Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico

 PlayStation 2
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 49 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 49
  3. Negative: 4 out of 49
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  1. Psychofant
    Oct 19, 2005
    10
    Excellent, fun and unpretentious shooter action.
  2. JensR.
    Sep 17, 2005
    10
    I will give it a 10, The game is good and fun, and I like the idear that it is possible to kille all enemies in one long "string" there by getting insane ammount of points, the bad stuff, theres some things that cud need alitel touch up, owere all iIenjoy it. Still trying to complet Smash the Stach whit a 100+ kill combo :-D i goth 86 so far.
  3. JordanC.
    Sep 19, 2005
    10
    Excellent bit better than gta san andreas should get it excellent.
  4. LarsJ.
    Sep 21, 2005
    10
    An incredibly addicting and very stylish game. It bothers me that so many people keep comparing to GTA.The combat system in Total Overdose is A LOT more fun than the one in GTA, although, truth be told, it is stolen from the Max Payne series of games. The way I see it, it's more important to understand and appreciate Deadline Games' effort to pay tribute to film director Robert An incredibly addicting and very stylish game. It bothers me that so many people keep comparing to GTA.The combat system in Total Overdose is A LOT more fun than the one in GTA, although, truth be told, it is stolen from the Max Payne series of games. The way I see it, it's more important to understand and appreciate Deadline Games' effort to pay tribute to film director Robert Rodriquez's crazy El Mariachi-trilogy. The graphics may not be very beatiful, but the gameplay, art direction and especially the soundtrack is top notch. A higly recommended, very entertaining game.… Expand
  5. KurtB.
    Jan 17, 2007
    8
    Not the best looking game, but loads of fun to play. As said in other reviews, a nice blend of Max Payne and GTA. I like it a lot!
  6. AntonyP.
    Sep 19, 2005
    10
    Just completed the bullring mission and I'm getting a pretty good idea what the games all about and where it stands. I am going to be blunt here. Playing this makes me realise just how overrated GTA games are. The amount of time you spend getting from one place to another. The buying of property. Ostensibly wasted time. What sense of achievement do you actually feel when you buy the Just completed the bullring mission and I'm getting a pretty good idea what the games all about and where it stands. I am going to be blunt here. Playing this makes me realise just how overrated GTA games are. The amount of time you spend getting from one place to another. The buying of property. Ostensibly wasted time. What sense of achievement do you actually feel when you buy the next piece of property. GTA may be entirely free roaming but an awful lot of it is aimless and pointless. Combat lets face it is crap and boring. The only supreme part about GTA are the radio stations and hosts and advertisements. Total Overdose is just wowing me. It is so fast paced, such blatant fun. When you get out your twin magnums or twin sawn offs or rifles and fire whilst flipping off a wall it just puts GTA into the shade. If you get blown away just rewind and play it again. If you're in trouble you can use a loco move if you've earned it. The mad wrestler running round like a loony taking out some mexican midget or turning Ramiro into some charging El Toro bull. Priceless. The music is the match of anything in GTA and is perfectly suited to the environment and more importantly style of play. I am amazed this is the first game production of a game studio, namely deadline games. I would go as far as to say this is essential gaming.… Expand
  7. ChrisM.
    Jan 23, 2007
    10
    For heaven shake! It's the first time of my life that I can't stop playing a game! I don't like these kind of games but this one makes me mad! I have played till the end only 2 games: Cadillacs and final fight (for those who know)! Just Love It!
  8. JeremyC.
    Sep 21, 2005
    9
    Action from start to finish, huge explosions, super cool audio track, no stupid stealth missions, lots & lots of killing.... This is a beaut' and I'm gonna give it a 9.
  9. Harry210
    Oct 9, 2010
    8
