I'm not usually harsh on these things, but is the whole point of this game to dwell in suicidal idealization, self harm and child rape?

Aesthetically wise, the game is really cool, drawing interesting inspiration from Omori, but I can't express how much I dislike these themes when they're treated this way, feels just like as if a wannabe emo teenager decided to write it.

Even so, if you feel slightly related to any of these themes, please seek help, it gets better.

my feelings on this game are complicated but overall positive. the game is a pseudo sequel remake/reimagining maybe even reboot of total overdose: a gunslinger's tale in mexico. aka one of my favorite games of all time... only this game is for the PSP and is almost hiding its relation to the first game, so already its weird, but even MORE baffling is the tone, as the whole games story is presented as a joke. the game literally opens up with ramiro celebrating his dads birthday with kittens when suddenly the bad guy crashes into the building with a combine harvester and turns them into hay barrels. this happens in under 30 seconds and it sets the tone for the entire game, as all the other cutscenes have that same feeling to them, but honestly i was just more baffled than entertained while watching them. the first game had its humor, a good amount, but this just feels like a parody of the first game, and maybe it is. i just dont know if it worked.
but on to the gameplay. now then, since this is a sequel on a handheld device, corners were naturally cut. so no more open world, instead its a series of linear levels occasionally interrupted by challenges. 19 levels and 12 challenges, and also some other single player missions titled "el macho" but thats literally running around in a circle shooting people until you either die without a rewind or lose your combo, but since enemies spawn in a fixed location, if you can make one loop, you can easily do it infinitely, especially if you unlock infinite ammo weapons (more on that later) but frankly i dont think there's any reward for el macho, it just seems mindless. only real interesting thing about it is that you can use unlocked characters in it, which you can't do in the campaign, but thats about it.
back to the campaign, it seems like it mostly recreates locations from the first game, in remixed ways. i havent played total overdose in a couple years, so i didn't notice how different or similar they were, but i will say they didnt seem familiar beyond the general aesthetic of the areas.
gameplaywise, there needed to be more sacrifices than just gutting the open world. since the game is on a handheld with only one nub instead of 2 sticks, and also just less buttons in general, changes had to be made. as a result, the game now has a much heavier auto aim and tank controls. the latter may be a deal breaker to some, but tbh you get used to it. i don't believe there is a sprint. jumping is a lot more jank, as you can only bullet dodge (will get back to that). now then there is also a hop ram can do while standing still, but thats useless, its really never used. to get over obstacles, you walk into something chest high until ram vaults over it. the loco moves got nerfed, instead of carrying various and switching between them, you can only have one at a time. its not so bad given that this game is more level to level with weapons and and loco abilities being reset with each level. beyond that, they pretty much managed to transition total overdose's max payne styled bullet time gameplay pretty well. you can still bullet dodge with the x button, shoot with square, triangle is your el loco move, and holding circle is your free aim (its clunky, only used for boss fights really). L button locks on to objects, R button locks on to heads (camera locks on to enemies by default) left and right on the d pad switch weapons, but up and down do seemingly nothing? start pauses, but select also seems to do nothing. i cant help but feel like those unused buttons could go to work, like maybe the up button will instantly throw a grenade or molotov, the down button could be used to quick turn. its a bit of a problem not being able to do that in the game at times, as the closes you can do is start a reverse dodge by double tapping x while holding back. and select could be a quick rewind button, because unlike with total overdose, in chili con carnage, you can only rewind in death. rewinding restores health if you're low and keeps your combo going, so being able to do it at will would be a great help. there are also a couple of moments in the game where you're in a claustrophobic environment and forced to platform. these moments suck as you can only dive and vault, and most of the time you end up undershooting your dive, and they usually give you combo extenders here, but miss that jump and thats a combo killer right there. now combos can be important, because you get up to 4 rewards at the end of each mission
bronze reward, which is usually an upgrade to your health or combo time or something similar
silver which usually unlocks concept art or something
gold reward which... idk i never got a gold
and a special chili reward which will usually grant infinite ammo. the first 3 rewards can be earned by getting enough style points, thankfully a bronze is pretty much always guaranteed no matter your skill level, so there's no risk of losing out on its, admittedly tacked on, rpg element. its more or less "you beat the level, you get the upgrade"
the chili is the unique one because once you start a combo, you have to beat the level before the combo meter dies. i like that you can actually complete a level without losing your combo, especially with how bite sized the levels are. that actually might be one of the games downsides however. its only about 5 hours. but hey its a psp game and it encourages you to replay the levels so i'll allow it. honestly for how much they had to cut back from total overdose, and all the weird changes, it still does make legitimate improvements on the original, even if some were likely out of limitation. if you're looking for a max payne like game on the go....well okay your options there are pretty much just between this and max payne gba, but this still scratches the itch.

