Software:Overlord: Minions

From HandWiki
Short description: 2009 video game
Overlord: Minions
North American cover art
Developer(s)Climax Action
Publisher(s)Codemasters
Composer(s)Allister Brimble
SeriesOverlord
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • NA: 23 June 2009
  • EU: 26 June 2009
  • AU: 2 July 2009[1]
Genre(s)Puzzle action
Mode(s)Single-player

Overlord: Minions is a 2009 puzzle action[2] video game developed by Climax Action and published by Codemasters for the Nintendo DS. It was announced August 14, 2008 alongside addition franchise expansions Overlord II and Software:Overlord: Dark Legend.[3]

It features the minions from the 2007 Overlord video game as the primary protagonists, tasked with the mission to solve puzzles and fight enemies. They are controlled by the DS stylus. There are also items to find in the levels and a timer of how fast the player in finish. The minions can be controlled directly by the player, unlike the original game where the player controlled them by controlling an eponymous Overlord-character. Controlling the Special Forces team of four, players negotiate fiendish levels and take on a huge range of warped enemies to hunt down the Kindred, a cult dedicated to resurrecting the mighty Dragon Kin, a race of humanoid dragon hybrids, determined to replace the Overlord's despotism with their own.

There are only four minions from four types, which makes all of them specialized in skills, for example Giblet, a brown minion from the first Overlord game, is the strongest in melee combat, Blaze is a wild pyromaniac, which grants him the ability to sling fireballs, Stench is the most stealthy of the bunch, and Zap can swim/heal.

Plot

Giblet, Blaze, Stench, and Zap serve as Overlord Gromgard's elite Minion squad. Due to their specialized training and independence, they are sent to eliminate any outside opposition to their Overlord's reign.

Their first mission is to deal with mysterious fungus growth in the neighboring Withering Woods. As they fight through the woods, they find that the fungal ooze is not only infecting plants, but the Overlord's Human subjects as well. They finally discover the contamination: a sentient fungus, Globulous. After Globulous is killed, the minions are sent to enter the massive pipes which fed the fungus.

The sewer pipes lead to the Halfling town, Briarthorn Burrows. The squad discovers that the threat to their Master's dominion is the mysterious Kindred cult. The cult desires to bring back the extinct Dragon-Kin, an extinct Human-Dragon race. After tearing through Briarthorn Burrows, the Minions confront Grub, the Halfling, Kindred lieutenant. The monstrous halfling was easily dispatched by the squad.

The elite Minions enter Cloudland Keep at the top of Shimmer Mountain. They eliminate Lady Opal, the crystalline Kindred Lieutenant who commands the human contingent of the cult.

The Minions advance to the Fossilized Temple of the Dragon-Kin, where the Minions face heavy opposition from the Dwarves. The squad pushes through the Dwarven defense, and encounter another Lieutenant, Duggen. Despite his immense size and strength as a mutant Dwarf, he is no match for the Minions.

The next destination for the Overlord's Minions is the Floating Forest, where the Kindred's army of Elves has established a strong position. The Elven defenders are overwhelmed and the Minions advances to fight the final Lieutenant, the dragon-elf hybrid Ash. With Ash's demise, the Overlord's forces are free to advance to the Kindred's final stronghold, Dragonspire.

In Dragonspire, the Minions encounter Silas Silvanus, the last Dragon-Kin and leader of the Kindred. Silvanus explains how he desires to restore and perfect his race. He tries to destroy the Overlord's servants, but the Dragon-Kin is mortally wounded by the squad. Before Silvanus dies, he unleashes his final experiment, Tiberius. Although he was the strongest, experimental offspring of Silvanus, Tiberius is destroyed by the Minions, bringing a permanent end to the Kindred.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings61%[4]
Metacritic58/100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.comD+[6]
Destructoid7/10[7]
GameProStarStarStarHalf star[8]
GameSpot4.5/10[9]
GamesRadar+55%[10]
GameZone6/10[11]
IGN6.1/10[12]
Nintendo Power7/10[13]
Nintendo World Report7/10[14]
ONM51%[15]

A Eurogamer preview of the title observed the debt to The Lost Vikings video game, and claimed the developers had sensibly revised the genre and gameplay to be more relevant to the host console.[16]

The game was met with mixed reception upon release, as GameRankings gave it a score of 61%,[4] while Metacritic gave it 58 out of 100.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Overlord Minions Release Information for DS". http://www.gamefaqs.com/ds/952374-overlord-minions/data. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  2. ↑ "Codemasters - Overlord™: Minions". Codemasters. http://www.codemasters.com/uk/minions/nintendods/info/. Retrieved March 30, 2013. 
  3. ↑ Graft, Kris (August 14, 2008). "Three More Overlords". Edge. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130403153920/http://www.edge-online.com/news/three-more-overlords/. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Overlord Minions for DS". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/ds/952374-overlord-minions/index.html. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Overlord Minions for DS Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/overlord-minions/critic-reviews/?platform=ds. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  6. ↑ Palacios, Tina (July 1, 2009). "Overlord Minions Review". http://www.1up.com/reviews/overlord-minions-review. 
  7. ↑ Sterling, Jim (July 12, 2009). "Review: Overlord: Minions". http://www.destructoid.com/review-overlord-minions-139403.phtml. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  8. ↑ O'Neill, Chelsea (August 10, 2009). "Overlord Minions". GamePro. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090814203854/http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/211609/overlord-minions. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  9. ↑ Stella, Shiva (July 20, 2009). "Overlord: Minions Review". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/overlord-minions-review/1900-6213659/. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  10. ↑ Martyn, Charlotte (August 2009). "Overlord: Minions review". Nintendo Gamer (GamesRadar): 77. http://www.gamesradar.com/overlord-minions-review/. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  11. ↑ Valentino, Nick (July 19, 2009). "Overlord Minions - NDS - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090724014629/http://nds.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r36258.htm. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  12. ↑ Harris, Craig (June 26, 2009). "Overlord Minions Review". http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/06/26/overlord-minions-review. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  13. ↑ "Overlord Minions". Nintendo Power: 91. August 2009. 
  14. ↑ Miller, Zachary (July 7, 2009). "Overlord Minions". Nintendo World Report. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/18996/overlord-minions-nintendo-ds. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 
  15. ↑ "Overlord Minions". Official Nintendo Magazine: 96. August 2009. 
  16. ↑ Walker, John (May 6, 2009). "Overlord: Dark Legend, Overlord: Minions (Page 2)". http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/overlord-dark-legend-overlord-minions-preview?page=2. 
  • Codemasters - Overlord™: Minions
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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