Hotline Miami (2012)

Gameplay was fun but I didn't get the story. I felt like playing for the sake of finishing the game but not because it was interesting.

Gameplay was fluent, fast and when you got killed, being able to reset the level in less than 1 second was awesome.

As for the plot....what? Didn't understand a single thing, just some dudes giving you missions.

With good story would have given a higher rate, still it was a short game and would recommend :)

This is a super fun and super difficult game. But it's a good kind of difficult. I often end up backlogging or just giving up on games if I get stuck somewhere, getting a game over a hundred times in a row when I wasn't enjoying the game that much to begin with, especially if I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong and feel like the game has really left me out to dry as far as the skills or information needed to proceed. This game was far from boring and even when I got stuck I knew it was just a matter of getting more practice or being more clever to eventually succeed, and it was so satisfying when I did.

There's a wide range of weapons as well as masks that give you specific skills, which you unlock as you complete stages. There's flexibility in the strategies you can use to complete each level and you could go back and try to get a better score using a different mask, taking a different path or using different weapons at different points, which is also cool. But getting through a stage the first time is enough of a challenge to keep you occupied. You will likely die many, many, many times before you finally find the right strategy or get accustomed enough to the stage that you're able to make each of your shots or hits perfectly. But like I said, it doesn't get boring and feels sooo good when you finally make it, which is the benefit of it being so difficult.

The overall vibe of this game was cool - the music, the design of the masks, the "gore" (if you can call it that since it's just a bunch of 2D pixels but it still gives you a taste of the carnage) and the underlying theme and storyline, although the storyline was probably the most lackluster part for me, I didn't feel there was a satisfying conclusion or overall plot development but it still was enough to carry through the game and fit with the gritty, ominous, crazed daydream sort of vibe.

Depending on your playing style this game can be super fast-paced or very steady and meticulous - for me it was a fast whirlwind of masscre-ing and being massacred because I'm not very patient lol. I think it's more designed to cater to the faster play style of trial and error and hacking and slashing but I see how someone could also take a more stealthy and precise approach, you'd just have to have really good timing, aim and forethought.

Tip: At first I was really confused by the aiming/locking on system and I don't think it was that well-explained at the beginning of the game but once I figured it out it was really useful. Because you can't always see all the enemies that can see you in a lot of stages, you can lock on (on my XBox controller this was done by tapping RT and you could unlock by tapping RT again), cycle which enemies to lock onto (moving the right stick on my controller) and see a red arrow at the edge of the screen pointing to the enemy you're locked onto if they're not on screen. This helped me make a lot of offscreen kills of enemies I couldn't actually see by shooting in their general direction, when they otherwise would have killed me first before I could even get a visual on them. There is a pitfall though which is you can end up facing the wrong direction to react to another enemy coming at you, or you could end up locked onto another enemy and unable to turn and aim at the one you actually need to be hitting if you don't unlock/switch in time. So it's not practical for using constantly but very helpful in specific situations.

This game is on the first tier of the Humble Indie Bundle 21 where you have to pay a minimum of $1, which is available thru May 25 and I think until 2 p.m. ET on May 26 if my calculations from the countdown are correct. I played at least a little of the other two games on that tier and Hotline Miami is definitely my favorite. I might write reviews for the other two if I have the time to finish them before the timer runs out. But I'd say $1 is worth it just for this game. It's a lot of fun!

In Hotline Miami The game play is at best decent, though i found myself a bit fumbly-feeling with the controls. The game is very much a 'reaction' game. Sometimes though, you just can't whip the mouse around fast enough, or have the needed peripherial vision (for lack of a better word) to spot assailants in corner of your eye. I prefer melee weapons due to slowly clearing (and silently) to weapons. Seems to be easier to pace with. Different masks allow slightly different approaches to your playstyle. The maps are pretty good, and offer variety. There are random weapon spawns at times (the more you die in a section/floor of a building you evnentually will find new pick ups) and some enemies have random weapons from certain 'sets.' In some missions the weapon drops isn't random (such as the last one, and second to last one) where you have to utilize certain procedural strategy to clear the level. I find myself wanting more of this at times. (for example there is one guard with his back turned, you punch him with a door, strangle with hands, grab his double barrel and in nick of time manage to take out the approaching two guards, with the only two shots. you throw the emptied weapon on ground and proceed ton go upstairs to the next area)

Yeah but this game isn't famous because of the game play. It's hyped up due to the aesthetics. Just like in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon aesthetics win 100% and are what make this game what it is. In fact, being that it was released on the end of 2012 it could be said this title sparked the whole new retro wave movement that came soon after... (it certainly gave Peturbator a name!) It's not a cheap gimmick in Hotline Miami: it's consistent in delivering it's stylish aesthetic, and very artistic about doing it. You have low res sprites and mission maps that have arcades, or even NES consoles in your apartment. You have psychedlic gradient shifting background and waving camera effects and static that mesh and match your psychologically distorted character! Menacing droning darktronica reminiscient of John Carpenter enahnces the whole bit. If you like retro graphics this is a must. The sprites, blood, special execution animations are all eye poppingly brilliant like a bad slasher or sensationalistic anime. Combine this with subtle details in how the sprite art is used and placed, such as how your apartment changes slightly as you progress through the game (furniture changes, sometimes its cleaner or dirtier) all use subtle elements as a medium for storytelling and context as if to tell a story without words. And this sort of thing goes together all too well with the silent protagonist who has no dialogue, name, or identity (amnesia/brainwashed/Manchurian Candidate/Dissociative Identity Disorder/something) The fact you don't even know what you even look like due to only seeing the top of your head adds to the mystery (since you don't have a dialogue box portrait so you never see your face! GENIUS!) and the infinite deaths drive in the fact you are cheap and expendable, along with the rest of the grittiness. I love silent protagonists with some kind of psychological issue or difficult challenge. All internal dialogue is represented by three archetype 'masks' that seem to reflect the fragmented personality of the player while he is in a coma... Pretty deep character, right? Absolutley. And all these little details just fit so well... After playing it, its a lot to sit back and appreciate..

While the character and the subtle bits are top notch Unfortunately, I found that the story is more or less so-so.I find it interesting but mainly found the premise of the player character fascinating and mysterious (a bit like gordon freeman in some ways), what's thrown in seems almost a bit made up as we go MK-ultra type sheninagin. It's a bit jumbled and not very clear what is going on (but that is actually I suppose the way it's meant to be). Other elements, make up for it: The moodiness of the setting, and mystery of your character seem to be making up for some of the direct narrative, but still you find yourself wanting for a lot of background material here. And there is some, much of it easter eggs, and more subtle references in there that are also expanded on in the sequel, which might change the way I feel about the direct narrative parts once I play it. There is even a second quest called "answers" which has a second protagonist who can ask questions and uses speech to fill the player in on what happened. Somewhat like the side story in aTarantino film (like pulp fiction)

All in all a really great game with strong cohesive vision that is twice as impressive in being an indie game with a small production crew that got into their creativty.and are top notch designers. Left a good impression on me. A real good impression. Now. I'm going to memorize those emails I keep getting and google+ Muscovites in my area.... Heh... Heh... Heh...