As always, my background:
1) Played this game when I was a kid
2) Loved it a lot
3) Loved the graffiti culture back in the day
4) Indifferent about it now

Now.... This game is an absolutely work of art. For me, this is the definition of a video game for ps2. It looks and sounds incredible, has a very unique theme, every aspect of it was made with love, ball brave game design and overall ideas.

So let's digest it a little:
1) Gameplay - It's a 3rd person action-adventure with graffiti elements. It mainly has 4 aspects: fights, exploration and graffiti

Fight system is somewhat hit or miss. It works well, the animation are great, the overall system is good, but the "bullet sponge" enemies are the problem. God damn, some regular enemis are just too fucking fat. That makes you wanna use stealth, and yes, this game has stealth. But it is kinda wonky. The only proper way to deal with them, imo, is to avoid them and run away. And honestly I think that what the intended way to deal with them. Kinda like OG mirror's edge.

Exploration is one of the best aspects. 3rd platforming kinda sux, but at least there is not a lot of it and it's not that important. But exploring the world, oh my. I will speak about the world-building later, but holy shit just being in this world is amazing. And no, I wouldn't like an open world probably. Every level is so unique and give you the different and complete view of one of the districts of the town: big ass bridges, HQ of the special police, zeppelins, metro stations, etc... Man, I miss these games where the levels were just unique. Also by exploring the level you can find: upgrades, ipod songs, normal secrets and additional graffiti spots.

Now, the biggest thing - Graffiti. Man oh man. Basically on every level there are marked spots where you can tag your graffiti. Once you get close to it, you can choose the graffiti that ya wanna paint, the size and start painting. It's pretty much just a mini-game, where you control your hand with a can and try to fill in the image. But you gotta do it fast, without drips(keeping the can on the same place for too long), and also shake the can once in a while. Also enemies can interrupt you, so you gotta deal with them first or be extra strategic. And that's pretty much it. Sounds kinda repetitive, and it is. But I never got tired of doing them. I did all the extra once as well, cuz man, it's just cool to do them. You pick your graffiti, and then all the sounds of releasing the paint, shaking the can, and just overall vibe, DAMN. Also, after some levels you unlock new graffities and even new styles, so it never gets old for me. There is also additional small tags that you can place anywhere, but they are not that fun.

Sooo, the gameplay is an okay action-adventure with a unique element of graffiti, what about the rest of the game?

2) OST & sound design - OST, and included songs are hip-hop from the early 2000 and damn it fits this game perfectly. The sound design is also top, especially all the painting related things

3) Graphics - DAMN. Definition of ps2 graphics. Peak. So much love here, every tag, every texture, every graffiti. I absolutely adore this game. You look at any screenshot and you feel "yup, that's ps2"

4) Story and world-building - again, DAMN. It takes place in a authoritarian city, where people are being oppressed. And graffiti is one of the way to "fight the system". But what first starts as a gang battling for respect, grows into a much larger story about conspiracy, mayor, elections, freedom of speech and so on. It's not super deep, but I love how they decided to use graffiti sub culture to tell this story.

The game is not perfect, it's pretty junky in a lot of aspects. But this game is coming from love, and I can't get anything except love to this game. One of my favorite games of all time.