They say heroes are born, not made. Okay, but what about villains? Overlord II says it’s the same — if the evil’s in you, it’s gotta come out — but that there’s a certain je ne sais qua to being a bad guy. The sequel to 2007’s overlooked action/ strategy gem wears its ambition on its sleeve... and you can see a few seams here and there.

You start Overlord II’s funny fantasy quest for world domination as a wee tyke. After knocking over snowmen and setting the holiday tree on fire (yes, that’s the tutorial), you’re cast out of your village as “Witch Boy.” Years later you return to subjugate or kill the townsfolk, which is one of the sequel’s biggest and best differences. Whereas Overlord let you be a benevolent dictator, this follow-up makes you choose between evil or more evil. Is erasing a peasant’s mind and turning them into loyal (if suicidal) slaves less cruel than striking them down in cold blood? Good luck with that.

Every Overlord needs underlings, and your talkative minions are indispensable. Well, actually, they’re quite dispensable — it’s easy to summon them from the netherworld via a glowing pit, then steer them into danger with the right analog stick. Different colored minions excel at different tasks: browns bash stuff, reds can remove (or create) fire hazards, stealthy greens can turn invisible, and the blue ones conveniently don’t drown. And if a few die, no big deal — just slaughter a few foolish mortals and reclaim their life essence to make new troops. Minions gain experience, but resurrecting veterans from the dead (one of the game’s neat new tricks) gets expensive fast.

Whereas the first game just set you against the world in general, Overlord II gives you a worthy rival: the Roman Empire. They’re vicious and technologically advanced; you’ll find yourself using more strategy than action to defeat legions of centurions, pesky archers, and siege weaponry as you expand your realm. But there’s more of everything — more mistresses to woo, more magical weapons to forge, more minion personality (they have names, titles, and can now ride feral beasts into battle), and more multiplayer modes for both online and splitscreen players. (There’s also more pop-up, as the vibrant and detailed world really pushes the hardware.) The addition of a map finally stopped us from getting horribly lost, but we still felt like we were walking more than murdering — with no save-anywhere feature, the frustrating repetition of random mission failure followed by a stroll of shame often killed our thrill.

To help minimize the grind, developer Triumph Studios has mixed up the main mechanic with things like steering a giant Viking boat, firing catapults, and possessing the body of a minion, but sometimes they just keep you from the slaughteriffic gameplay you enjoy. The green stealth mission goes on too long, the ballista aims clumsily, and the repetitious spider maze (which takes place directly after a repetitious boss battle) features frustratingly imprecise controls. During these breaks, you’ll wonder, “Can’t I just go back to the part that was fun?”

To be fair, most parts of Overlord II are fun, and its problems are offset by high production values and funny dialogue (oh, those minions!). A lot of folks missed the original game, so here’s your second chance: Overlord II preserves what worked last time, improves what didn’t, and tries several new ideas on for size. They don’t all fit perfectly, but few other developers are even using Overlord II’s dark materials, let alone with this much success.

On Xbox 360

+ A unique blend of action and strategy on 360, the only game like it is its predecessor.

+ It's funny, pretty, and naughty.

- Missions are walky, collecty, and grindy.

? What's with the overload of fattie jokes?

8.0