Overlord: Dark Legend [Wii]

IGN: Will Overlord Dark Legend be a port or an all-new game for Wii?

Dean Scott: It's an all new game, designed especially for Wii. New story, new characters, new gameplay. It doesn't make sense to try and port the old version, when the Wii gives you an opportunity to make something that works very differently. The key difference is in how you play it. You point, and the minions go and break and kill things. It's a very literal connection for the player.

IGN: How is Overlord Dark Legend related to the first Overlord game?

Dean Scott: There are lots of subtle connections for Overlord-savvy gamers, but in the lineage of the series the events take place before the original game. So certain things you do set up events featured in the other games. It's not the same Overlord though. We're setting up the idea that there have been a series of Overlords throughout time.

IGN: What can you tell us about the story?

Dean Scott: It's part fairy tale, part classic fantasy, and all hilarious. Obviously we've twisted the fairy tale stuff around, because it wouldn't be an Overlord game without a load of black humor. So instead of helping Little Red Riding Hood find her grandma, you'd be helping the wolf shop for granny-friendly sauces. That's not actually in the game, but you get the idea.

IGN: Any new minions?

Dean Scott: It's the same four minion types, but we've given them new abilities. Some of these may be themed around bodily functions that childish folk like us find hilarious. We'll be revealing more from GC Leipzig.

VideoGamer.com: The next-gen versions weren't slouches visually. Obviously the Wii isn't as powerful, so have you had to make any cutbacks in terms of level size or the number of characters/minions on screen at once?


DS: Overlord Dark Legend looks amazing. When people see this game in motion, they are going to be seriously impressed. It sounds like such a lame cliché to say "it looks like the 360 version", but that's true. Not exactly, but it's closer than we ever imagined possible on the platform. Quote me, and hold me up to internet ridicule if that's not the case. Of course we've made some changes to get that level of fidelity on the Wii, but the guys at Climax have been very clever with it. In terms of looks, it blows away just about everything else I've seen on Wii.

I'm not going to share the secrets of how we made that possible, the Climax art ninjas will take that to their graves. Or they might swap it for the recipes for KFC and Coke. Seasoned Overlord gamers won't get the feeling that there's something missing when they play this, and that's the important thing.

VideoGamer.com: The Wii is a social console, with lots of people playing with their friends while sat on the same couch. What multiplayer functionality have you built into the Dark Legend on Wii?

DS: Overlord is not Wii Sports. This is not a game you're sitting down to play with your grandmother. Like I was saying earlier, making Overlord Party wasn't what we were trying to do. We haven't dumbed any part of the game down to pander to this perceived idea of a legion of idiot gamers that can't handle anything more serious than shaking a remote and pressing one button as the game plays itself. And also, how would we make that work in the Overlord universe? The whole conceit of the game is that there is this ONE chosen guy that is going to take over the world. You can't then decide there are two, three or four. And would you want to play co-op as a minion? You go where the Overlord says, you fight a Halfling, and you might get killed. You'd get to wear some brilliant hats, though. No, we were focused on delivering a compelling single-player game. I'm not having a go at VideoGamer.com here - it's a fun website read by winners - I'm having a go at stereotypes. DAMN YOU, STEREOTYPES! A game can be single-player only and be good on the Wii.