Digital mayhem, tequila style. (Total Overdose (Xbox))

Member Name: bookguy

Product:	Total Overdose (Xbox)
Date:	09/09/08 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Intense action, cathartic mayhem.

Disadvantages: Quite hard - needs quite a lot of work on the part of the player.

I have to admit I'm one of those people who starts, say, GTA3, and then gets a bit bored with being stuck on a particular mission, then puts down the game and never picks it up again.

This didn't happen with Total Overdose. From the off, it grabs you and doesn't let you go - even when it gets tough. There are several reasons for this stickiness:

Firstly - the plot takes all of those Rodriguez/Tarantino Mexican movies and mashes them up into a narrative that's so far-fetched and hyperreal, it makes your head spin: You're a ne'er do well Mestizo, Ramiro Cruz, hauled out of prison to investigate the death of your father (A DEA agent) in place of your twin brother, who has been injured in a handgrenade mishap at the outset of the game. Along the way, you encouter all manner of South American stereotypes, from Desperado bandidos to Santos-style wrestlers, and basically shoot them all to hell.

Secondly, the action is intense, and I mean, insanely intense. You have to build up various skills through practice (I won't go into them here - they're involved, and vary from platform to platform) but these are intuitive and become second nature, once you get used to them. Simple button mashers beware, though - you won't last long. You really feel you've achieved something at the end of each mission, and the savegame system (often a weakness in games like these), works well.

The game is violent, but it's cartoonish, and actually quite cathartic after a shopping trip to come home and wreak digital mayhem.

Highly recommended overall, but not a beginner's game.

Summary: An over the top, tequila-fuelled rampage.