# Hotline Miami 2 (Open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 10, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692 "2015-03-10T14:19:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/1 "2015-03-10T14:19:19Z")
Coming out in a few hours. I’m opening this thread so we can share our thoughts on the gameplay, story and aesthetics of it. So, put on your favorite mask, grab the nearest weapon and let’s get down to it. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/2 "2015-03-10T15:43:33Z")
Most recent review from TotalBiscuit: Skip to 20:00 if you want the summary of its quality without giving away any of the game. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/3 "2015-03-11T04:53:30Z")
Picked up both games today for $20. It’s extremely difficult and I’m terrible at it, but it’s horrifyingly fun. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/4 "2015-03-11T05:29:00Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Picked up both games today for $20. It’s extremely difficult and I’m terrible at it, but it’s horrifyingly fun. I got through the opening sequence then utterly failed on the next mission so I raged quit. This is my first time playing Hot Line Miami (as in I did not play the first one) but I watched some Let’s Play videos and had a clue. I like its design and it is fun but it is unforgiving. I’ll go back of course and it is not bad it is challenging but sheesh… ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/5 "2015-03-11T05:42:14Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’ll go back of course and it is not bad it is challenging but sheesh… Yeah, I’d really appreciate a “reverse-time-a-few-seconds” mechanic a la _Braid_ or _The Bridge_ when killed rather than starting over at the beginning of the stage. I think that would greatly reduce the urge to rage-quit by _a lot_. Because when you get through a tough level and that last guy you didn’t see kills you… :mad: ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/6 "2015-03-11T12:00:13Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Picked up both games today for $20. It’s extremely difficult and I’m terrible at it, but it’s horrifyingly fun. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I got through the opening sequence then utterly failed on the next mission so I raged quit. > > This is my first time playing Hot Line Miami (as in I did not play the first one) but I watched some Let’s Play videos and had a clue. > > I like its design and it is fun but it is unforgiving. > > I’ll go back of course and it is not bad it is challenging but sheesh… You have to go into it with the same attitude as Kerbal Space Program but with quicker experiment and feedback. Failing doesn’t mean you suck, it means you have an opportunity to learn and do better next time. The unforgivingness is part of the theme and aesthetic of the game. Brings me back to the original Rainbow Six but without so many snap headshots from across the map. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/7 "2015-03-11T18:31:27Z")
Doing much better with this, once I got used to the controls. You can’t just run up to a guy and hit the button, you have to _aim_ at him too, which took some getting used to. It’s not quite the twin-stick control scheme of _Smash TV_ or _Total Carnage_, but it kind of has the same feel to it. I’m to understand there’s somewhat of an auto-aim function in the second game? I haven’t played it yet; still working my way through the first. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/8 "2015-03-11T18:46:22Z")
You can reconfigure the controls. Auto-aim: The reconfigure menu will tell you which button to press to get a lock-on. By default, it’s the middle mouse button. Put cursor over enemy, press MMD to lock on. Press again to lock off. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/9 "2015-03-14T03:49:10Z")
Drugged-up level is best level. I really hope that the map editor allows for druggy graphics. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/10 "2015-03-17T11:53:00Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Drugged-up level is best level. Finally got to the end. It was tough; I don’t know how I got through some of those levels. Kind of wish I’d been recording it so I could enjoy the visuals of it without the stress of trying not to die. Story was way too convoluted to follow. I still have no idea what’s supposed to be going on. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotline-miami-2-open-spoilers/714692/11 "2015-03-23T16:16:38Z")
Finished it last night. It felt a lot harder than the first game. The levels were generally much more open, which resulted in a lot of obnoxious deaths by getting shot from someone way out of frame. I guess they were trying to mix up the gameplay a bit and ramp up the challenge, but I found it made the game way more frustrating to play than the original. There was a lot more baiting enemies around corners and less organic blasting through like a cannonball. I agree with **DCnDC** that a short rewind would have done a lot to make the game more fun than frustrating. Also, the game badly needed a quicksave function. I often found myself playing longer than I wanted to because I didn’t want to quit near the end of a level and have to redo the floors I had already beaten. I would have also loved a Super Meat Boy type replay where you could view every attempt simultaneously, watching all the failed ones fall down dead until only one cleared the floor. I appreciate that they tried to put together a story, but I don’t really feel like a game like Hotline Miami needs to be particularly story driven. That, and the constant jumping between characters and back and forth in the timeline was annoying. Apparently, the developers have stated that this is the final game in the series. There’s probably not many more places for the game to go, but I do enjoy the gameplay. I hope the level editor they’re going to release will result in a lot of fan maps.