6. Total Overdose
In Total Overdose you play as the brother of a DEA agent that screwed up an operation due to his huge ego. Taking place near the Mexican border, you work as an undercover agent for your brother, infiltrating one of the biggest drug cartels. Only that your brother quite overestimated you. Instead of actually being calm and quiet, you are the Daredevil with the guns.
Gameplay
The city is split into 6 parts with a few other places in Mexico and US achievable only through the main missions. With Grand Theft Auto clearly used as a muse considering all the driving and shooting in the various town’s neighborhoods, the game still manages to follow it’s on extremely destructive path with jumping from a moving vehicle, wall running with a rocket launcher in arms and doing all sorts of stunts with all sorts of guns. The possibility of dual-wielding the guns making everything more explosive and deadly.
Besides the main missions, you have the possibility to do side missions that consist in challenges, races and takeouts. Each mission has a 3-stage reward system where the greater the score, the greater the reward. Reaching the maximum score would earn you the rewards from all 3 stages.
Weapons and features
The weapons are rather conventional, starting with lots of white weapons like knives, shovels, and so on, to grenades, molotovs, ak’s, rocket and grenade launchers, etc etc. As many old games and even most of the new ones you can stick all the weapons up your butt and take them out from there whenever you need them without having to search through there, but there are some good news: The ammo you can take for each weapon is limited.
Besides the conventional weapons you have some rather unconventional pick-ups. For example you can go all Desperados and take out of nowhere 2 miniguns masked into guitar cases and shoot everyone in front of you, though this will render you unable to run or perform any stunt. Or you can choose to call 2 Luchadores and kick the butts of anyone that upsets you. Such pick-ups can be received by doing large kill combos. Executing different kill styles also increases the score that will be ‘judged’ at the end of the mission. And yes, if are there any curious people: You can go all swag and execute 720noscopekills (but without a sniper), and yes, it counts to the score as a separate kill style, so basically the score depends completely on your skill.
The aiming system is mainly based on where you target with your crosshair, but upon executing kill moves you can make the game auto-aim an enemy by holding the right click pressed for a second, followed by a fast left-click once the target is acquired. The combo system also rewards the player with Mexican music. Starting with a simple instrumental tune at 3 kills, turning into a complete musical band tune when you reach 12 kills until the combo expires (information displayed on the radar)
There are also lots of challenges scattered across the city. Bloody fights started by the ‘Day of the Dead’ challenge or simple jumps that will give overall score points. The overall score points raises every score point gathered in missions or outside of them and when you reach a milestone target you can receive several rewards like blood, stamina and weapon pick-ups. By gathering a certain amount of said pick-ups you get either a total health/stamina increase, dual-wield weapons or even have infinite ammo on some of them.
One of the most important features, that I left it intentionally at the end since it is the most awesome is the rewind button. Whether you die, or do a wrong move, or a failed stunt or whatever other reason you can think of, you can turn back time for around 3-5 seconds, enough most of the time to correct the mistake and continue being awesome.
All in all, Total Overdose is a worthy title with quite a few hours of crazed fun that I recommend it to all ages.
5. Rocket League
Forget FIFA, forget PES, forget Street FIFA, Rocket League is the stuff! Released this year Rocket League is probably the next way to play football (if we’re to consider the fact that this game is played in international championships).
Futuristic soccer league
Rocket League can be simply translated into Soccer meets Radio Controlled Cars. There can be up to 5v5 players and in the center of the arena a big-ass football that everyone will fight for. All the arenas have walls so with enough speed you can climb them and reach the roof allowing for some badass trickshots. All the arenas have grass on them, though the grip is quite powerful and the car doesn’t drift unless you make it to, by pressing the bound key.
“ This game has no other rules ”
The matches can also be played on rain and either during day or nighttime. Arenas also have little metallic circles in the ground that, in the moment when someone goes over them, they get a small amount of nitrous. Though, there are also 6 big circles in the map where the driver can pick-up a full nitro charge.
As in any soccer game the objective is simple: Score goals with the ball. Besides that objective, this game has no other rules, no faults, no off-sides, anyone can be the goalkeeper. As a bonus for not being any yellow or red card you can destroy an opponent by running through him at boosted speed; you will even receive points for it. You will also receive points for scoring a goal, taking assist in a scoring situation shooting towards the football gate, defending your own gate and some more. Each piece of the points will count towards your level. Each new level achieved will unlock customizable parts for your vehicles, including funny hats, paintjobs, decals as well as nitrous effects.
Rocket League allows for multiplayer across the internet so start the game and play some futuristic soccer!
4. Saints Row IV
Though Saints Row franchise started as a Grand Theft Auto’s loyal clone, it went Rambo and became what is known today to be: A completely twisted, full with comedy and ireallistic game. Starting with you taking down the leader of the fallen STAG leader, [SPOILERS]after defeating them in the previous game[/SPOILERS], you gain the love of your nation after you defused the nuclear missile launched to DC in mid-air and become elected president of US, 5 years later.
Gameplay
While heading towards a press conference, the White House is suddenly attacked by an alien invasion. The last scenes you’re seeing are you and a few of your Saints Row members being kidnapped by the leader of the invasion, Zinyak. After you wake up in a depiction of ‘50’s house and neighborhood, you realize that you’re in a some sort of Matrix world. After you gain control of the ‘Matrix’, you seek to gain control of the ship your real-life body resides in.
Originally planned as a DLC for the previous game, Saints Row: The Third, named Enter the Dominatrix, in the end it became a standalone build with an extended story, item list and so on.
Maybe the most interesting thing in this game is the introduction of super powers. The abilities to jump stories high, run faster than any car or even shoot with fire and iceballs out of your hands are introduced in the game to use them however and whenever you wish. When receiving a new superpower the game launches you into a brief tutorial about how to use it and its optimal circumstances for usage. Each power can be upgraded by collecting floating orbs of light placed throughout the whole map.
Weapons
The weapon list received a massive upgrade with fictional items conquering the conventional ones in their number. Starting with the main attraction of the game, the Dubstep Gun, inspired by the extremely popular video created by the VFX Team ‘Corridor Digital’, called ‘Dubstep Guns’ (Duh!). The weapon will shoot lasers in the same rhythm as the song it plays. The weapon comes with 3 different dubstep songs. Other weapons can create small Black Holes that absorb everything in their path or even more kinky ones that are shoved in the rectum of the victim and ending with them launched into the air followed by a pop in the style of a festive firework. Like the superpowers, the weapons can be upgraded as well as having different skins and even models applied to them.
The third thing that you can upgrade is your character itself: From stealing money, to dealing more damage or going Akimbo style (dual-wield) on the enemies, almost everything can be upgraded.
As for the vehicles in the game there aren’t almost any new additions except for a new police vehicle that looks like a hypercar, although the customization has been extended with more bodykits and paintjobs.
In order to acquire new shops, you will have to solve a minigame, that plays in the style of the old-school game ‘Pipes’. If you are being shot at or damaged in any way, you will have to restart the mini-game. Fortunately, the guys from Volition have thought of a new and fast way to get rid of police trouble, called ‘Commander C.I.D.’; catching it and destroying it will cause all the enemy notoriety to disappear.
As part of the Saints Row tradition, the player can participate in various challenges, either completely new or old timers like the Insurance Fraud challenge. The challenges have been split into 3 stages each, each of them granting a medal for reaching it.
Saints Row IV delivers a lot of over-the-top insanity and awesome gameplay for everyone who wants to break from the boring real life. Next month, I will tell you all about the last Saints Row installment, a Saints Row IV standalone expansion which makes this game seem like a little puppy compared to the expansion regarding insanity.