Hotline Miami

The Review,  80's Style

   So today,  I'm going to review a game I finished last week, Hotline Miami.   It's a 2d top down shooter set in Miami, Florida during 1989.  The game itself is basically a murder ballet,  the music fits perfectly with the graphics and they compliment an overly violent, action heavy game.  This game comes together in one of the best packages I've seen in a long time.  

  

   Let's start with the story,  without giving anything away,  your nameless character usually starts out waking up in his apartment.  From there you head over to check your answering machine,  this is where most of the story plays out.  You are always getting requests to kill different people left as cryptic messages on your machine.  From here you go downstairs and jump into your car,  heading to your next mission location.  You then go murder tons of people and leave that area, sometimes  fight a boss.  In between missions as well,  you visit different places like a Video Store, Pizza Parlor, Bar, and Convenience store (whom all employ the same person?).  These sequences add more to the crazy story.  

   Another thing about the game,  is your titular character wears a mask.  Not just any mask but different animal masks,  each granting you a specific bonus (Night Vision, Take 1 extra bullet, Start with a knife, etc). You unlock some masks from playing levels and others from getting higher scores.  These can really change the outcome of a level.  For instance,  I used the Tiger mask alot (appropriately named Tony) which made my punches kill rather than knock out the enemy.   Trying different masks in each level really change the outcome and difficulty of the game.  

  Speaking of the difficulty,  Hotline Miami can sometimes be a bit frustrating.  You can be killed with 1 hit, and if you make too much noise (like firing off guns) enemies will bum rush you.  The best part about dying though is the respawn is instant,  however you have to start that part of the level over.  The game is hard enough to where it feels rewarding when you finish a level (which is good in my opinion,  too many games nowadays coddle gamers).  

   The weapons of Hotline Miami are a plenty and awesome.  You go from different types of firearms (Uzi, Silenced Pistol, Assault Rifle, Auto Shotgun, Double Barrel Shotgun, etc) to melee weapons (Knives, Sword, Pipe, Baseball Bat, Bottle, Machete, Pool Cue, Golf Club, etc).  Any of the weapons can be used with a left click and also thrown at an enemy to disable them from a distance (some kill them like the edged weapons).  So this adds another layer to combat,  now once enemies are down it doesn't mean they are dead.  Here comes in the executions,  which change depending on which weapon you have and are extremely graphic.  Let it be said,  Hotline Miami does not shy away from gore in this game (It fits the game very nicely).  

   Now, last but not least,  complimenting all of these great things is one of the best soundtracks I've heard in a long time.  Before purchasing this game,  I listened to the soundtrack over and over for about 2 weeks.  That alone convinced me to get it.  It has a variety of composers bringing life to this world.  My two favorite tracks so far are Knock and Miami 2.  I'll put them below for your listening pleasure.

Knock

Miami 2

   So, in my opinion,  while Hotline Miami can be frustrating at times due to it's difficulty.  If you are looking for something that feels both new and old,  this game comes highly recommended and is currently receiving much praise from many journalists.  It's currently available only on PC,  which you do not need a high end PC to run it.  You can purchase it through digital PC outlets like Steam and Good Old Games for $9.99.  So take the plunge and pick it up, you won't regret it.