Total Overdose

Total Overdose
Developer(s)	Deadline Games
Publisher(s)	EU SCi Entertainment NA Eidos
Engine	RenderWare
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 Xbox
Release date(s)	EU 20050916September 16, 2005 NA 20050927September 27, 2005
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter, open world
Mode(s)	Single-player
Distribution	Optical disc

Total Overdose (or Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico as it is known in the US) is an open world action/adventure third-person shooter video game that was developed by Deadline Games and published by Sci Entertainment in Europe and by Eidos 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.

Synopsis

Plot

The player assumes the role of Ramiro "Ram" Cruz; criminal turned DEA Agent. He has been sent into the Mexican border city of Los Toros and its surroundings by his twin brother Tommy, who wants him to find out who killed their father Ernesto. The player will be tasked with infiltrating and taking down the biggest drug cartel in Mexico and battling it out with dope dealers, banditos, corrupt Federales and Mexican Army, loco luchadores, guerrillas, and other assorted bad guys. Between story missions the player can do optional challenge missions as he or she wishes, exploring Los Toros and gathering bonuses to rack up a high score.

At the beginning, the player assumes the role as Ernesto Cruz, the boys' father. After Ernesto and the DEA attack the military in the jungle to take some info on Papa Muerte, Ernesto is thrown from the plane and killed. Colonel (Commander) Trust believes it's a drug overdose, however, Tommy suspects an agent. In second mission the player controls Tommy. Tommy meets Marco, who is his primary contact with Morales Cartel. Then Tommy destroys a Virgillo gang convoy and their gas station, but is seriously wounded. His twin brother Ramiro takes the job. 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, 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 chaffeur 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, jumping over the broken rail just as the train crashes into the canyon.

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 Alvares

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

Loco moves

These moves are special attacks you can pick up by scoring large amounts of points and combo kills. Use them wisely to eliminate particularly tough foes (like bosses) and/or groups of enemies. Note that you are invincible for a limited time while executing a Loco Move. The time the loco move lasts is EQUAL to your maximum health when it begins, but the time of the locomove drains during the use of it.

Golden Gun

You receive a literally golden gun with four bullets that are automatically lethal to all enemies except bosses. This weapon does NOT give the headshot combo message like the other firearms, due to it automatically locking onto enemies head. This also applies if used from two shots to its four rounds during a "wall-walk" (running jump off the wall; a headshot during the Wall-Walk is either called Fly on the wall or King of the Wall depending if you get the headshot while running on the wall or during the flip off the wall). Ram can be harmed during this loco move.

Tornado

Ram spins around firing twin sub-machine guns and takes down all enemies in a 360 degree radius. Sometimes Ram will shout "Huracán Ramírez!!" after accomplishing this move. It is an easy way to get the Uzis in your inventory.

El Toro

Ram lowers his head like a bull and runs around in an automatic forward motion. Anybody he bumps into dies. It is ineffective if the enemy is in an area out of the reach of Ram during the Loco move (for example an enemy on the higher level that Ram is unable to reach Before, during and after the Loco move is used.).

El Mariachi

This special move gives you two guitar cases with machine guns with infinite ammunition hidden inside. The attack is an obvious ode to the Mariachi Trilogy.

Sombrero of Death

This move creates an AI sombrero-wearing zombie wielding a grenade launcher who will help you eliminate your foes. The zombie is invincible for the duration of the move, but Ram is not, which makes this loco move one of the three loco moves that leaves Ram vulnerable for attack during use. Ram can also be damaged by the grenades, making this one of the two moves Ram is vulnerable to friendly fire.

Explosive Piñata When used the enemy is distracted by the piñata (which is either a duck or goat) which can be shot or left to explode on its own. When it explodes, it takes out the enemies that went near it and humorously showers confetti during the aftermath of the explosion.

