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It's time for Hotline Miami's fanbase to admit something to ourselves: the sequel is awful.
No, it's not because of the bugs. Bugs can be fixed. What cannot be fixed is a game which has forgotten what made its predecessor so popular.

Hotline Miami succeeded because it was a very tight game - quick and dirty melee in a claustrophobic environment. Combined with a minimalist plot, you've got a nice, visceral action game that keeps the pace and the combo meter going.

But Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number went back on everything which made the original worthwhile. Close encounters with the enemy were swapped for long, drawn out gunfights with people off-screen. Improvisation was swapped for memorization. And a scant narrative was swapped for a bloated, half-baked, overly wordy, and utterly self-indulgent script.

If HM1 was inspired by the movie Drive, then HM2 must have been inspired by trench warfare.

In the end, Hotline Miami 2 was an utter waste of time, money, and effort - both to the developer and the fanbase. If anything redeeming comes out of this game, it will be the user-made levels. But the credit will be to them, and not Dennaton Games.
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Well, the worst move was making kind of main hero behind the scenes as rat killer - not only he's coming back but escapes in fashion that suits only Jacket, while real Jacket is made immobile and docile, waiting in prison. That's not like him. I wonder when level editor is released if someone will make a mod about what it's supposed to be, glorious Jacket prison break just right in time, kind of Jacket Lives! bonus mission like "what if" alternate case scenario done in first game with Biker.

On the positive side, whole game feels like Jacob's Ladder now so while "past about war" sequences were overused they fit certain story aspect.
Post edited March 15, 2015 by HenitoKisou
I understand where you're coming from and I can definitely see the validity of your points, but in all honesty, considering myself a Hotline Miami fan, I'm actually quite happy with Wrong Number, with all of its shortcomings -- some of which you addressed in your post.

To each their own, though, I understand why some people are downright frustrated and disappointed with and in Hotline Miami 2, I just don't feel the same way myself.
@HenitoKisou

The story's biggest issue is that it's not about anyone. The perspective jumps between literally a dozen parties: the pig, zebra, tiger, bear, geese, detective, reporter, the mobster, his boss, the rat, the snake, and the green beret. On top of that, none of them have any actual characterization, or come off as remotely sympathetic. They're just people doing things rather than characters with motives.

So when you look at all of these people and ask, "who's the protagonist?" the only answer you can reach is "there is none." The whole thing has Phantom Menace Syndrome, but thinks it's being really clever.
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groze: I understand where you're coming from and I can definitely see the validity of your points, but in all honesty, considering myself a Hotline Miami fan, I'm actually quite happy with Wrong Number, with all of its shortcomings -- some of which you addressed in your post.

To each their own, though, I understand why some people are downright frustrated and disappointed with and in Hotline Miami 2, I just don't feel the same way myself.
I have to agree with groze. While I didn't get the same sort of "wow this is amazing!" feeling I got from HLM, I still very much enjoyed HLM2, its gameplay and story. I quite liked trying to work out how to get close enough to an enemy miles off screen without getting myself shot on approach. I found the constant jumping back and forward in time a bit confusing at first but ultimately interesting and well worth the price.

The addition of the comics was also a nice bonus.

The only time I got annoyed was on one of the later war missions. I'd used up all my ammo on the final screen and was reduced to using the knife (as you can't pick up enemy weapons for some reason and the ammo refill was absent from this screen.) I'd spent ages clearing out the screen and the only enemy left was a heavy that I couldn't kill without ammo. I tried to knife him but failed miserably. On the replay I meleed as much as possible to save ammo.
Post edited March 15, 2015 by alburl
Aren't there ammo crates in enemy camps similar to these in firendly base? I remember replacing guns here in some way because never run out of ammo and I don't have better explanation for that.
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HenitoKisou: Aren't there ammo crates in enemy camps similar to these in firendly base? I remember replacing guns here in some way because never run out of ammo and I don't have better explanation for that.
There are, but for some reason not on this particular screen. It's the last screen on the war level that comes before the power plant war level. Believe me, I looked all around for it. And if there IS one there it was missing the arrow that points to it when you run out of ammo.
@alburl

Wait - the part you liked was constantly having to hold down Shift and compensate for the shitty field of view? And then using AI exploits to lure enemies around corners? I don't see the appeal. The original Call of Duty resembles HM1 more than its sequel, pulling off some degree of run-and-gun.

I never had any issues with the soldier missions because I don't spray bullets. I don't know - I guess I'd be considered pretty good at Hotline Miami, since I didn't have problems getting through the game. The biggest killer was my own lack of investment (and the slight randomization in what is ultimately a memorization puzzle.)

Actually, that would describe Wrong Number pretty well: it's Simon Says. Improvisation is a "no," and the dominant strategy is always, ALWAYS to find a submachine gun, hide around a hallway, fire a single shot, and mow down each individual enemy as they turn the corner. A far cry from HM1, in which you may knock a guy over with a door, throw a pot of boiling water in another's face, and chuck the pan at another before grabbing a machete and laying into all of them. HM2 has one useful weapon: the submachine gun.
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FowderSoap: @alburl

Wait - the part you liked was constantly having to hold down Shift and compensate for the shitty field of view? And then using AI exploits to lure enemies around corners? I don't see the appeal. The original Call of Duty resembles HM1 more than its sequel, pulling off some degree of run-and-gun.

I never had any issues with the soldier missions because I don't spray bullets. I don't know - I guess I'd be considered pretty good at Hotline Miami, since I didn't have problems getting through the game. The biggest killer was my own lack of investment (and the slight randomization in what is ultimately a memorization puzzle.)

