Preview: Sunset Overdrive

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Developed by Insomniac Games who are renowned for the the absolutely thrilling mayhem that is the Ratchet and Clank series, the developers have crafted their first exclusive for the Xbox One and it has their unique charm all over this exceptionally colorful game.

We were pitted into a team of 8 all playing locally, tasked with defending two vats of overcharge (the energy drink that has turned the local city into monsters). Enemies came in waves and we were to hold them back by using any means necessary.

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Agility is your greatest assets as a player, being able to elude and grind the numerous wires and rails is your bread and butter. Combining this with one of the most outrageous weapon sets I have ever seen, which Included a launcher that expelled teddy bears wrapped in TNT, known as TNTeddy was nothing short of over the top fun that great total chaos as you repelled the monsters.

Working as the team we successfully held back the varying monsters dosed up on Overcharge and waves upon waves with our ever so crazy weapons. I felt the gun play te quiteo be a strong rendition of previous Ratchet and Clank games but the excessive grinding didn’t come as naturally too me, yet! As this is my first hands on with Sunset Overdrive I am positive that grinding will become an acquired skill for participants but the 10 minute demo wasn’t quite enough to learn the ropes.

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At the end of the day the super sytlised city with outrageous weaponry and whats meant to be a fun and fluid travel system was a great experience. Particularly for a non Xbone owner, this may be the game that sways me to purchase the console after all. Insomniac have certainly crafted a gem here and I cant wait to see it in full.

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I reckon that Jake’s already done an exceptional job of covering the major features of the demo, so I’ll just briefly share my experience of trying it out myself.

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To put it simply, players worked together against waves of creatures as they tried to breach our defences and destroy vats, which would spell game over. For our part, we had an array of some interesting weaponry and traps to take down those creatures, as well as access to a very unique form of travel.

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Before jumping into the game, a Microsoft representative briefed us quickly on the most important features, and offered us a few tips. Given that the game was quite reliant on players grinding about on rails that criss-crossed above, we were told to do our best in keeping off the ground, or else face being overrun quickly. It took some time to adapt to grinding, but as the increasingly tougher waves rushed our defences, we had very little choice in the matter. Pressing A would allow us to jump into the air, and X would commence grinding.

I must say, I quite enjoyed my first successful grind through the sky, speeding along on rails across the map. But they weren’t there just for show. Upon reaching the end of a rail, I turned and started again, this time using my elevated vantage point and speed to quickly cut down enemies as they stormed our position.

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Overall, I found the demo to be quite a fun and refreshing experience. I do concede that it is absurd at times, but that all contributes to the enjoyable experience that it promises to deliver.

Developed by Insomniac Games exclusively for the Xbox One, Sunset Overdrive is due for release in Australia on October 30.

(this is a joint article between Jake Anlezark and Raymond Gajitos)