Action
game fans ought to be able to settle in and blast their ways through
Total Overdose's relatively brief campaign with reasonable levels of
enjoyment. Just be prepared for one extremely cheesy ride.
Rarely
has a game reveled in its own crapulence the way that Total Overdose: A
Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico does. Taking the concept of a stylish, violent third-person shooter to the height of hyperactive instability, Total Overdose is an all-out celebration of all things gun. Bullets
fly with reckless abandon, bodies pile up to an almost alarming degree,
and all the while you're pulling off the kinds of acrobatic maneuvers
that would make Keanu Reeves say, "Woah." Of course, it's also all been
done before. From playing Total Overdose, you get the feeling that the
developers at Deadline Games had an awful lot of affection for the Grand
Theft Auto and Max Payne games and that they may have watched one too
many Robert Rodriguez movies late at night. That's because the main
character plays just like Max Payne, the world around him operates just
like the one in Grand Theft Auto, and the storyline plays out like a
script Rodriguez might have written early in his career, before he knew
what he was doing. Because it's made up of so many familiar parts,
action game fans ought to be able to settle in and blast their ways
through Total Overdose's relatively brief campaign with reasonable
levels of enjoyment. Just be prepared for one extremely cheesy ride, and
to sift through a few serious flaws as well.
The
story of Total Overdose is cut from the kind of heavy-on-the-gunplay,
light-on-the-drama cloth made famous in 1980s-era action films. Ramiro
Cruz is an ex-convict and all-around screwup. His twin brother works for
the DEA. Ramiro's twin is injured while working undercover, right as
he's about to get in with some rather powerful drug lords down in
Mexico. In a twist that plays like a vaquero movie version of the
Anthony Hopkins/Chris Rock vehicle Bad Company, Ramiro is brought in to
replace his brother so he can get in with the shady dealers. About a
billion bullets, bodies, and busts later, you're dealing with crooked
DEA agents, big-time drug deals, and a revenge plot about who really
killed Ramiro's former-DEA-agent father. None of this means a thing,
mind you. The plot here is merely a vehicle for you to get out and start
shooting things. What little storyline exists here is largely turned
irrelevant by the incredibly cheesy voice acting and writing, so there's
no real opportunity to care about any of these people. But that suits
the game just fine, since you'll be too busy killing everybody to bother
caring about them.
What
makes Total Overdose more than just another dull shoot-'em-up is the
ludicrousness of its action. There isn't a kilo of realism to be found
anywhere in this game...a fact flaunted at every opportunity by the
insane acrobatic moves Ramiro can pull off for seemingly no reason other
than because they're fun. Like Max Payne, Ramiro can shoot-dodge in
bullet time while pumping tons of rounds into bad guys within a split
second's time, all the while bouncing off walls and spinning around like
a man possessed. These moves all play into a points rating that judges
the different maneuvers you pull off and earns you points you'll need to
complete missions. It's a neat system, but it's hindered by the most
obnoxious aspect of the game, which (oddly enough) is the naming system
for said moves. Moves are named the cheesiest things possible, like
"Gringo loco!" and the oft-repeated "Spicy move!" In fact, you'll hear
the words "spicy move" so often throughout the game that after a while a
small piece of you will die inside every time it's uttered.
Thankfully,
the basic shooting is reasonably satisfying. You're given plenty of
different weapons with varying degrees of effectiveness. Fully automatic
guns pump more rounds, but they also lack accuracy. Pistols are
accurate, but they lack punch. Assault rifles tend to offer the best of
both worlds. Rocket and grenade launchers? Well, you can imagine the
level of destruction they inflict. If there's any complaint to be made
here, it's that you often get the short shrift on ammo. There are
upgrades you can earn throughout to give each gun type more available
ammo. But even then, in a game this silly--where it's all about highly
unrealistic action--you'd think the developer might have been a touch
more generous with the ammunition. As it is, it's far too easy to run
out of ammo for all guns very quickly, forcing you to constantly run
around to pick up weapons off fallen enemies, which can be a risky
affair in the middle of a firefight.
Ramiro
can also earn a number of wacky special moves that border on comedic.
Simply press a button and one of several select moves will occur,
ranging from a kooky jumping spin move with dual Uzis blazing, to the
appearance of an angry Mexican wrestler who will aid you by attacking
any nearby enemies. Don't question it, because you'll absolutely despise
this game if you try to put much thought into it. If you're willing to
roll with the crazy Mexican wrestlers, the exploding piñatas, and the
move called "El Mariachi," which straight-up gives you the Antonio
Banderas-style "guns in the guitar cases" from the titular Robert
Rodriguez film (though they should have called it "Desperado," since
that's the actual film the move is from), Total Overdose can be a
hysterical romp (though often unintentionally so).
