Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's
Tale in Mexico
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.
Screenshots:
1. NO INSTALL JUST EXTRACT AND PLAY
2. Start Game With "TOD.exe"
Processor= 1.7GHz
RAM= 256MB
Graphics= 32MB
Note:
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