    The game Total Overdose is what you get if you put Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and some hot sauce and chilli's into a blender! This game is so much fun with its fast paced game play and humour. The graphics are nice and bright and the combat system works well. Most of the missions have you shooting at enemies with Max Payne style slow-mo dives and using a great aresnal of weapons likeThe game Total Overdose is what you get if you put Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and some hot sauce and chilli's into a blender! This game is so much fun with its fast paced game play and humour. The graphics are nice and bright and the combat system works well. Most of the missions have you shooting at enemies with Max Payne style slow-mo dives and using a great aresnal of weapons like grenades, hunting shotguns and rifles. Ram (who you play as) can pull of dives and combos to dodge and kill enemies and the moves are hillariously named like Spicy Move and he can even dive out of a moving car and shoot while the car explodes in the foreground! The game features an auto targeting system which is great and these so called Loco Moves that Ram can use to defeat his foes add to the humor of the game. Loco moves are special moves that can help Ram in a heavy situation and include Golden Gun in which Ram can pull off an easy one shot kill, El Mariachi which has Ram holding 2 guitar cases which are actually miniguns and more! One good feature in the game is the Rewind feature. Simply find the many Rewind features dotted around the city and if you die or make a mistake on something, you can use a Rewind to rewind a few seconds back and try again. There is also an arcade style scoring system in the game. Basically to score, you keep killing enemies and rank up muliplyers to score big and at the end of each missions, you can unlock goodies to help you through the game. The sandbox style world is good to explore because there are various items to find like Rewinds, health upgrades, gun upgrades and extra points. The games soundtrack is awesome and really fits in with the Mexican feel of the game. The game does have some weak points though: Despite being a sandbox game, the city is divided into seperate parts which when you journey from one part to another, requires the game to load and are quite long unlike the Grand Theft Auto Games (On PlayStation 2) which only have few load screens when travelling from Island to Island and are not as long. Also the driving mechanics are sloppy and nowhere near as good as the shootouts. Despite this, Total Overdose is just a fantastic little sandbox game and so addicting (and cheap to buy) that everyone craving for some action should pick this up!… Expand
  10. tangosucka
    Jun 26, 2015
    10
    Screw gta San andreas, this game should be getting the HD remaster, everything about this total overdose is just pure gold, the storyline, the combat, and the characters, I'm already halfway through this game because is just so great, the combat is some of the most insanely fun I've ever experienced, shooting down a group of six enemies using the bullet time inspired shoot dodge mechanicScrew gta San andreas, this game should be getting the HD remaster, everything about this total overdose is just pure gold, the storyline, the combat, and the characters, I'm already halfway through this game because is just so great, the combat is some of the most insanely fun I've ever experienced, shooting down a group of six enemies using the bullet time inspired shoot dodge mechanic is just so satisfying, although the city of los tores isn't that interesting to explore compared to Los Santos in gta San andreas, and the graphics could probably do a bit better, but neither of those things matter, because you have an incredibly fun and manic Mexican themed open world game with A lot to do and shoot :) I'm so glad I picked it up when I did because the amount of time I've sunk into this game is untrue, and unlike gta san andreas , the missions don't piss you off with how hard they are, because total overdose is perfectly balanced In terms of difficulty, definitely worth getting and playing, you will not regret it, because I certainly don't :)… Expand
  11. Nameless2131
    Feb 6, 2020
    10
    10/10 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  12. Veredito
    Oct 27, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Evg be Like evg e e homem sem saber o que há no coração bandido e o homem corre atrás do homem de… Expand
  13. Kennedian
    Apr 11, 2022
    10
    Amazing game with amazing gameplay
    One of the underrated games of all time, and one of the ps2 masterpieces

Awards & Rankings

98
#98 Best PS2 Game of 2005
99
#99 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 36
  3. Negative: 2 out of 36
  1. 3DAvenue
    80
    It's not "GTA4" nor is it trying to be but it does borrow some elements from the game to create one of the cheesiest and most playable games of the year so far, its just not as fully realized as it could have been.
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  2. Computer and Video Games
    70
    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]
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  3. Total Video Games
    70
    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.
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