Don't
expect Total Overdose to be an especially challenging piece of work
though, because it fails miserably in this regard. The enemy artificial
intelligence borders on damaged. Bad guys will sometimes run around in
circles, shooting at nothing in particular, or they'll get stuck in
parts of the scenery. The only time they're at all hard is when there
are just too many of them, and even then you can enact the game's
"rewind" feature to just reverse time back a few seconds to avoid
whatever bullet killed you a moment ago. Ramiro's special moves can also
be abused to almost depressing levels. All it takes is one bout of El
Mariachi to blow away just about any boss, without taking any damage
yourself. Not that you need to cheat like this, since most bosses can be
beaten just as easily with some nifty shoot dodging, but even still,
exploits like this are prevalent throughout the game.
Total
Overdose's Grand Theft Auto inspirations come from the vision of Mexico
that the developer has created for you to play around in. The city you
work in is largely open-ended, with plenty of pedestrians, ancillary
traffic, buildings, and multiple locales, which unfortunately can't be
jumped to without some load times. Additionally, these locations are
also often difficult to find, since the in-game map is absolute garbage.
As you wander around, you can look around for hidden bonuses and items,
or you can just shoot the hell out of anyone who crosses your path.
Unlike in GTA, though, there are really no consequences for your
actions. Some cops might show up, but that's as far as it escalates,
which effectively turns the process into a pretty dull affair. You get
your missions by driving to icons located on the aforementioned terrible
map, though it's at least good enough to denote the difference between a
story mission and a side mission.
Side
missions are mostly secondary and optional, though there are a few
instances where you'll be required to do one or two side missions before
the next story mission is available. Most of these are pretty simple
"kill everyone in sight," checkpoint race, or "blow up a few burrito
carts filled with cocaine" types of things, but they're fun enough for
what they need to be. The story missions are longer and much more
involved, often with multiple sections and plenty of heavy combat
against drug runners, border patrol officers, and just about anyone else
who might cross your path. The game is absolutely rife with save
points, though, so you'll almost never find yourself having to repeat a
lengthy section of the game. However, in the rare instance that you do,
it's super-annoying.
There
are also plenty of vehicles in the game, and they easily represent the
least fun you'll have with any aspect of the gameplay. The cars handle
in a very squirrelly manner, like the General Lee on a greased hockey
rink or something. Fortunately, apart from the occasional checkpoint
race, it's rare that you'll have to drive for more than a short
distance. Often, cars are simply an optional means to an end, rather
than a required piece of equipment for a mission. That's good, because
if you had to drive for long bouts with these absolutely atrocious
driving physics, you'd break the disc in half before you got anywhere
near the end of the game.
Total
Overdose certainly has style, but this isn't a particularly
good-looking game. The character models are drab and blocky, and they
don't animate as smoothly as they ought to. The rare exceptions are the
style moves, but even they can be occasionally weird-looking. The cities
are better-looking, and there are plenty of colorful set pieces
decorating the background. However, the things going on in the
background are frequently ugly. People dive out of the way of cars that
aren't anywhere near them, cars will sometimes drive onto pieces of the
scenery and get stuck there, and all manner of other little crazy
glitches will go on--especially if you're involved in gunplay. The three
versions of the game are all comparable, with only the PlayStation 2's
lackluster frame rate setting it a notch or two lower than the rest. The
PC game also does have a tendency to chug a bit, but it's marginal at
most.
The
game's sound manages to be both better and worse all at once. The voice
acting, as mentioned before, is awful, though perhaps intentionally so.
All the dialogue is terribly cheesy, and the actors ham it up to the
nth degree. The credits list a number of Latino actors as playing the
parts here, but most of them overdo the accents and slang so ludicrously
that it all sounds forced and poorly stereotyped. However, the
soundtrack is, in a word, tough. Featuring a smattering of songs from
Latino rap group Delinquent Habits and Mexico City rap-metal group
Molotov, the music complements the hard-edged tone of the game
perfectly. What's more, a number of action sequences kick in with random
bits of traditional flamenco guitars and upbeat mariachi tunes.
Surprisingly, the jauntiness of these tracks sets a delightfully comedic
contrast to the shooting, and it just plain works. The sound effects
for the weapons, explosions, and whatnot are all effective enough, so
you won't get any shortage of thunderous booms and bullet-riddled
screams throughout the experience.
Total
Overdose is one of those games that presents a conundrum. Most people
shouldn't buy it, as it's far too short, too patently ridiculous, and
too weak outside of its combat to be worth the money. Conversely, the
game's utterly ludicrous nature makes for a fairly entertaining ride at
times, and the shooting can be quite fun. Shooter fans on the hunt for
something brainless and easy, but with lots of stylish gunplay, should
certainly rent Total Overdose just to see how bananas the whole thing
is. Those with slightly more-discerning tastes ought to just leave well
enough alone and look elsewhere for their needs.
SCREEN SHOTS
1. NO INSTALL JUST EXTRACT AND PLAY
2. Start Game With "TOD.exe"
System Requirments
Processor= 1.7GHz
RAM= 256MB
Graphics= 32MB
+6.15+Build+5.jpg)
