It would be unfair to slate this game just because I don't like it (hate it)but...
Basically, it's incomprehensible. The control system is dire and the overlord often gets stuck in the scenery and killed.
The graphics aren't too bad considering it doesn't need to install, which I found pretty odd. It's a cross between Tim burton's Nightmare before Christmas, Gremlins and the PS3 game Kameo. The graphics are similar to Oblivion, which needed simpler grahics due to its sheer size. This game doesn't have that excuse, even though the lighting and scenery looks quite nice. Its general appearance is its strongest quality.
The maps and hints or tips regarding knowing where to go next are pretty awful. You will frequently find yourself running around, slowly as there is no fast run button, trying to locate the next place you need to go, which isn't easy when the areas are as large as they are. In some cases the route is so obscure, almost hidden, that it will suprise you when you figure it out. You can use the option menu to see what to do next but the hints are vague. The Map adds to the confusion with all active quests visible as flashing arrows. Why not let us choose one quest to display so we don't have to run (walk) around for eternity. It's like being in hell...
The overlords castle is also badly laid out and hard / boring to navigate.
All the bits you need are spread throughout a large area with loading screens between each one. This is made more annoying because the tutorial at the beginning flies you to each section of your tower, then explains what each area does. When you actually need to visit the respective areas the option to quick travel has gone, so you have no idea where it is. Why make us quick travel then? if we need to get there make us walk so we at least know how to get back there !!
This brings me to the minions, which are sweet and at times fairly funny. They're a blatant rip of the Gremlins, which I don't mind at all. Controlling them is a different matter. When you do finally get to grips which the conveluted control system, you'll find they're good at demolishing things but bad at assisting with tasks to further the quest. For example, if they need to man a catapult, the number 5 hangs in the air above it. So you select the object and send your minions towards it. Do they get in, do they heck. They mill around and you have to keep running back and forth until they get the message. If you ask a fraction of minions to wait, they will also do their damndest to sabotage the group suitable for the task. So you end up with a bunch of dead minions that you've been protectively nurturing and building up.Excellent. You can buy them (back from the dead) in your castle, but quite honestly, with all the walking and loading screens involved, I couldn't be bothered.
I see what they were attempting with this game, an open world lemmings type thing. Each differing fraction of minions has a different power and the puzzles get more complex, making you use the minions in increasingly inventive ways.
It could have been good, I haven't played the first maybe its better, but nearly everything goes against Overlord 2. It's a good example of how a few bad decisions by the designers make a game almost unplayable and boring.
It's almost incomprehensible. If you must, rent it first.
One more point and this is a biggy. The right analogue stick is used to control your minions and the overlord's pivot. You will frequently find yourself frustrated, trying to turn around, when your minions are elsewhere or milling around your feet. Minion control is important, so I could excuse this, but it drastically effects your ability to look around and navigate the game.