Be Excellent To Each Other

It's finally here and, guess what, amid the controversy and blog rants the hype train has slowed down despite its imminent release.

It's probably for the best though, right, cause then we can all enjoy the game for what it actually is.

I've played it twice dontchaknow: once on PC ages ago (I couldn't work the mouse and keys but I had some kick ass headphones and the soundtrack was thumping) and on PS4 (the demo pod didn't have the sound turned up though). Both times it was business as usual; in fact, it was the same as the first game.

New graphics? Not that you'd notice.
New music? Yeah, but can lightning strike twice? Hopefully.
New story? Yeah, they'll be a story. But will it be any good? Well the first one wasn't exactly War & Peace but it was fun and weird.
New maps? Obv.

I'm also certainly going to enjoy it though.

I bet, I BET, the reviews go like this: "It's more of the same but I LOVE more of the same" and 8 & 9's across the board. Or my name isn't Johnny Jackson Johnson Jnr. I

I'm not all too excited tbh. I loved the first game so much, but the sequel really does just feel like more of the same. Music I've heard so far isn't quite as good.

Dunno if you're familiar with Cactus's earlier work, but he seemed to just have so many weird new ideas all the time, it's a shame to see him doing such a cookie cutter sequel.

I'm sure it will be fine though.

Main new thing I noticed was execution moves for guns, which is nice I suppose.

Does it still have the rape scene?

Build I played is still set up to imply rape (although it is not actually depicting a rape). I think they slightly changed the scene but not all that much.

This wasn't a final build.

This should be on PSN today, I think. Might already be there. BUT IS IT? Yes.

No.

Maybe. I ain't checking cause I'm going to have a bath. Anyone is welcome to join me. Assuming that you're only wickle. And wearing swimming trunks. Or a bathing cozy.

People don't say 'cozy' much these days. The world is a far worse place because of this. Maybe. Yes. No.

Anyway, Hotline Miami 2 - it's totally out today. Probably.

Bought the pre-order yesterday on Steam. If only for the music.

It's cossie, not cozy. Short for costume, innit?

Words are funny though, right, because, technically, you can spell them how you like. So, y'know, kiss my cozzie.

Are you from the Middle Ages or something?

Back in Eygpt people used to spell words with pictures. PICTURES. I rest my case. On your face.

I've checked: it ain't live yet.

Confirmed as being cross-buy so when you purchase you get it on PS4/3/Vita.

Cozzie, tho, innit?

Kohzzeh

Reviews are in: couple of 7s, mainly 8s, some 9s.

Will wait for a sale. Not fussed about it for some reason, even though I really liked the first.

Shite, this is hard. HM1 one difficult, too, but this is brutal.

I'm about an hour in, act 5, which is about as far I got in the old IGF build too. It is definitely worse than the original so far.

I am prepared for that. To be fair, the original was fucking great, and I'll be OK with this merely being good.

Biggest issue so far is that the level design is no way near as sharp.

I constantly misread the thread title as Hotline Mimi and then get disappointed.

I've read enough to know I probably wouldn't enjoy this anywhere near as much as the first one, so I'll wait until it's on PS+.

Is it genuinely much worse in some way or is it just that it's more of the same?

Genuinely worse.

This review nails my feelings on it so far

http://midnightresistance.co.uk/reviews ... ong-number

The levels are just not anywhere near as good. It's lost that feeling of being a bit like Hitman at a million miles an hour. You aren't improvising anywhere near as much.

I think the floors being much bigger kills it a bit. You're not trying different ways to clear the floor, you're just playing it safe to avoid repeating loads of stuff.

It's more difficult, but less interesting.

It's not awful by any means, but it is worse than the original by a fair margin.

I finished it now.

There are some good levels, but it is a lesser game for sure.

I know this will be a lesser game, but I bought it anyway.

I never dived deep into the score attack elements (I found it deeply unrewarding with Keyboard and mouse, and on the PS3, but it came alive on the Vita), but I really enjoyed the atmosphere and narrative, so that being developed actually works of me, despite it undermining the (far more important) game mechanics.

There is more story, but I don't think I like how it is delivered. You're jumping between characters so much, it's hard to really engage with any of their stories.

I loved the storytelling in the first. It was so efficient, just subtle details in the environment and the set up. New one still has the same tone and atmosphere for the most part, but I'd say there's a less consistent merging of narrative and play.

And it's a 10 from Len.

I can't switch between the two swan headed guys. Am I not pressing enough buttons or not pressing them in the right order or do I need to swirl the touchpad with my tongue?

If you can't switch between them I've decided that I don't like this level much. If you can I've decided that I don't like them not telling me how to do it in giant letters at the start of the level like some cack handed spaz might need (eg me).

Fairly certain you cannot switch.

I didn't think so, which makes those levels (one optional and one mandatory but only part of a level?) somewhat frustrating.

Anyway, I went back to piece together the story with a speed run through the levels and I was kicking mucho ass. I did about 8 levels before I called it a day but plan to go back and hammer the rest.

It's funny though because when you go back, you already know the level and the fun is made from smashing the level as quickly as possible. Sure, there's areas where you're pressing the camera to its extreme to catch a glimpse of who might be ahead but once you've got the placements worked out and know the level (having completed it before) it feels identical to Hotline 1. It's really only the first play through that can be frustrated by enemies 'off-screen' due to the larger level size but once you know what's coming you plot a route through the most cover.

Hotline Miami 2: Not so bad as made out in some quarters and still plenty fun albeit slightly less fun cause we've seen it before.