As so many years of experience has told us, there are certain things that make a good game on mobile-whatever genre that may be. It needs to be consistent. If it’s an action game, it needs to have a long playing time. If it’s an RPG, it needs innovative gameplay. If it’s a driving game, it needs a wide selection of tracks and vehicles, and so on. No developer has tried to bring every element from every genre together, in a presentable package. In my totally honest opinion, Total Overdose may well be the furthest, visually and virtually, they’ve got to that “perfect game” so far.
Why you ask? Well, for one, the RPG element is very much alive here, with a gripping, believable storyline. The game grants you control of Tommy and Ramiro Cruz, twin brothers in the search for their father’s killer, which will take them all around the Mexican underworld. Tommy Cruz is the good son, who followed in his father’s footsteps and became a cop, while Ramiro is the “black sheep”, the failure, being released from prison on his third strike. During the game, both Tommy and Ramiro will rendezvous with police informers, notorious druglords and sleazy underworld bosses. You’ll find that each brother talks and acts in a completely different way from the other.
As for action, the game introduces a completely new form of “bullet time.” Remember Fatal Force’s bullet time? Well, to be honest, it was quite weak. Your character didn’t even slow down! Synergenix have developed this idea in excellent form. When you feel like bullet time, simply double tap the direction you want to dive in. Before you know it, your character has leaped ahead and is now in slow motion. This means you can now dodge your enemy’s bullets, while shooting a load of them yourself. Oh, and not forgetting that it also looks very, very cool. To aid you in your showing off, five weapons are available to grab throughout the game’s 12 levels, ranging from a standard pistol to a savage rocket launcher. Just to top it off, after pulling off a particularly stylish kill, the game will acknowledge you. On several occasions, I was called various nicknames, such as “savage gringo”, “widow maker” and even “chicken killer”, referring to some innocent poultry that was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Take that, Col Sanders.
And, for the most demanding gamer, a little automobile action is included. On one level, Ramiro is asked to “borrow” a drug baron’s pride and joy, a mean sports car, and bring it back. You are given a GTA-style view of your car, while the action itself is reminiscent of Spyhunter. Although it’s arguable that they could have done more with the car levels, for instance a car chase, or choice of vehicles, it’s always fun to run over a few gringo’s, while picking up a few power-ups, called “loco moves”, taken straight from the console version.