Video Game Review - Sunset Overdrive

From the people who gave you the Spyro, Ratchet & Clank and Resistance games comes a game that is the developers first Xbox One exclusive and according to their CEO Ted Price is a game that the irreverence and stylization reflects the personality of the company and boy is it a fun game. It was recently announced at E3 this year and for a while, I wasn't really sure about it to begin with, but after a while, I was reeled in and decided to give it go and well, let's see what I thought of it:

So in the year 2027, a drink manufacturer called FizzCo releases their new energy drink called OverCharge Delirium XT. It seems to go down well with the public, but when it turns out that those who drink it turn into mutants, its up to a FizzCo employee and a group of survivors to escape the city of Sunset City, getting all the help they can on the way. So the first Xbox One game that I played was Dead Rising and in a way, this game kind of has a similar premise, but makes it out to be less violent and more fun. Its an open world game which has everything you should by now expect to see in an open world game like side quests, missions, collectibles and mini games. The game follows a concept used in a lot of games where you get to create your own character using what the game has to offer you. The general idea is that you battle you're way through enemies and missions with style and the way you do that is by bouncing on cars, fans and whatever else, grind or hang on rails and walk on water and walls all while shooting and beating the crap out of enemies. Much like with Dead Rising 3, you also have to deal with mercenaries as well as the mutants and much like with Saints Row, the game has you do things that are not humanly possible in real life while also throwing in a lot of break the fourth wall jokes, video game, TV, music film references and fun and humour along the way. You have a style meter which builds up as you do all those things which once at full percent, will allow you to use an amp that is both on you and one of your weapons. Each amp will need ingredients that are scattered all over the city and then you need to do a battle against enemies to protect the thing that is making you these amps. All this and more, awaits in Sunset City.

Now I will say that this game shares similarities with the Dead Rising and Saints Row games in that it has an open world and enemies that are similar to what you get in Dead Rising (though there are less enemies on the road in this game who don't crowd over you) and has humour, break the fourth wall jokes, references to video games, films, TV and music and have you do things that are not humanly possible like in Saints Row. But despite all that, its actually a game that makes what looks to be like a zombie apocalypse more fun than depressing which ultimately is what a game is supposed to be, fun and enjoyable and that's what this game is. The graphics are great, the hyperactive gameplay is great, the characters and customization is great and its just a great fun game that shouldn't be overlooked. I enjoyed playing it a lot and I'm sure you will too. 9/10