Sunset Overdrive
I don’t know if this is a reflection on me, or the outrageous minds at Insomniac Games, but if the apocalypse comes as a result of a new energy drink, you will be able to fight off hordes of mutants in just your underwear. The new open world game from the makers of Ratchet & Clank and Resistance is surprisingly an XBox One exclusive, and manages to re-energize the open world genre with it’s blend of comic madness, third person shooter and grinding and jumping skills that would put any French parkour specialists to shame.
Sunset Overdrive is a game that puts gameplay and humour ahead of plot. And this is a good thing, because whilst there is a storyline to follow, it will take a back seat to just having fun. After coming to grips with the control systems, Sunset Overdrive settles down into a mission based open world game. A third person shooter that breaks the rules, by saying that cover is for pussies, that above ground movement is your friend, and by giving you a pretty generous auto aim rather than making the game into a stagnant military shooter.
Insomniac Games have delivered a game that has a huge open world to explore, a weapons system that makes you want to keep upgrading or finding new weapons, action that can seem non-stop and enough of a challenge to keep you coming back for more. But added to this, is the humour, sarcasm, pure unadulterated fun, that makes Sunset Overdrive the most fun shooter you’ll probably ever played.
The enemies are varied, and the big bosses imaginative, all requiring that you work with the environment to take them down. This is like playing a Tony Hawk game whilst tripping out on LSD. It’s manic madness that ebbs and flows as much as you want it to.
It’s also freaken gorgeous to look at, from just exploring to making things explode, Sunset Overdrive is easy on the eyes with the cartoony look of the game suiting the gameplay down to a tee.
I’ve gone from worrying that this would be an online centric shooter with not much single player backbone, to realising that multiplayer is just the icing on a very large and enjoyable cake.
Sunset Overdrive is a game that needs to be played to really understand it. It’s a game that draws you in giving you a little hit of it’s magic ingredients, self assured with the fact that once you taste it, you won’t be able to resist it’s charm. Ever. Prepare to be addicted. You have been warned.
Reviewed on: XBox One
Rating: R16 Contains violence and offensive language.
Reviewed by: Jonathan
GAMEGUIDE rating:
