Total Overdose

Total Overdose
PC Cover
Developer(s)	Deadline Games Square Enix[1]
Publisher(s)	EU: SCi Entertainment NA: Eidos Interactive
Director(s)	Simon Jon Andreasen
Producer(s)	Per Kyed Laursen
Designer(s)	Simon Jon Andreasen Mikkel Martin Pedersen Søren Lundgaard Mads Salicath Thomas Colding-Jørgensen Carsten Brandt
Programmer(s)	Mogens Hvidtfeldt Anders Thernoe Jensen Soren Trautner Jensen Anders Kjaeraard Kring Katrin Lyngby Kristensen Monte Melbye Jakob Sillesen
Writer(s)	Simon Andreasen Stephen Cavalier
Composer(s)	Manuel Espasandin
Engine	RenderWare
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 Xbox[note 1]
Release date(s)	EU: 2005-09-16 NA: 2005-09-27
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter, open world, Grand Theft Auto clone[2][3]
Mode(s)	Single-player

Total Overdose (also known as Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico; abbreviated as TOD) is an open world action/adventure third-person shooter video game that was developed by Deadline Games and Square Enix, published by Sci Entertainment in Europe and by Eidos Interactive in North America. It contains a demo for Tomb Raider: Legend on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions. Chili Con Carnage, a PlayStation Portable game using some of the original characters but following a different plotline than Total Overdose, was released on February 13, 2007. A sequel was originally planned named Total Overdose 2: Tequila Gunrise. It would have featured the entire map of Mexico, but it was cancelled after Deadline Games closed down.

Synopsis

Plot

In 1989, Ernesto Cruz, a deep-cover DEA agent, and a DEA army, attack the military in a jungle to take some information on Papa Muerte. After the attack, Ernesto is thrown from the plane and is killed. Colonel (Commander of Tommy) Trust believes it's a drug overdose. Tommy a high-ranking DEA agent and the son of Ernesto, goes to Mexico and finds Marco, who is his primary contact with Morales Cartel. Tommy destroys a Virgillo gang convoy and their gas station but is seriously wounded by a grenade explosion. Tommy calls his younger brother Ramiro to take the job. Ramiro is a criminal and was sent to prison for many reasons.

Ram saves Marco from a group of Virgillos who want to kill him because he was winning too much. Marco refers Ram to Cesar Morales, a local gang boss who had bragged of knowing Ernesto's murderer. Morales sends Ram to steal the Virgillo's prized car, only to blow it up. Afterwards, Ram is enlisted the task of recovering three stolen trucks that will be used for Morales's trafficking deal. Ram successfully steals the trucks,as well as blowing up the Virgillos' ship. Morales's chauffeur Angel overhears Ram talking to Tommy, and finds out his identity. Ram then accompanies the trucks through Virgillo country, enabling the trucks to pass through. Ram hides in one of the trucks and follows them to Morales's meat factory. Ram opens the gate for the DEA agents. But Morales already knew of Ram's plan and kills all of the DEA agents. Ram narrowly escapes with the help of Angel, who is revealed to be a Mexican undercover police officer. Angel and Ram infiltrate a meeting of the Virgillos in which he finds out that Morales was just a puppet with someone pulling the strings.

Ram engages and dispatches Morales' henchmen, finally killing Morales, obtaining a letter from Morales' safe. He finds out that the letter was sent to Morales by a man named PM (probably Papa Muerte). The letter said that PM's DEA informant The Eagle had forewarned him of the DEA ambush. PM had supplied Morales' men with weapons and artillery through Elvez Autos. Ram infiltrates Elvez Autos and finds a bunch of papers depicting coffins and enough ammunition for a small army. Ram enters Elvez's Villa through the sea and finds bodies of DEA agent Pierson and the other agents in coffins. Ram finds and interrogates Elvez, who reveals that Papa Muerte had ordered him to supply Cesar Morales with guns to get rid of the DEA agents. General Montanez was to deliver the payment and had done so. Ram kills Elvez and escapes the villa with the police and the military in pursuit.

