"Master of Orion for the NES…NOT!!!"

Overlord is actually the NES conversion of a computer game alternately named ''Overlord'' and ''Supremacy.'' The computer game had its problems (beside the fact that it didn't really know what to call itself), and the NES port is true to that troubled pedigree. It wants to be a classic like Reach for the Stars or Master of Orion, but it ends up being a bomb like Outpost.

You can choose from 4 different opponents in 4 different star systems ranging from small (8 stars) to large (32 stars, I think). You always start out with your home planet (''Starbase'') at the bottom of the screen, and your enemy's homeworld is always at the very top of the screen. This means you never start off with a war against a neighbor. It all sounds quite simple, but once you get into Overlord you find out very quickly that you're in way over your head.

GRAPHICS (8/10)
Of course, the largely black-and-white graphics are pitiful compared to those of most NES games, but keep in mind that this is a strategy game that originated on a platform intended to run exciting things like spreadsheet programs. Expect graphics similar to those you would find in a Koei game.

The interface is dominated by unlabelled icons. This can be really confusing if you are trying to pick up the game without the manual. I don't have the NES instructions, but I do own the manual for the Atari ST version of this game. That helped me get through enough of Overlord to do this review.

MUSIC & SOUND (8/10)
The man responsible for the music and sound in this port is one of the three credited programmers, and I have to say he did a good job. There isn't anything spectacular here, but the music is subtle and suitable, and the sounds are more than adequate.

CHALLENGE (9/10)
This is a challenging cart, even if you are good at strategy games. Unfortunately, it isn't a fun kind of challenge because it isn't appropriate to the game. The main challenge is that the game takes place in real time. Most games of this kind - often referred to as 4X or ''spaceploitation'' games - are turn-based, and for good reason: you've got a lot of information to digest and tough decisions to make. Overlord is an especially dense game because the interface is unfriendly and the game design burdens the player with a lot of micromanagement.

GAMEPLAY/FUN FACTOR (2/10)
Micromanagement pretty much is the heart of the game. You've got to manage food, energy, fuel, the facilities that produce those resources, population, tax rates, ships, ship weapons, and planetary defenses. There are no global controls, either…you are stuck with having to visit each individual planet and tweaking one at a time. Need to move resources from one planet to another? You get to buy a ship or locate one you already own, send it to a planet with supplies, dock the ship, load the supplies, prep the ship and crew, launch the ship to its destination, dock the ship there, and unload the resources. Whew! Keep in mind that other stuff is going on while you do all of this. Imagine having to deal with an enemy invasion and then return to the middle of this complicated chain of actions. It WILL happen to you, take my word.

Little real time ''mini-battles'' take place when one side invades another's planet. I never got the hang of attacking with hovertanks, but I did have some fun guiding my missiles against planetary shield installations and anti-missile emplacements. Too bad that's about as fun as Overlord - a strategy game, not really an action game, mind you - ever gets.

FRUSTRATION FACTOR (9/10)
The game is frustrating because it requires you to do too much - and in real time at that! You can save your game, but you only have one save slot, so that's not really much of a help to you when you have to go back and try to do things correctly (and quickly!) the next time around.

REPLAY VALUE (6/10)
Replay value would be higher in most games like this. However, it has quite a bit of replay value compared to most NES games, so I'll give it a moderately high rating.

GAME VALUE (3/10)
If you like really frustrating games that don't have much graphic flair, then Overlord may be for you. I think 99.9 percent of gamers out there will want to avoid Overlord like the plague.

THE BOTTOM LINE
I really wanted to like Overlord. Alas, it's just too dry and unnecessarily difficult to be worth playing.

FINAL RATING: 3/10

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 07/22/01, Updated 07/22/01