I like Retro City Rampage.

I haven't played Hotline Miami which I initially wasn't interested but after hearing more about it, I plan to pick it up sometime.

I thought Retro City Rampage was great as well.

I'll answer the question by copy/pasting what I wrote on the review page:

"My mind is slipping. I am following murderous orders on my telephone answering machine. I think... maybe it's in my head. Did I really kill all those people? Did I really survive? I feel uneasy. Nauseated. The room won't hold still. There's static in my brain. Colors seem to crawl around in my head. Hideous hues of Pepto-bismal pink, convenient store neon orange, and baby poop green. I sniff hard through my nostrils and fight back the urge to vomit. The only way to stop thinking about the killing is to kill more. In the killing there's no time for remorse, no time for pondering long term consequences, there is only action. My eyes dart around every corner, door, and exit. My muscles twinge in reflex. My brain plans its moves: Shoot. Sprint. Pounce. Stab. Hide. Fire. Run. As I take life, mine is reaffirmed. I am alive. I'm bound tight like a rubber band pulled on both ends, about to snap. But I can only think a few steps ahead. I don't know what lies ahead other than danger. I must be vigilant. I must be aggressive. And when it is all over, I will think I must be sick. Horribly, horribly sick. But there's not time to think about what's wrong with me now. I'm already through the door. The trigger has already been pulled. I'm already in the chase. Guns are blazing. I'm in it. There's no turning back.

Hotline Miami is that. It's not just a game, it's a psychological experience that emerges out of the ugliness of the graphics, the head-bending visual effects, the trippiness of the music, the andrenaline fueled gameplay, the tension before opening a door, the horror and quiet of walking out of a room where you have murdered every living soul and their bloodied bodies are in piles. To break it down into gameplay, graphics, sound, control doesn't seem to do it justice. It is killer's instinct, confusion, evil, guilt. It is terror. Surprising calm. It is a disoriented nightmare. It is succumbing to that urge at night to just swerve into the headlights. It is waking up in someone else's blood. It is all your fault "

Exactly, it was a deal and he was certainly the one who benefited most from it. I'm okay with his decision (heck, in his place I would've probably done the same) - what pisses me off is how naive and stupid both journalists and regular users were who treated him like some Cyber-Jesus by not recognizing all the benefits he got.

It was a gamble. If it was so easy and clear cut, everybody would do it. He deserved praise for showing more maturity than half of the experts in the field. And only because he did it for his gain, doesn't mean he shouldn't be praised like Cyber-Jesus for it. He did good. It paid off. And while he certainly wasn't a pioneer, his contribution to decriminalisation of piracy and more modern copyright was commendable. Not everybody is willing to do that.

The simple fact is that I would guess 90% of piracy is done by people without the money to buy a ton of games anyway. By endearing yourself to them you make them like you more when they get jobs whatever, should they ever do so.

Going to Georgia has taught me a lot about piracy and greatly softened my stance. If you search my posts from years ago you will see me rant and rave about it always being wrong and how you should just do without. I came here though and saw people who make $100 a month in salary and that's before they buy food and clothing. They want to have fun too, but even $10 games are a luxury. Also I make about $300 a month now, and that's before rent and food and whatever else. So am I pirating? In a country with no copyright when I make so little? You bet your ass I am.

In the end you should be upset by those not paying you to some degree, but also rationally understand the world we live in and be thankful for the money you do make. People who love games and make enough money to buy them probably purchase their software in overwhelming percentages, for ease of use reasons if nothing else. Pirating games is a pain in the ass.

I could hug you right now.

*note to self, plan to deport everybody to Georgia is a go.

The number of new alcoholics created could rise up and take over the world.

Considering parts of my family are in that very business, don't you think I planned for that ;-).

Did anyone say alcohol?!