Ram then goes to the jungle to Montanez's military base, extracting information about Papa Muerte and the DEA spy. Ram engages and kills Montanez, escaping the jungle. Trust finds out that Papa Muerte had planned to sneak into the DEA and steal the contraband cocaine which the DEA keeps. After stealing they would leave after placing a bomb. Ram goes to Angel's apartment to wait for extraction, only to find Papa Muerte's henchmen trying to kill him. Agent Johnson shows up and reveals himself as the Eagle. He induces Tommy and Trust with a lethal drug overdose. Tommy turns on the microphone, enabling Ram to hear that Johnson had kidnapped Angel and killed their dad. Ram enters the DEA and fights through Papa Muerte's henchmen. He finds the antidote and saves Tommy and Trust. Johnson escapes with Angel on a train. Ram loads the bomb on a train engine and carries it away from the DEA. He escapes the train by jumping onto Johnson's train. Ram fights through the train and comes face to face with Johnson, who separates the coaches from the engine. Two air force Harriers sent by Trust destroy the bridge ahead. Using a bike, Ram destroys Johnson's sentry guns and saves Angel, then they jump over the broken rail just as the train crashes into the canyon, killing Johnson.

Characters

• Ramiro "Ram" Cruz: The playable character for most of the game. A second generation Mexican-American from Venice Beach, Ramiro had been imprisoned for charges not revealed in the story, but hinted to be numerous and violent. His release is contingent on cooperation with the DEA, on the authorization and supervision of his twin brother, a career DEA agent. Ram does not believe in being careful, playing by the rules, or letting his enemies live very long. During the game, Ram is given the nickname "Gringo Loco" by the enemies he faces. Ram also calls himself "Gringo Loco" on occasion in the game as well.
• Tomas "Tommy" Cruz: Ram's twin brother, playable for the second mission only. Tommy is a high-ranking DEA agent who has infiltrated the Morales Cartel to investigate a lead on his father's death. His mission is threatened to abort when he suffers major injuries due to a grenade explosion at a gas station, until he recruits his twin brother Ram to take on his undercover persona. Tommy maintains contact via a radio link through which he provides information and advice Ram may or may not take. On the Chili Con Carnage website, Tommy is seen as Ernesto's profile picture. It is unknown if this was accidental or not.
• Ernesto Cruz: The Cruz boys' father, playable for the first mission only. Ernesto is a deep-cover DEA agent who, after a successful raid in South America, unfortunately fell victim to a corrupt group of D.E.A. who pushed him out of a plane. Ernesto's death in Total Overdose is related to the "Overdose" portion of the game's title.
• Papa Muerte: A mysterious drug lord who is responsible for the death of Ernesto Cruz and countless others. An underworld figure of legend, his true identity is unknown, and you will spend most of the game hunting him down but will never meet him.
• Commander Trust : Tommy's boss, who is not too thrilled with Ram being sent to handle things. Commander Trust is most often seen interrogating Tommy Cruz about his brother's conduct and the operation involving him.
• Marco the Rat : Owner of Marco's Junkyard in Los Toros and Tommy Cruz's primary contact with the Morales Cartel. After Ram bails him out of trouble with the Virgilio he becomes a valuable asset.
• Cesar Morales: Head of the notorious Morales Cartel, he runs most of the drug traffic in Los Toros, though he faces increasing competition from the Virgilio Cartel. He also owns a meat packing plant, a trucking company, and a shipping business. Not to mention the fact that he's the Los Toros Bullfighting Commissioner.
• Angel: Cesar Morales's beautiful chauffeur/enforcer, and a cool and capable lieutenant with a mysterious air. Tension and apparent love interest between her and Ram develop throughout the story.
• Special Agent Johnson: Former partner of Ernesto, a highly trained veteran DEA agent who has put a lot of work into the Papa Muerte case seemingly with little result. Also known for his cowboy hat and John-Wayne-style modus operandi. He is the "Eagle" spy who betrays the DEA and kills Ramiro's father and delivers the drug overdose to Colonel Trust and Tommy
• Special Agent Piersson: Another veteran DEA agent who worked with Ernesto, and a close partner with Johnson.
• General Montanez: A corrupt high-ranking leader of the Mexican army who has worked with the CIA and DEA but is currently employed by Papa Muerte.
• Elvez Gonzales: Wealthy auto salesman, playboy and good friend of Cesar Morales. Also heavily traffics in arms and technologies that support Cesar Morales' supremacy in organized crime.

Gangs

• Morientes gang

The Morientes gang only appears in a challenge called "Morientes Mow Down" where the player must take an elevator to the top of a tower and then kill the gang members from top to bottom of the tower.

• The Virgillos

The Virgillos are a Mexican drug cartel, led by Joey Virgillo and his cousin (or brother) Rico Virgillo. They mostly live on farms and ranches where they keep their drugs. They also own a gas station outside of Los Toros, El Macho Bar and Los Toros Boatyard. They are primary enemies to Morales Cartel. At the beginning player will have to battle against them, but later he will be allied with them.

