Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico

Total Overdose is certainly fun if all you're after is a quick blast and something that doesn't tax your mind meat, but it isn't nearly as multi-faceted as it thinks it is. [PSW]

Its repetitive structure and bland storyline creates a somewhat shallow experience, yet at the same time there’s depth to be found in the combo combat system and the many side missions to partake.

Total Overdose may be another unashamed clone, but its amusing Mexican underworld storyline and crazy acrobatic moves make it a load of irresistible fun.

When it works, Total Overdose is a surreal blur of bullets keeping time to the merengue. But for each of those moments there are an equal number that run together into an indistinguishable mush of gunning down guys in sombreros to Latino rap.

If this had come out 3 years back it would have been a top-scoring revelation, but that’s its main problem – it just feels like an older, less refined, game. There are some sound ideas in here, but simply not enough polish to really rate it.

still a fun romp, and that's what matters most. [Holiday 2005, p.76]

It's cool if you ever thought of playing a GTA-style game set in 80s' Mexico, but ultimately marred by the 'overdose' of bullet-time gameplay.

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.

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.

To push an untested franchise out the door, when the game is full of problems, during the season when we get the most games, in a year where we'll be seeing a system launch, well, that's just silly.

As much as I would like to recommend that people see the insanity that unfolds, the shoddy play will likely drive most gamers into a mental institution. [Jan 2006, p.138]

If you happened to be sitting at home one evening, bored off your tits, and feel like lying on your tummy with a stupid grin splattered across your face, you could probably do worse than to rent it out - even if it is basically that "Kill all the Haitians" line from Vice City done up as an entire game. Totally.

There was never any doubt that Total Overdose would fall foul of one of its genre's various pitfalls, but it's unfortunate that it ultimately had to be one as irksome as excessive length... At its best, the game still shakes up a loud and spicy Mexican cocktail, but what it’s added to the mix has been more than enough to weaken the taste. [Nov 2005, p.103]

"GTA: Mexico" with B-level developer talent: The game Robert Rodriguez would have designed if his brain had been replaced by a satsuma: This is Smash TV in sombreros.

If ever a game deserved the description of “Xtreme” or some spelling variation thereof, it’s this one. Total Overdose takes every stale action game stereotype and cranks it up to 11, presenting a game that’s lame and self-parodying, but despite that still manages to be fun--fun enough for a rental, that is.

Just like a fine chalupa meal at Taco Bell, you're getting exactly what you paid for, no more, no less.