Total Overdose

Infobox VG
title = Total Overdose


caption=
developer = Deadline Games
publisher = Sci Entertainment (Europe)
Eidos (North America)
designer =
engine =
released = vgrelease|PAL Region|PAL|September 16, 2005
vgrelease|North America|NA|September 27, 2005
genre = Third-person shooter
modes = Single-player
ratings = ESRB: M (Mature)
BBFC: 18
PEGI: 18+
platforms = PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
media = CD, DVD
requirements =
input =

"Total Overdose" (or "Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico" in the US) is an 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 "" 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.

tory

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, guerillas, 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. The Furies will try to stop you during the story of Total Overdose

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 site, 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.

Special Agent Piersson

Another veteran DEA agent who worked with Ernesto, 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.

Weapons

Fist

Your basic weapon. Always with you, always useful if you're in range, and never costs ammo. Note that your method of using them changes depending on your angle to the enemy. You can punch, kick, elbow smash, groin stomp, head butt, and do all kinds of dirty smackdowns. Even when you have another weapon equipped, if you're close enough to your target you can do unarmed attacks and gain bonuses for them.

Melee Weapons

Iron bar, baseball bat, rake, shovel, machete, etc. Grab these to increase your hand-to-hand skills. These take the place of the fist and have a greater range and higher damage.

Handgun

The most common weapon. Ammo is plentiful and guns are accurate. At higher levels of skill, it's accuracy makes it as lethal as any higher powered weapon.

Heavy Handgun

It holds less ammo than the pistol and is bit rarer, but its shots are more powerful.

Sawn-Off Shotgun

Like the pistol it's quite plentiful. Very powerful but runs out of ammo quick. Short Range.

Combat Shotgun

Packs more ammo than the Sawn-Off Shotgun, and can't be dual-wield like the sawn-off shotgun.

Submachine Gun (SMG)

MP5s, Uzis, Ingrams. These hold lots of ammo and are great for spraying around while shoot dodging. The smaller ones can be dual-wielded once you have enough Weapon Skill.

Rifle

Your basic long range gun, usually found in the hands of enemies. You can get Hunting Rifles or basic Rifles- which can be Dual Wielded with enough Weapon Skill.

Assault Rifle

AK47s or modern M4s. Long range with rapid fire.

Grenades and Other Explosives

Grenades, Dynamite, Molotov Cocktails. All useful, all available. Note that the Grenades and Dynamite bounce when you throw them so be careful. You can also shoot them while they're in the air for maximum effect.

Grenade Launcher

This gun launches bouncing explosives over a long distance.

Rocket Launcher

Heavy damage, very hard to find. Will blow up most any structure or vehicle in one shot. Be careful you're not nearby when the shell impacts.

Gun Turret

These can be found in freeroam and some missions on high places overlooking the street.

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 weapons capable of doing a headshot due to it being an auto-headshot weapon which the lack of the headshot combo message also applies if used from two shots to its four rounds during a "walk-walk" (running jump off the wall; a headshot during the Walk 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 submachine guns and takes down all enemies in a 360 degree radius. Sometimes Ram will shout "Huracan Ramirez!!" 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 a computer controlled 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 PiñataWhen 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.

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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cucaracha "La Cucaracha"] or a few bars of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_elise "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.

Although all cars in game are fictitious, they are based on real cars and unlike other games, they bear over 95% resemblance to their real life counterparts, making them easy to identify and connect with real life counterparts. Here's a list of cars found in the game.

1988 Olds 88,1992 Nissan Trusu,1985 Chevrolet silverado,1986 Chevrolet beauville,1986 Mercury colony park,1984 Pontiac Trans Am,1999 Kenworth rig,1940 Ford Flatbed,1980 Ford Rig,1960 Chevrolet pickup,1975 Chevrolet El Camino.

pecial 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.

DEA and Military SUVs

These may be found in 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.

oundtrack

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
*Crazy Gringo

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 Jose Alfredo Jimenez
*La Cucaracha- by Alvero Gomez Oruzco
*Duelo de Pistolas- by Steven John
*Mexican Nights- by David Snell
*Rio Grande- by David Snell

External links

* [http://www.totaloverdose.com Official Site]
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