• Papa Muerte's Gang

Led by Papa Muerte this is huge organization controlling part of Zona Industrial, meat factory outside of Los Toros (they actually keep drugs in there), Elvez's Car Dealership, Elvez's House, and also a military camp in jungle. They are antagonists on the game and are also on bad terms with another drug cartel, the Virgillo Gang. It comes in these factions:

• Morales Cartel

Controlling major part of drug business in Los Toros, notorious Morales Cartel is led by Cesar Morales and their arch-enemies are Virgillos.

• Elvez Cartel

Led by Elvez Gonzales, wealthy car salesman, this gang is heavily involved in arms trafficking.

• Corrupt Military

Led by General Montanez, their military camp is deep in jungle.

• Corrupt Police

Led by Officer Mendez.

• Corrupt DEA

Led by Special Agent Johnson, who betrayed DEA and killed Ernesto Cruz.

Voice cast

• Angel / Hooker by Yeni Álvarez
• Cesar Morales / Papa Muerte (voice) (as Simon Isaacson) by Simon Prescott
• 2nd In Command / Truck Driver by Carlos Carrillo
• Tommy / Ram / Ernesto (voice) (as Daniel E. Mora Jr.) by Daniel E. Mora
• Johnson / Montanez by Frank Davids
• Trust / Elvez / Agent Pierson / Montanez 2 by Paul Eiding
• Hooker 2 by Claudia Velarde
• Additional voices by Manuel Espasandin, Soren Trautner Madsen, Anders Thernoes Jensen, Henrik Lunardi Weide, Jonas Chonovitsch, Katrin Lyngby Kristensen, Rob Peterson and Kate Orsini.

Gameplay

A screenshot of the game featuring the shot dodge ability

Total Overdose is a third-person shooter open world action/adventure game. Players assume control of Ramiro, Tommy and Ernesto. The most playable character in the game is Ramiro, while Tommy and Ernesto can be played only in the two beginning missions. The game parodies Robert Rodriguez's Mexico Trilogy. Throughout the game, players can run and dive and have the ability to use weapons including shotguns, rifles, handguns and rocket launchers. The game features cheap and special cars. The special cars include "Conquistador", Orange Dirtbike, Purple and Flame Pickup, Tow Truck, DEA and Military SUVs. Players have the ability to shot dodge, during which the player dives in any direction with a slow motion effect. This move gives players more accuracy in shooting enemies in combat. Loco moves are special attacks which players can pick up by scoring large amounts of points and combo kills. These moves can be used for eliminating heavy and a group of enemies. Players can perform six different kind of loco moves: Golden Gun, Tornado, El Toro, El Mariachi, Sombrero of Death, Explosive Piñata and Mad Wrestle.^[4]

Soundtrack

Molotov

• "Que No Te Haga Bobo Jacobo" (in the opening credits before accessing the main menu)
• "Karmara"
• "Molotov Cocktail Party"
• "Matate Tete"
• "Step Off"
• "Cerdo"
• "No Manches Mi Vida"
• "Apocalypshit"
• "El Mundo"

Control Machete

• "Humanos Mexicanos"
• "Comprendes Mendes?"
• "Cheve"

Delinquent Habits

• "Beijing"
• "Downtown"
• "Freedom Band"
• "House of the Rising Drum"
• "I Can't Forget It"
• "It's The Delinquents"
• "Return of the Tres" (main menu theme)
• "Sick Syde Drop"
• "Station 13"
• "This is L.A."
• "Hey Tell 'Em"
• "Merry Go Round"

Others

• "El Rey" - José Alfredo Jiménez
• "La Cucaracha" - Alvero Gomez Oruzco
• "Duelo de Pistolas" - Steven John
• "Mexican Nights" - David Snell
• "Rio Grande" - David Snell
• "Martyn Laight" - Merengue

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score Publication Score PC PS2 Xbox Metacritic 72/100 71/100 71/100

Total Overdose received mixed to positive reviews.

Notes

1. The Xbox version of this game is not compatible with Xbox 360.

References

1. Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico on GOG.com
2. Mikel Raparez (2007-03-27). "Battle of the GTA clones". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2014-10-13.
3. PC Gamer, Jan 2005. p. 56. Cited in Metacritic.
4. Alex Navarro. "Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 5 April 2016.

External links

• Total Overdose at MobyGames