas and sneak around, while the Blues are great healers who can cross water. Once again there are four types of colour-coded minions, Tribes. For the majority of the time you do not have to get your hands dirty, but let the cackling Gremlin-escapees do your bidding - usually with amusingly demonic results. Once again you control the Overlord in a typical third-person action-adventure fashion with the left stick, and sweep the evil minions around the screen with the right. The core gameplay remains rooted in the Pikmin-meets-Sacrifice action-strategy template of the original, however. "Controlling a town of brainwashed slaves gives more benefits spread out over time, while destroying a town gives instant evil gratification: the souls of the slain population and looted treasure from their destroyed houses are for the taking."


"If you become a dominating tyrant, your spells will become better at subjecting the populations to your evil will", explains Sas. Whichever you choose ultimately has a bearing on how you play the game thanks to the spell system. Players now choose between shades of evil do you choose the cold-hearted enslavement of domination, or down and dirty demonic destruction? As Triumph's creative director Lennart Sas explains, the premise of the sequel is unfettered tyranny. After all, you are a cackling Overlord with a giant sword, fearsome armour and a horned helmet the concept of good does not enter the equation. One of the key changes to the strategy adventure gameplay is that the choices are not simply about good or evil.
