PSP World

Chilli Con Carnage

Late 2005 saw the arrival of Total Overdose for the PS2 and Xbox. An action/adventure shooter a la Max Payne, it combined an almost total disregard for itself and its influences with some fast-paced and funny gameplay. It was witty, interesting, fun, and surprisingly solid. It wasn't a hit, but it did well enough to earn a spin-off on the PSP in the form of Chili Con Carnage.

Chili Con Carnage delivers a new way to navigate through the game by removing those open world features from the first entry in the series, replaced instead with a mission-based form of level progression, which makes it more compatible with the PSP's portable form factor.

In the same vein as Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" series, with its stereotyped characters, over-the-top dialogue, and extreme action, the game opens when Ramiro, "Ram" to his friends, is dragged into a high stakes adventure when his father Ernesto is assassinated just before cracking the biggest "traficante" case Mexico has ever seen. After witnessing the murder, Ram along with the guidance of his unpredictable uncle Marco, embark to track down the killer. Let loose in the underworld of Los Toros, Ram fights his way to the inner circles of the local kingpin Cesar Morales' drug cartel. You must persevere amidst facing deadly gunfights, renegade cops and sinister desperados everywhere. Time to exact some hard-hitting revenge! Like GTA, Chili Con Carnage is a high-octane blast of cool.

It has some minor technical issues, depending on how you look at it. Whilst Total Overdose utilised convetional console targetting and movement with two analogue joysticks, on the PSP Dealine Games have provided an alternative aiming system to the second joystick that does the targetting for you. For some this may be a bonus, but when the system often targets the nearest bad guy, then others may see this as a pain. The result is that you're gonna have to be fairly inventive to pull off all those spicy moves.

Spicy Moves
Using combinations of weapons and movements it is possible for you to create an exciting range of moves. Using these moves in connection with an enemy takedown will create a "Spicy Move". Some Spicy Moves are uniquely named moves such as "Bullseye" which is a headshot or "Angry Sunday Driver" which is a headshot while leaping from a moving vehicle. It pays to always experiment, the wilder and more difficult the move - the greater the reward!
Hint: Repeating the same old move over and over will reduce the reward, the greater the variation, the greater the reward.

Weapons and Rides
Ram starts his adventure with only one weapon, a standard 9mm handgun. Luckily, all the thugs, goons and gangsters on the levels are packed to their teeth with different weapons, some of which have completely loco appetites for destruction! Pick them up as soon as you have taken out the enemy and use that weapon instead if you like. Weapons you pick up have limited ammo, unlike Ramd.

Features
- The fastest handheld shooter ever featuring Bullet-time, Headshot, Targeting & Shoot-dodge actions

- Super spicy gameplay — Battle nasty desperados, drug guerillas, renegade cops & more.

- Perform crazy, gravity-defying spicy moves and unleash spectacular Loco actions like “Sombrero of Death”, ”Golden Gun”, the ”Burrito Blast” combo & more. Link multiple combos for massive bonuses!

- Lethal weapons galore — Punch, shoot and drive through the seedy Los Toros underworld loaded with a variety of guns, explosives and power-ups.

- Colorful Cast — Unforgettable characters including megalomaniacal crime-lords, mustachioed mercenaries, chemically mutated super-Mama's and more!

- Super cool beats — Experience a super hot Mexican underground through bleeding-edge, hip-hop music tracks from Control Machete, Molotov and Delinquent Habit.

- Vibrant 3-D Environments — Featuring 19 missions in 7 exotic, colorful and exciting locations spanning from sprawling city environments, dusty farmland to dense jungles.

- Four game modes — Two challenging single player modes: EL GRINGO LOCO and EL MACHO plus two dynamic multi-player modes: DONKEY and FIESTA (WI-Fi).

The sound effects and music are excellent, and the game is filled with action movie dialogue. Corny one-liners and ironic cut scenes played as if they were completely serious, which delivers a great deal of fun. With a pumping, fast-paced soundtrack from the Mexican underground artists such as, Control Machete, Molotov and Delinquent Habit. overall manages to give that authentic feel.

Chili Con Carnage is a game that doesn't take itself seriously, and neither should you. Simply play it for the rip-roaring, crazy ride of a game that it is, and you'll get the best out of it.