A sadly overlooked classic
Just the other day I busted it out again and was blown away all over again.
First of all, comparing Overkill to Loaded is a little bit of a cop-out. For one, Loaded had that "rampaging clown with teddy bear bombs" thing going on for it, which gamers who aren't obsessed with Korn probably found a little off-putting. The control scheme is also quite different, as are the weapons and level progression. The only thing you can say is that the two games fall into roughly the same "genre".
Overkill takes a much more military approach to the storyline, with mission briefings that make you feel (to the best of the playstation 1's ability) that you are part of a real war going on. The guns are far less over-the-top than Loaded- everyone's beginning weapon is some kind of machine gun, followed by a laser gun, then a tactical weapon of some kind, and finally some type of room-clearing devastator weapon. I felt that the weapons all complemented each other quite nicely, and while Gamespot's reviewer is right that the 4 personalities in the game are a little too similar, weapons were somewhat varied between each of them, and you will definitly find a 'favorite' character. The catch being the weapons are similar enough that the gameplay doesn't necessarily change based on who you picked.
Unlike Loaded, every character has a melee weapon that allows for stealth kills, which present themselves frequently enough to make it a satisfying, ammo conserving option. Overall I was satisfied with the payload, except for the laser gun which was obviously intended to be your power weapon that you relied on once you had enough ammunition for it. However, in practice the laser is frustratingly inaccurate, so it's actually a better fallback gun for when you run out of machine gun bullets.
The levels could have been somewhat more varied, but in the end the game isn't really long enough for it to become a huge issue.
I really felt transported back to my early days of gaming, and when I play Overkill I am reminded of why I got into this hobby in the first place. The game is tough, fast-paced, and involves little purposeful strategy.
However, the game has a few bugs, some of which are frustrating, but others can be exploited for some cool tricks (ex, triggering an elevator to fall on the heads of 10 guys all stupidly standing under it, waiting for you to come down). In an age where reviewers decry these kinks, I find it refreshing to be reminded of the days when you had to learn how to work WITH your game a bit. After all, it's no different from utilizing the strategies the creators intended you to use in modern games... It just feels a bit more fun.
Overkill is a blast from the past that I think deserves replay. I would be surprised, but heartened if I were to see this game in a Konami compilation pack 5 or 10 years from now.
For now though, sadly, Overkill is nearly impossible to find even in bargain bins, but check your old PS1 collection and ask your friends, and maybe you'll find it. It might be that breath of fresh air for you jaded gamers out there.