Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico

This is quite possibly the best shooter I've ever played (under 200 Pesos)! I am not the seasoned gamer to which most devolpers cater, but I know "FUN" when I have it. Total Overdose has everything that I love about FPS and 3rdPS but doesn't require too much advanced skill to get past a "Boss" (at least not in Easy Mode). Sure, it's probably one of the most beatable games I've ever played (again, in "easy mode"), but the fun doesn't stop - After beating it, I'm going back through the missions, and challenges with fresh approaches. The storyline is familiar to any cheesy action film fan, the characters are something out of a comic book, the overall styling is more than a little cartoonish, and I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH. It's an absolute wild ride, and for less than $10 USD, it is basically PERFECT. I want more of this, please. Oh, and the MUSIC! I can't say enough about it. how it adds to the hard-rock action and just frames the explosive visuals with visceral effect. Then, after one rather rediculously adrenelnie-pumping level, I just sat and listened as the points were added up, to an ironically mellow mariachi band gently congratulating me on a job (bloody) well done. I also searched for the long version of the opening menu song, and can have that on repeat for extended periods of time when I'm not gaming (warning: explicit). Buy this game, crank up the volume, and pull an all-nighter. Have fun!

Nice campaign, nice moves, nice Mexican tequila and what not! Gringo, if you're reading this, get this game! A DRM-free version for $5.99 is a steal. Buy this now!

I have been playing this game countless of times before getting it on GOG and I have been immersed over various aspects of this game which I would like to point out. === GAMEPLAY & MECHANICS === As some people would imply, this game is a combination of Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne, which is a great said combination I would say! The game is set to an open-world type which means the player has the opportunity to explore various places. During combat or when you have to accomplish certain objectives, the radar at the bottom left shows you the respective location of the target although the radar in itself is not very intuitive as it only shows the expected target and such and this is it. The combat mechanics, whereas, is truly crazy! As you, the main protagonist, you have the ability to kill the enemies in various ways from bouncing through the walls and other various acrobatic movements. The slow motion combat is also pretty interesting and useful. With the X amount of kills, you get a random small prize from extra health to certain loco moves (which I'll explain later). === LOCO MOVES & WEAPONS === To add up to the combat mechanics, you also get a multitude of loco moves ranging from dangerous machine gun guitars to golden gun. In Total Overdose, you get the usual set of weapons ranging from handguns, rifles, to rocket and grenade launchers. Besides, you also get various handthrown weapons like grenades, dynamites, and molotovs. === STORYLINE & PLOT === I do not want to explain much further as I do not want to spoil the game. As you, Ramiro Cruz - the main protagonist, you end up on Mexico on to kill various drug cartels and enemies. The plot itself is not that big nor anything special but the game also offers special missions which also includes a few racing mission games! Overall, this game deserves its utmost approval from me. One thing that I wished the game should've come with is the in-built game editor where you can create custom missions and stuff.

I generally like to call this game "Mexican Max Payne", because it kind of is. Well, a bit of GTA in there to, and I do mean *a bit*, because it's kind of the weakest aspect of Total Overdose. There's a bit of open world and driving bits here and there, but mainly the game is generally a silly over the top third person shooter. So you go through levels shooting the place up and completing objectives, as well as using ridiculous powerups, like one where you charge like a bull knocking people over, and one where you pull a guitar case machine gun out of nowhere and gun everything down. Then every now and then, you do a bit of open world faffing around. There's also some acrobatic stuff you can do (think Max Payne + Prince of Persia in a way) like side wall jumping, backwards wall rebound, etc. The game does have a bit of an autoaim problem, not even sure you can turn it off. It reminds me of Turok 2 autoaim a bit, where it can either help, or screw you out of headshots. I wouldn't mind a sequel, and I mean a true sequel. I know there was a bit of a sequel on the PSP (Chili Con Carnage).

With almost 15 hours in and with all side missions and collectibles obtained, I can whole-heartdely recommend this game. The gameplay is very fun, combining the Max Payne shoot-dodge and bullet-time mechanics while adding a few twists, like front and side wall climbing, which is encouraged if you want to go for high scores on all missions. I also didn't find any of the scores actually difficult to beat, since you're given plenty of room to play the game how you want. With that said, headshots are a bit strange to get used to at first, since you have to hold RMB and wait for a yellow corona to cover the enemies head, with your next shot landing on its head. The story is creative and engaging, as you infiltrate a mexican cartel to find more about your dad's "supposed overdose death" (hence the name Total Overdose). Without going into spoiler territory too much, it kept my attention throughout the campaign, although some of the voice acting quality deeps down from time to time. Collectibles are also a fun side activity to complete, as you scourge the map for 300 boosts to Health, Adrenaline and Weapon Skills. Although optional, I strongly advise searching for them (preferably with a map), since some of the later missions can become a bit overwhelming. With that said, there is also a rewind feature that can travel back in time when you die, so it's very hard to actually fail a mission if you're not actively trying to fail it. With that out of the way, there are some downsides to the game. Car physics are a bit of a miss because you sometimes lose control with no apparent reason, which can start to become obnoxious when you're trying to go for race challenges; All guns seems to use the same reload audio, which comically doesn't fit with revolvers, bazookas and grenade launchers; Although the soundtrack is very good, it also becomes repetitive because of looping sections; Enemy spawns are broken and they will spawn right in front or in the back of you. 4/5