*Ring* Ring*
"Um, hi. Trevor here. I need you to "inform" some people about a game.
Be ready to"edit' it extensively. I want it done by tonight!"
Phone calls like these is what make men kill. Hotline Miami follows a
man's genocidal adventures as he is tasked to perform countless
massacres from unknown phone calls like this. Though, the plot delves
much farther than that. What was normally a hit-list becomes a turnabout
of events as this man's life becomes more mysterious with every chapter
in the game.
This hitman; however, is getting some help along the way. Every mission
allows you to select an animal mask that is assigned a specific ability.
For example, a tiger mask lets punches kill and a wolf mask lets you
start with a knife. There are two types of weapons, melee and
projectile. Melee weapons are for a use of stealth and to rack up
combos. Projectiles (AKA guns) are used to fight your way out of a
firefight, but guns can and will attract attention to nearby enemies.
Perhaps one of Hotline's greatest aspects are its claustrophobic
environments. With tight corners and overbearing enemies, this is not a
game you can hack-and-slash your way through. The key to victory is
analyzing enemy patterns and reacting fast.
A top-down view is the best way to capture pixelated violence. From this
point of view, the eight bit graphics look great. Up close is another
story as pixelated characters are noticeably offsetting. Some may be
able to adjust to the time-period the game is aiming for, but others may
not so easily shrug off this design choice.
As this man's journey comes to a close and you've listened to the game's
amazing 8-bit techno soundtrack, a new chapter arises that should've
been first on the hit-list. This second arc goes deeper into the origins
of the occurrences of the main story. It brings to light plot points
that would have been better off hidden away.
All in all Hotline Miami is a fantastic action game with a surprising
amount of depth. Its one flaw is its inability to have players return to
it with no addition of replay ability unless you have interest in
collecting all the masks and weapons. Despite that fact, Hotline is
worth its price and should be put at the top of YOUR hit list.
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