Total Overdose

A gunslinging tale or an agonising wail...?

If videogames involving gunfights, car chases and drugs were popular brands and models of, let's say vacuum cleaners, then Grand Theft Auto would probably rank top as one of those Dyson's that doesn't need a bag and has that futuristic ball at its base for ease and maneuverability around your furniture. A little further down the league might be Max Payne (the original rather than the slightly disappointing sequel), as an Electrolux or a Hoover. Yes they're copying the 'no bag required' formula but they're functional and do the job well enough. Beneath them further would probably come a piece apparatus that your grandmother has been using since the 1950s, something that sounds like a foghorn when its switched on and is only useful in ripping any surface it is rolled along to shreds. Bless, it tries hard but it just can't match its rivals. This vacuum cleaner is equivalent to Total Overdose: A Gunslingers Tale in Mexico.

For starters the unoriginality and clichéd nature of the game's storyline borders on the criminally bad. You play the role of ex-convict Ramiro Cruz who is drafted in to replace his identical twin brother, a DEA agent, who has been injured on an undercover mission shortly before he was about to bust a large drug trafficking incident on the Mexican border. And get this; he was also on a lead to discovering who killed the brothers' father. So that's a story of revenge over a deceased relative, drugs and a case of twins switching identity so that no one will know any different. Yawn.

Total Overdose's playing environment will be familiar to anyone who has dabbled with the 3D GTA games; a free roaming cityscape where you're permitted to do whatever you please including the usual hijacking of civilian cars or simply just popping caps for no reason whatsoever into whichever innocent bystander takes your fancy. Unlike GTA however, the consequences of these actions are largely ignored by any law enforcement agencies that presumably are issuing virtual ASBOs to unruly teenagers and sending pensioners to jail for refusing to pay their council taxes instead.

Gameplay is largely dictated to you by compulsory story missions and in mostly optional side missions that appear as symbols on the vague map which sits in the lower right corner of the screen. Tasks appear a few at a time and can be accessed either through the menu screen by pressing the Select button, or alternatively by making your way to the location by running or stealing a vehicle. Horribly, the responsiveness of the vehicles is akin to driving and steering on ice. Movement of the left analogue stick sees the front of your car or truck jerking about in a comically spasmodic fashion until you reach your destination; thankfully most of these are not too far away. Missions mostly involve an enjoyable if basic and soon repetitive distraction, assigning tasks such as killing a group of weapon-wielding druggies or destroying a couple of food stands to find and confiscate bags of Mary Jane.

In fairness, the gunfights are probably the game's most rewarding feature even if they are a complete rip-off of Payne's bullet-time scenes. Each weapon automatically locks on to the nearest target making frantic firing a frequent occurrence, whilst combinations of L1 and any direction of the left analogue stick allows for a total slowdown in action and ammo-dodging abilities. In addition, holding down the Square button brings up a template looking like a fast-closing vice around the enemies' heads. Saving a shot (fired with R1) for the moment the graphic locks over said enemy's head results in a perfect headshot and an instant kill. Beware though, as this is a time consuming task and most of the time you will be shot at continuously as you carry it out, losing a lot of health in the process. Performing stylish moves, (wall flips, dives, headshots, et al) rewards you with points which are a necessary objective to completing any assignment as well as gaining you useful bonus items such extra health.

Further to the basic move-shoot skills are limited special attributes that afford the chance destroy a tirade of enemies at the touch of a button. Each has its very own stereotypical Hispanic-style name and deviates further from any idea that the game is trying to be as lifelike as GTA and co. 'El Toro' for example temporarily gives you the powers of a bull allowing you charge about invincibly and batter anything and everything in your way, while another sends you into a slow motion spin with a frenzy of dual Uzis blasting. As useful and entertaining as these are, they have the same impact as the rocket launcher in Resident Evil 4 - killing bosses and the like instantly and removing any would-be challenge.

Yet another disappointing aspect of the game is the enemy AI. You will often witness certain foes shooting in random directions for no fathomable reason or running around in circles in an infinite loop until you move close enough, on which it is their cue to shoot wildly. Early on my character was stood on one side of a wooden crate while the enemy crouched on the other side. It was not until I edged a little out that he was aware of my presence and began firing like a crazy man. In these circumstances you often run out of ammunition, too. This problem is baffling as so much emphasis is placed on killing with guns in the game. Without them all you have is your bare fists or something useless from range such as a bat or broom.

Total Overdose is also underwhelming in the graphical department. Your main character, and the surrounding environments, are reasonably detailed, if sometimes blocky. In terms of navigation, the similarity of buildings and lack of familiar landmarks isn't helpful either. Finding yourself turning a corner into yet another identical-looking street in an area of the city (which aren't enormous at that) and having no idea if you have been there before due to the blandness of the world is just plain annoying. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for you to become trapped in spaces that more thorough collision detection would have prevented, as well as just hitting the buttons in panic as slowdown vents its wrath and the PS2 struggles to cope with a flurry of onscreen enemies.

Perhaps this evaluation has been over critical, but in this day and age there really is no excuse for elementary gameplay faults that spoil the whole playing experience to exist. While substandard scripts and voice acting can be forgiven, when someone pays upwards of £30 for a game lasting ten hours maximum they do not expect to be faced with fiddly controls or to be confused by poorly thought out level structures. Total Overdose is the result of an indifferent, lazy attitude and targets the consumer who is attracted to buy a game purely by its box art and hip spiel. In short bouts of play, Total Overdose is fun and if you really can't get enough of street roaming and civilian slaughtering action then maybe the game is worth a peek. Otherwise Chico, you're better off steering clear of this lackluster effort.

65%

By Andrew Macarthy