Mad Wrestler/Mysterioso

This move summons Numero Cinco, a powerful luchador wielding a random melee weapon. In Chili Con Carnage he is replaced by El Gimpo. Ram is vulnerable to attack during this loco move, and can even be damaged by the mad wrestler's melee attacks. Possibly a homage to Numero Cinco, the luchadore featured in the Angel Season Five episode The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco

Vehicles

Vehicles can be boarded from either side door, whether parked or in motion. Commandeering a vehicle that already has a driver moves that driver to the passenger seat as he makes panicked or pleading remarks in Spanish. Many passenger vehicles have a novelty horn which plays La Cucaracha or a few bars of Für Elise in beeps. Vehicles can range in size from the semi to motorcycle.

Vehicles can be used offensively, either by directly ramming a target, or opening the driver's side door to strike a pedestrian. Leaping from a vehicle in motion turns it into an improvised explosive; it will explode on any front-end contact, even if it has coasted to a near stop. Kills made while leaping from a vehicle are rewarded with significantly high point values, and targeted shots while in mid-air are the highest scoring in the game.

Special vehicles

In the game, there are several vehicles found throughout the missions. Most of them can be found in free roam around Los Toros.

Joey Virgilio's "Conquistador"

Red with a black stripe in color and a protruding engine from the bonnet. This vehicle is nicknamed the "DeLoros" by fans due to its slight resemblance to a (heavily modified) DeLorean Motor Car. This car appears early on in the game and is possibly the fastest custom car in the game. Unfortunately, at the end of the mission in which it appears, the player must give it up. Made more unfortunate since the player had to keep the car in good condition as an element of this particular mission. However, this car can be found in free roam on the curve of the small stretch of road leading to Angel's Apartment. This car is considered excellent for making the big jumps to get any high bonuses.

Caesar Morales' Orange Dirtbike

After killing the Morales character and escaping from his exploding bull-ring on the said dirtbike, it will be parked outside the bull-ring ready for the player to take when they want. Like most cars in the game it will always spawn there, even if the player is already driving it.

Angel's Purple And Flame Pickup

This car is available to drive in free roam as well. Although, it's a little bit more complex to get this vehicle. To find it, the player must first, go to end of the tunnel near Angel's flat where there are cars overlooking the cliff, one of these cars will be a rusty pickup like Angel's. Steal this car and drive to, then through, the magic of sharp eyes and spawning you should see Angel's pickup parked somewhere (unfortunately without the Gun Turret on the back) for you to take whenever you want. Like most cars this will spawn in many places even when you're driving it. Ram has possession of the car in the intro of the game as well in Chili Con Carnage, causing speculation if Ram or Angel own the car or share it.

Marco's Tow Truck

After being used in a mission Marco's tow truck is always available at his junkyard.

Police Cars

After completing the game, it is possible for the player to get back to the DEA just by traveling along the side of a hill near the toll-gates while keeping close to an invisible barrier then the player will be able to find a Police Car to drive. In the PC version, there are also drivable Police Cars in El Centro, parked along the beach expressway from the gas station. Also sometimes at the cliff near angel's apartment where the two cars are parked, the van sometimes is a police van, but other times it's just a rusted beat up one. In order to always get the police van, you must go to U.S. Border by taking a taxi, take the old police car parked immediately after you cross the border, then drive it back to a place near Angels' apartment. Usually, there are a small car that resembles the one Angel uses to save you but without flames and brown instead of purple and there is an old van. Normally, the van is a c**p but if you go there with any old police car, the van will be a brand new cop van.

DEA and Military SUVs

These may be found in later missions, and in free roam in random locations after certain story missions. These are most often locked, but it's possible to shoot the driver out of a cruising DEA or Military vehicle, and then take possession of the vehicle and drive around with the broken windows. These can take more impacts and gunfire than many other vehicles in the game, but like any other vehicles will explode on contact when Ram leaps from it while it's in motion.

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 music)
• Sick Syde Drop
• Station 13
• This is L.A.
• Hey Tell 'Em

Others

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

Reception

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

Total Overdose received mixed to positive reviews.

External links

• Total Overdose at MobyGames