Recent reviews by oppo pizzaboy

so good

This game is good.
this port is trash.
they patched the port.
the port is trash.

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, seems like the perfect way a sequel should be executed. In theory. The game features significantly MORE of everything, there's larger maps, a considerably longer campaign, more playable characters, more missions, overall going with the assumption that Bigger=Better. This is generally true, as it is not a sequels job to evolve gameplay in significant ways, thats the job of new IP's. What a sequel is generally supposed to do, is take an already stellar concept, and add on to it, refine it, fine tune every small detail until it reaches the potential it always had. Wrong number does this in many ways, and for the most part does it beautifully. However, as I was about 2 hours in to wrong number, I noticed something that greatly concerned me. I had stopped playing it. The original Hotline is in my opinion perfect. Every single aspect of the game was executed flawlessly, the tone, the atmosphere, the soundtrack, the vague and ambiguous story, the incredible adrenaline rush as you murdered dozens of faceless mobsters for the thousandth time that level, and how you snap back into reality when the music stops, and you realize the horrific atrocities you've just committed. And then you do it again. Anyway, there was not a single time for my entire first playthrough of the original Hotline Miami where I stopped playing. Even though the game was, when you think about it, very repetitive, I was never bored. It concerned me when the sequel didn't have the same effect. Granted, it's considerably longer, but I don't think that's the only reason. I decided to delve deeper and try to find out what exactly went wrong in Hotline Miami 2. Let's start with the pros.

The story in Wrong Number was absolutely fantastic. It opted to drop the Vagueness of it's predecessor, to great effect. Wrong Number tackles significantly bigger topics then HL before it, and ends up succeeding with flying colors. For the first few scenes, I was somewhat concerned that the story would be more convoluted than Season 6 of Lost, but as it progressed, I understood the tale the writers had in mind, and really enjoyed it. You play as a multitude of "Protagonists" this time around, all of which have unique personalities and motives for their actions. There's a film star, a Corrupt Cop (Clear inspiration from Showtime's "Dexter") An actual serial killer, A soldier in Vietnam, a drug Kingpin, a Failed writer, a group of Vigilantes hoping to recreate Jackets rampages throughout the first game, and numerous others. Each story was well written, intricate, and differed greatly from the others. Without venturing into spoiler territory, You're in for a treat. Another positive note, is that the fast, fluid, adrenaline fueled gameplay returns in full force. There aren't any significant chances to the formula, besides a few new enemy types, however I'm pleased that they kept the flawless gameplay virtually untouched. Obviously the soundtrack is phenomenal. Like, its freaking awesome. The game is also SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult than the original, including an unlockable hard mode, for those who require practice in punching computer screens. The difficulty change is both a blessing and a curse, which I'll get to in a minute. Now for the negatives.

Wrong number is a hard game. If you haven't played the original, PLAY IT FIRST OR ELSE YOURE BONED. I was still able to eventually beat it, but some of the levels I was forced to exploit AI problems to win. However, Wrong Number, unlike it's predecessor, often feels unfair. Anytime I died in HL1, it was due to my own poor timing or slow trigger finger. with enough patience and skill, you could tackle any situation the game threw at you, everytime. Less so with it's sequel. As I mentioned earlier, the levels are much larger. And considerably denser. And whoever designed these apartments, clubs, and military bases has a very strange obsession with windows. THEY. ARE. EVERYWHERE. I can not even count the number of times I cleared a massive area, which often took minutes (Which because of the multitude of restarts, minutes+Wrong Number=Hours) and as I rounded the corner, some unbelievable accurate enemy spotted me from across the dimension, shot at me with pinpoint accuracy FROM OFFSCREEN, and I was forced to play this one FREAKING area again for the billionth time! THIS GAME MIGHT BREAK YOU! So yeah, unfair difficulty. Next point. Something I always loved about the original Hotline, was the freedom given to you at each level. There was a massive selection of masks, each giving significant buffs to Jacket, which helped you find a playstyle that worked for you. There were also a multitude of paths that can be taken through the level, based of your both your play style and preference. This is reduced heavily in the sequel, and I think I found out why. Its essentially because in HL1, gameplay drives story. You do whatever you want in a level, and the game doesn't care. It gives you a number of options, you pick one, and you go on a majestically brutal murderous rampage. you're given a blank canvas to draw a picture of some drug lord choking on his own large intestine. However in HL2, story drives gameplay. You play almost every level exactly as the developer intended, with only a few levels straying from the beaten path, and even then only slightly. Because there are specific characters for specific levels, you dont get to choose a mask at the beginning of each level. The only times you get to choose a mask (I believe) Are for the fans/kingpin, where you get either a BARREL ROLL, killing blows (But unarmed), dual characters armed with a chainsaw and an interchangable firearm (this one was pretty amazing) or dualweilding machine guns. And then theres the one snake guy who either get's a nailgun, killing throws, or I think (I dont remeber this one) like some martial arts thing. Even though the mask system is present, its also considerably more limited, and often times restrictive. Why can't tony carry weapons? Why cant the bear drop his weapons at will, or at least reload when he wants to? These questionable game design choices are pointless and frusturating, and very dissapointing. In addition, the different ways each character plays, and the lack of choice makes for a more linear and, in my opinion, watered down experience.

I've said a lot in this review, but I haven't answered the one, simple question. Do I recommend this game? Absolutely. I said many negative things about this game, and I stand by those. However, the game is still a Hotline Miami game. The gameplay mechanics are amazing, the story is fantastic, the music is incredible, the atmosphere is spot on, it is an amazing game! However, is it as good as Hotline Miami 1? Not remotely. But how could it be? Hotline Miami was perfect, and truly did not need a sequel. But, if there has to be a sequel to it, it really couldn't be better than this. If you don't have the original, get that now. If you hate the original, there is no chance that this game will win you over. If you loved the original? You have to get this game. It's more of the same. The same is fantastic. Hotline Miami 2 is disappointing. It's a sequel to one of the greatest games ever made, it's bound to be. But am I glad I played it? Without a doubt in my twisted little mind.