Overlord II

The core gameplay from the previous Overlord game remains intact in the sequel, with the player controlling the Overlord character in a third-person perspective who has command over hordes of small goblin-like creatures known as minions to travel the landscape and defeat various civilisations with the Roman-style "Glorious Empire" being the prime foe. Initially only the brown minions are available but eventually the Overlord will regain command of the others that are essential in overcoming obstacles that obstruct further progression of the story. With up to four kinds, each minion type is suited for different purposes such as browns for fighting and blues for healing fallen minions.

While the Overlord himself can fight in combat with various weapons and armour types that gradually become available and the ability to cast spells to either help minions or hinder opponents, the majority of tasks are performed by the minion hordes. While minions retain many abilities including using scattered items as weaponry and armour, carry large objects in a group, turning cranks and finding treasure, minions can now also operate siege weapons, ships/boats and other war machines and, once captured, can mount and ride wild animals to help in combat and overcome obstacles. The Overlord also has the ability to occasionally take direct control over the current strongest minion to lead the rest through the use of the "Possession Stone".

The silent protagonist Overlord from the first game is not present in Overlord II, as he was trapped in the Abyss dimension at the end of the expansion, Overlord: Raising Hell. Instead, the role of the Overlord is taken up by his child, who was removed from the original Tower to live in a mountain village, but is thrown out by the villagers to appease the Glorious Empire and, on his escape, taken in by the Minions.

Gnarl, the aged Minion advisor from the previous games, is the main recurring character in Overlord II. As an adviser and initial tutor, Gnarl engages in most of the game's dialogue, including narration, outlining objectives, dropping hints and even making jokes. Other Characters returning from Overlord include Forge Master Giblet, Gash the dungeon guard and keeper of Battle Rock, who organises events in the Overlord's personal arena, and the human Rose, confirming her as the canon mistress of the previous Overlord.

Overlord II was announced on 13 August 2008 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was announced at the same time as the Nintendo spin-offs Overlord: Dark Legend and Overlord: Minions. According to Lennart Sas, director and Overlord lead at Triumph Studios, the intention for Overlord II was "massively increases the scope of the original concept", already advertising promotional screenshots displaying the new features, such as the minions ability to ride mounted creatures. According to Sas, the reason behind the sequel was due to the "massive amount creative opportunity remaining in the concept" with "an improved game engine with high production values", mostly to increase the overall scope and "epic feel", such as the inclusion of large scale battles and the use of war machines and ships.

Furthermore, the developers wanted to fine-tune aspects from the original like an on screen mini-map interference while retaining the basic gameplay element. As with the original Overlord, Sas did admit influence from similar games that allowed players take the role of a character with control over other units such as Pikmin while also mentioning much of the differentiating style being a different experience. There were changes to the gameplay in order to suit the game's personality such as the Netherworld replacing the Dark Tower, being "much more alive with minion culture" and expanding the strategy elements being "important [to] expanded what the minions can do. Overlord is all about the minions.

Upon release, Overlord II received on average a positive reception with an average critic average indicated as "generally favourable" at Metacritic (although the PS3 version was just under the score requirement), with most reviewers praising the multiple improvements over its predecessor while keeping core gameplay intact. 1UP.com complimented the game's premise, still kept enjoyable from the previous Overlord, that "commanding a legion of hilariously evil little critters to plunder and wreck everything in reach is the game's most basic appeal, and something that never really seems to get old." This linked in with the game's humour, particularly the minions' personality and charm, with GameSpy complimenting "the maniacal Gremlin-esque voices and actions of the minions, making them at once both intimidating and strangely endearing", with the added feature of naming and resurrecting certain minions that resulted in "a surprising attachment." X-Play echoed this view alone with utilising the hordes as "addictive, because you really do feel as if you're controlling your own private Gremlin horde."

On its gameplay, Official Xbox Magazine called it a "unique blend of action and strategy", helped with the added improvements over the first, including an in game mini-map and expanded options such as upgrades and choices. Eurogamer called the controls "simple yet flexible", but did find issues with an apparent "slightly wayward camera system". However, IGN considered the camera issues "painful" for being linked to control over actions at the same time. Between versions, the PC version is noted for having improved camera control over its console counterparts, with the option of shifting the camera via computer mouse described by GameSpot as "extremely handy" as opposed to the fixed console analog control. The checkpoint system was not as well received, with GamePro describing it as "unforgiving" at times.