I've been reading the GOG reviews for Hotline Miami 2 (which I haven't actually played for myself), and I've noticed a few common complaints. First, that the mouse/camera controls are awful, and require you to hold down the shift key for the majority of the game, to be able to see the same range as your enemies. Second, that there are numerous bugs. And third, that the story is bland and uninvolving.

My question is this: weren't all these issues present in the first game? You also had to hold the shift key down for the majority of the experience, there were numerous bugs (standing "on top of" enemies with sawed off shotguns kept them from being able to harm you, for instance), and the story was just shallow, uninvolving deconstructionist gimmickry.

So why is this all suddenly an issue in the sequel? Is everything that much worse, or did everyone just not notice in the first game?

Regarding the first "issue": The levels are more open and wide. So at the beginning you are lead to believe you gotta shoot in the dark. But truth be told you just have to utilize cover properly or even use specific rooms to check out the dangers that may lure at the end of a long hallway. Also you can offer yourself as bait and such... In fact I'd say most levels are way more thought out and with the different characters the game presents to you, you face some very unique challenges. This is at least my view AFTER completing the game.

Regarding bugs: I played the Linux version. Apart from some enemies getting stuck in doors - which makes them temporarily invulnerable to melee attacks, I did not encounter any annoyances. I understand the Windows and Mac versions had their own fair share of bugs but the Windows build seems to be mostly fixed now.

Story/Characters: HM1 did not put much effort in the story. HM2 does the opposite. You have so many different characters experiencing the big narrative from their own point - I feel kinda reminded of Pulp Fiction - especially since the game jumps around on the Timeline a LOT. But there is also a MASS of characters which change a lot so you do not have much time to build a relationship with them. Take that for better or worse but it's the overall arc that was fascinating.. how all the players were put together in this big mess which... I don't wanna spoil you.. I felt it was quite a ride. But if you liked HM1 and do not mind more dialogue, you will not be disappointed I think.

I actually despised Hotline Miami 1, so... :P

Well, "despised" is maybe too strong a word. Let's just say I was significantly less enamored with it than everyone else was

A bunch of negative reviews are just really bitter.

HTM2 is a good game. The soundtrack is better than a lot games, the graphic designs are very unique etc.

For me, the main complaint of the reviews, that is the "large levels", is just nonsense and hypocrisi. HTM1 got also a bunch of big levels where you could be shot by a guy you couldn't really see. And at the time, it wasn't a "problem", so ...

The big plot of HTM2 is that it is a lot more harder than the first. To be honest, I thought I was good at HTM1. But I've got my ass kicked so bad at the first level of HTM2... Nevermind, the game is clearly not impossible, but there is a lot of different levels, and some are not the "run and shoot" levels from the first (but some are).

The game doesn't really crash on win7 anymore. New installers are coming nearly every day, so the "game crashing bugs" seems to be taken seriously but the developpers. The crybabies that are giving a poor review because they can't play the game on day 1 on their system are pathetics. Diablo II didn't worked on release date, but no one said it was a bad game because of it.

You may not like HTM2, mostly if you didn't like the first. But not because "it's too much different from the first!!!!" because that's obviously not true. Dennaton gave the game which they showed the screenshots since one year.

I agree Naev.

All in all I'd say:
- If you dislike HM1, do not play HM2.
- If you want HM2 to be *exactly like* (emphasis) HM1, don't get it.
- If you want HM2 to start where HM1 left off, expanding on all aspects but staying true to the core, then HM2 is the game for you.

Some levels really seem to be quite a challenge, and ruled by random aspects - i.e. let's shoot down this long hall and hopefully I hit something before it hits me. But after beating the game with a minimal rank of C+ in all missions, I can say that occurrences like this usually indicate that you're doing something wrong. Which for me was one of the most genius aspects.

The game really requires you to think outside the box more often than not - especially given the different characters with their unique playstyle. This is also where lot of the variety comes from. At least in missions where you CAN select different characters. If not, well then you face the problem that you need to play the level almost exactly as the developers intended ... almost. There are exceptions for this as well.

The question is if this all meets your expectations or not. I.e. if you think these things are good or not.
In HM1 I had quite some levels where I just was happy that I've beaten them and I didn't care much for the Rank. In this game here, this was an exception. I played most levels two or three times because I knew I could and wanted to do better. For me, this is VERY positive.

The story is another thing. I can hardly say much about it - especially about the main reason why some MAY absolutely hate it in my opinion, without spoiling it. But it is a big story covering a lot of time, a lot of perspectives - maybe a bit too much and implying there is more to it than there actually is. How does that sound?

I just got it and have only played through the first 5 levels or so, but so far I'm a little disappointed. I'll give it a fair shake and I don't really have a problem with it being harder (which I think it is), but it seems different in some way.

Yeah there were a few levels in HLM1 where you could get sniped from far away, but they were only a few spots on a couple levels where that was the case. So far, I feel like I've encountered at least 3 and just on the first 5 levels.

The complaint I see and I agree with the most is that it requires a lot more "waiting." The first one was so frenetic and yeah, when I played there was waiting and timing involved, but a lot of the time I found I was most effective when i just charged through and and clicked like a madman.

It's not necessarily a problem with the game, it's just more different than I expected a sequel to be. I feel like I need a moderately different play style (I say moderately, because they are obviously VERY similar games, so "dramatically" seemed extreme, but there is still a large difference in play style). I think HLM2 is a good game and I will grow to enjoy it, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

One plus that i will say is that I use a Mac with a Mighty Mouse and hence have no scroll wheel and so I played the first without a lock function (although I don't know if that was always a feature on the original game). Anyway, being able to customize the controls is nice (and so far a lock feature has proved useful).

Look at my avatar. You can tell I'm a huge fan of Hotline Miami 1. However, I absolutely despise HM2 in its current state. I actually happen to believe that PC Gamers infamous review is spot on. HM1, you almost never got killed by an enemy you couldn't see. That only really happened in about the last 3 levels or so of Jacket's campaign. It never felt unfair because you were coming close to the end of the game; you could expect it to be difficult. But HM2 was way too hard, way too early in the game, even for a veteran like me. The climax of the first act where you fight your way through the cop station, only to get shot at the end, and THEN be told, 'Oh it was all a scene for a movie'. I wanted to punch someone in the face. If the level's not real, then what the fuck was the point of it? If it's not real, make it far easier. It should have had a feel of 'Oh wow, that felt a bit too easy, something's not right' instead of "Fuck, when will this level end? Oh shit, it was a scene? Fuck off." While there many, many characters, I don't get the chance to care about any of them. Some of them I've come to hate outright, like the reporter. If this isn't enough to scare you off, this will. Remember the masks from HM, and how awesome they were, and had a measurable outcome on your strategy? Yeah, you're not going to find that here. On the few levels where you actually get to use masks, you'll find the roster cut by more than half. The twins are my personal favourite, but other than that, they are all 'meh'. If you loved HM1, stay the hell away from this one. Disappointment is inevitable.