Actually, that would describe Wrong Number pretty well: it's Simon Says. Improvisation is a "no," and the dominant strategy is always, ALWAYS to find a submachine gun, hide around a hallway, fire a single shot, and mow down each individual enemy as they turn the corner. A far cry from HM1, in which you may knock a guy over with a door, throw a pot of boiling water in another's face, and chuck the pan at another before grabbing a machete and laying into all of them. HM2 has one useful weapon: the submachine gun.
Depends on if you want to take the easy route and just use the submachine gun. I try to melee as much as possible because I find it more fun. On that war mission where I ran out of ammo, I was using the sniper rifle as I'd unlocked it and hadn't used it before. There was no spraying.

You make it sound like the only part I enjoyed was the holding down of shift. That's not the case. I just said that I actually quite liked working out how to approach an enemy that was off the screen. I didn't mention anything about shooting them from a distance. The shift key helped to see where they were and then work out how to get near and attack.

If I can get through a level solely with melee then that's what I prefer. It's not always possible if you value your sanity, but it's a lot easier on the second playthrough.
Calling it terrible is a bit of a stretch. While it doesn't live up to the first game it's still a good game in it's own right.
Game gets worse the more i play it. It's blatantly obvious how tight the original is, and how loose and sloppy this game is, when they are played side by side. I got global rank 19 on Push It tonight (in HM1), then spent the rest of the evening slogging through the later of levels of HM2.

An incoherent, self indulgent, utterly pointless narrative is expected and forgivable.

The amount of random wandering guns that shoot from offscreen these wide open glass encased levels is not.

The sloppy, half baked controls are a joke.

The amount of times I've been killed and restarted the level before hearing the sound of the gunshot that killed me literally cannot be counted.

Times caught outside the level, or an enemy caught outside the level? Numerous.

Number of times I combo-slogged a super long level chain only to recognize that I was supposed to be conserving ammo the entire time to kill enemies in a later stage that cannot be killed without guns? One, and that's one too fucking many.

What a total disappointment this game is. Horrible game design. Truly not understanding your own product's success.

The only way Hotline Miami 2 could have failed is if it wasn't Hotline Miami. Well, it is still Hotline Miami, but how they managed to take such a big step back is unfathomable. Really, it is. This was an easy victory. An obviously epic sequel. And somehow, we just got this.

Also still very irritated that GOG posted my 2 star review of HM2 as 5 stars, then refused to fix it.
Post edited March 16, 2015 by bigsilverhotdog
I disagree, it's an excellent game, albeit a different experience from the first.

I remember quite a bit of planning and memorization (sometimes thwarted by little bits of randomization) in the first game. There's a difference between going at a level for the first time just to beat it vs going back for that A+ rating. Not every level is as large in layout as two of the Soldier's levels or the Son's bank robbery level. The idea of getting that massive combo by killing all the enemies in one fluid sequence of ultra violence remains. It's just a greater challenge to pull off given the more expansive environments. Once you get through the level for the first time, you unlock masks, weapons, techniques etc that can be applied to subsequent plays in pursuit of that coveted A+ rating following your preferred approach. I particularly enjoyed Jake's 'Dallas' mask (nunchuk fury!) and the Soldier's flamethrower (roasted commies!) As for the Fans, I really enjoy the brother and sister team, the Swans. It's like Hotline Miami's answer to Super Smash Bros' Ice Climbers.

I liked the narrative and many of the new characters. The story in the second game reveals a lot more of what was going on in the first. The Soldier is my favorite of the new characters. His story sheds a lot of light on Jacket's motivations from the first game. I now believe that Jacket was basically out for revenge because the Russians bombed San Francisco, killing the man who saved his life in Hawaii. The main theme of exploring violence and people's capacity for it is continued. The ending seems to suggest that all our interpersonal violence pales in comparison to the fact that the world is wired to blow at the turn of a key.

I also like how the game doesn't penalize you as much as the first for using guns. In the first game I found the best way to get a really high score wasn't to speed through the level and go for massive combos, but to milk as many points out of enemies as possible. Run through a room with a melee enemy into another room for more exposure points then start punching them to get points for making them drop their weapons, then execute them with their weapons. If they slumped against a wall I'd have to let them get up and pick up their weapon to try to lay them out flat so I could get more execution points. In the end I'd get 'sadist' or 'executioner' as my playstyle.

My main complaints are that the story is a little hard to follow and the scoring system remains at least partially a mystery to me. In this one, it seems like big combos are the best way to get better ratings rather than the ruthless and reckless approach from the first.
Did the ice climbers get stuck on walls all the time, or is that innovation a Dennaton Original®?
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Mtlguy: I disagree, it's an excellent game, albeit a different experience from the first.

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Good post. I've +'d it.
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Mtlguy: I disagree, it's an excellent game, albeit a different experience from the first.

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I absolutely agree, and +1'd your post. It's a bit sad all the hate the game has been getting, I honestly think it's a great game, albeit different from the first one in some regards.

To be completely honest, I understand why so many people feel frustrated by the game, but I already played Hotline Miami the way you're intended to play Wrong Number; planning ahead and running away to trap and kill enemies. It's no one else but my own fault that I probably suck at the first game, because I could never complete a level really fast, just running and melee attacking so, I didn't find that all too different in this one.

As for the swans... well, I beg to differ. I didn't like them all that much, I found them cumbersome to play as, and basically used the chainsaw one because the other one was always getting stuck or didn't have an angle to shoot the enemies without putting the chainsaw sibling at risk (and usually dying). I finished their levels, but I don't think I'll be playing as them for a while. The concept, though, is fine, and if it worked a bit better I would have definitely loved it.