the skill level required by the end of hotline miami 2 is so much higher that you will basically breeze through everything in the first after. At this time I can't even decide which I like better.Īlso, as a last note, if you go back and play hotline 1 it totally ruins it. It would have been solved by letting the look function go a bit further or zooming out the default camera, but as it is it's something that you have to be aware of basically constantly, and the constant zooming and inching forward can get repetetive.īut, for the minor frustrations added, it goes above and beyond the original in a lot of ways as well, and in my opinion it deserves a place alongside the original as a wonderful companion piece. It does have a few issues with the larger, more open level design though, requiring you to use the look function all the time, as enemies that are at the periphery of that will shoot you as soon as they come into range. You could argue that it ruins the mystery of the first game a bit, but after years of fan analysis and theory crafting there weren't too many more holes to plug anyway. Doesn't just try to rehash the original, and that works out heavily in its favor in my opinion. The story is more expansive in every way. It's hard, it's damn hard, but it's as satisfying as ever, and the cathartic sense of accomplishment you get when the music stops and level clears after a good run is greater than its ever been. On another note, that title screen's combination of music and the imagery of the palm trees is such a thoughtful summary of the overall vibe, it deserves a separate mention. I've beaten it on Hard mode by now and just can't get the thing out of my head.

It definitely has its flaws and some of the criticisms are valid, however it ended up being much more than the sum of its parts. I'm absolutely not a story guy, but the way it was handled in this game is just great and a welcome addition. I don't know if I needed to be 'reprogrammed' but something somewhere clicked and this turned out to be one of my favorite games in recent memory and even surpassed part 1 for me.

Naturally ended up buying it anyway and started regretting it shortly after. I played and loved part 1 to death and was severely disappointed by the early review impressions stating there being a larger focus on story, badly designed levels and so on. I can't believe the 180 of opinion I did on this game.

Hotline miami 2 map pack