Total Overdose Was Supposed to Be GTA Clone, but Became an Insane Shooter with a Latino Vibe
Total Overdose fully lives up to its name, offering adrenaline-filled gameplay. This crazy game will make us want to come back for more.
The years 2000-2010 brought us a real avalanche of classics. Third-person shooters were gaining increasing popularity, and players had a whole range of titles to choose from - from realistic simulators to crazy arcade games. In this thicket, one game stood out, combining elements of Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne, poured Tabasco sauce all over it all and turned the crazy Latin music up to 11. This game is of course the 2005's Total Overdose from non-existent for a good dozen or so years Deadline Games studio (the publisher was Square Enix).
Unfortunately, for several reasons that I will detail later in the text, it did not gain much popularity and recognition from the critics. Now we can only speculate, but I think that a potential sequel for the seventh-generation consoles could've been totally crazy.
The plot is not the most important thing here, it's the atmosphere.
Total Overdose was more than just another action game. This is a tribute to the classic action cinema, such as movies by Tarantino or Rodriguez. The game wasn't afraid of exaggeration and references to B-movies. It was this element that made Total Overdose so unique and memorable.
The action of the game takes place in a fictional Mexican city, which is teeming with violence and corruption. The player takes on the role of Ramiro Cruz, a former criminal, who, along with his brother, tries to find out the truth about their father's death. We, as players, learn in the first minutes of the game that he was betrayed and thrown out of a plane by corrupt DEA agents. Serious themes, however, end quite quickly and after a moment we see some criminals trying to load large boxes labeled "marijuana" onto a car, and they are surprised when our hero barges into their territory with an entire arsenal of guns.
Ramiro Cruz is a charismatic and mysterious character. His past is shrouded in mystery, and his motivation is revenge. On his way, he encounters many colorful characters who either help him or hinder the achievement of his goal. He always has a sarcastic comment at hand and won't hesitate to use it. Unfortunately, he never became an icon of the gaming world, like the protagonists of the GTA series. Which is a shame, actually.
Crazy ballet to the rhythm of Latino music
Gameplay in Total Overdose is a real feast for lovers of dynamic action. The combat system is incredibly fluid and allows for spectacular mixing of tricks and shots. Players can use a wide arsenal of weapons - from classic revolvers to powerful machine guns, and often use two guns at once. One of the most characteristic elements of the gameplay is the ability to perform various kinds of acrobatics in slow motion, which allows for precise aiming.
And I mean this completely literally – the game was created with consoles in mind, so the shooting on PC is a bit, how to put it nicely, "poor". Because we don't shoot exactly where we aim, when we have the crosshair near to the opponent, the game "helps" us by marking him with a red circle and directing the bullets towards him, even if we didn't aim precisely. And scoring a headshot in a conventional way is virtually impossible. This action also has a separate mechanic in the game - we have to hold down the right mouse button, then a second, yellow circle will appear on the enemy's head, which will quickly decrease along with the increasing sound effect, which is supposed to give us a sign to press the shot. Then we land a perfect headshot. In PS2 era, this could have been helpful, but when having a mouse in my hand, which I can easily aim at the head of an enemy running at me with a rake in a fraction of a second, it only gets in the way.
However, what doesn't bother at all, and even helps a lot, is the soundtrack. The song selection is amazing and fits the atmosphere and gameplay perfectly. We have hard, metal sounds, but also a lot of hip-hop and rap, of course in Latino rhythms. The music also changes during the fight, and when we score a higher multiplier, it becomes harder and faster, providing us with an adrenaline boost for the subsequent elimination of opponents by jumping off walls and throwing ourselves left and right in slow motion.
It is precisely this "throwing oneself to the sides" and the slowed down pace that evoke associations with "bullet time" from the Max Payne series. And I have to admit that Total Overdose also does it very well. We earn points for performing tricks and eliminating adversaries in various ways. The more diverse our ways of clearing the map are, the higher multiplier we hit and consequently, more points. These, in turn, unlock more various rewards for us at the end of the mission. For example, something like badges - after collecting a certain number of them, we get, for instance, the mode of shooting from two weapons at once. We will also collect the same badges in the game world, so we have a reason to explore it, although...
The game world is empty and boring.
Yeah, about that. Exploring isn't very interesting, as the city is quite empty and not very pretty, and is divided into small districts that are jarring with loading screens every time. It is clearly visible here that the majority of the effort went into the combat system. This is particularly noticeable when we realize that a year earlier we got GTA: San Andreas, which offered a huge map, three large cities, and a multitude of small towns between them, all without any loading screens. When I first played Total Overdose years ago on PS2, those loading screens gave me a headache.
Now that I've played the GOG version on PC, they've become much less irritating, as the game loads in a quarter of a second, probably thanks to the SSD drive. Nevertheless, they still pop up every time we drive from one district to another. It's a shame that they couldn't be completely eliminated. As part of the complaints, I will also mention cars, driving which is a bad joke. The vehicles behave like a soap dish on wheels - when turning, the rear of the car runs away to the other side and the wheels do not rotate in line with the vehicle's speed. Clearly, not much effort was put into this aspect either. The only plus might be a flashy jump from a speeding car, which will crash into opponents or exploding barrels.
Even more crazy action
I complained a bit about what I disliked the most in this title, so it's time to return to the positives. While in combat, we can use special power-ups, called Loco Move, which we will find in the city, and also get for scores achieved in missions. Every single one of these powers is a joke, and many of them really make you feel like you're playing an adaptation of a Tarantino or Rodriguez film. For example, we have a power that, after being activated, gives us two guitar cases, from which we rain down lead at our opponents for several seconds without receiving any damage. Sounds familiar? Or a Tornado, which causes our hero to start spinning in place and shooting, and all nearby enemies drop like flies.
The game serves up some jokes, nods and humor at every step. The character constantly comments on our style of play, throwing out phrases like "spicy!" or the name of the trick we performed. It works pretty much like in Bulletstorm, where we also received points for creatively eliminating opponents. Humor in Total Overdose still amuses me and I think it hasn't aged a bit. I always smile when I let another Loco Move rip and a Luchador with a baseball bat in his hand will run around me and beat up cartel members. And all this to the accompaniment of crazy, Latino music.
Somewhat forgotten and left behind
Despite the obvious flaws, Total Overdose is a game that, despite the passage of time, has not lost its attractiveness. This is a tribute to action cinema, offering the players dynamic gameplay, an interesting plot, and unforgettable experiences. While the game has its shortcomings, such as a somewhat linear and empty world and repetitive side missions, the unique style and atmosphere make it a must-have for any action game fan. A sequel was also in development, but it was cancelled after the publisher was taken over by Eidos. The creators promised a huge, open world that was supposed to encompass all of Mexico.
Another interesting fact is that two years after the premiere of Total Overdose, Deadline Games created something close to a sequel or "retelling", namely Chili Con Carnage, albeit unfortunately only on PSP. The "sequel" received better reviews in the media than the original, but I suspect that reviewers took into account the fact that a large game was successfully transferred from PS2 directly to PSP, without major changes. I haven't had the opportunity to play this game, but looking at the gameplay videos it doesn't differ much from Total Overdose.
How to play Total Overdose today?
The answer, as is often the case, directs us to GOG.com. It is here that we will find the most classics, adapted to work on modern devices. While writing this text, the game only cost $1, which is really a ridiculous price for the entertainment it offers. Without the sale, the purchase cost is $5.
