Sometimes I could practically feel the writers winking at me. Occasionally the in-jokes and in-your-face 'tude' would go a little too far, and feel just slightly obnoxious. It's equally dolloped generously in the writing, which is extremely self-aware. Even having 'sunset' in its name illustrates the idea that we're going to be overwhelmed with warm orange and red hues. The look is loud and audacious, and fits the tone perfectly. Instead, Sunset City is saturated with the spectrum, which supports its brash spirit. It's encouraging to see developers using the full palette, now that realism has grown so common that it fails to impress. The pop-punk sensibility helps give context to a world that is soaked with color. The city is quickly walled off, as Fizzco puts its considerable resources into covering up the problem, and trapping survivors inside. The neon-orange goop makes Four Loko look like iced tea, though, when it almost immediately turns the crowd into rabid monsters.

The story begins with you, the Player, sighing at the prospect of his go-nowhere job as a garbage collector, while the soft drink company Fizzco holds a launch party for its next big energy drink, OverCharge. It doesn't always work the way you want it to, and sometimes it's trying entirely too hard to carve out its own identity, but it's still ultimately a good kid when you meet it on its own terms.

It's the rebellious teenager of the bunch. While Ratchet & Clank has always been kid-friendly fun and Resistance fulfilled the studio's apparent need for adult-oriented dour seriousness, this latest approach falls squarely in the middle. Sunset Overdrive takes a previously unoccupied spot in the Insomniac library.

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