More Overlord details

Codemasters and Triumph Studios are getting excited about next summer's release of Overlord on PC and Xbox 360, in which you and your minions get to trawl through a fantasy world wiping things out and generally repressing people.

To this end they've been telling us about the degrees of corruption available to the fledgling Overlord. Obviously you can teach the local peasants a lesson and force them to bow before your might, but that isn't enough for some.

No, some Overlords will prefer to foster false hope in the blighters, driving off violent halflings who are causing them bother so they'll worship you as their lord and protector - and then putting the boot in.

For this they'll reward you with more than just cheers and exultation - they'll cower in your presence and cough up other goodies, as you walk tall among them forcing them to do your bidding and metaphorically stamping on their cats.

But, says Triumph's director Lennart Sas, it's not meant to be taken too seriously. "Our goal is not to shock with realistic blood and gore," he says, "but to create an entertaining world where people can explore what it's like to have absolute power but in an amusingly gross way, not sick and grotesque."

Indeed, you can even play it straight if you want. There'll be an unlockable achievement for finishing the game "100% Uncorrupted". This means not killing peasants, not harvesting souls from living creatures, not betraying the missus and not exterminating the occasional fantasy race.