EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/D7XlX.jpg)
You are in Miami in the late 1980's where drugs, sex, and violence dominates the city. You wake up in a dilapidated apartment and pick up the phone. The caller on the other end gives you vague instructions but its interpreted as "kill everyone in this building." All the while strange visions plague you; it feels like a dream. Who is talking to you on the phone? what do they want? Why are they pulling on your strings as if you were a puppet?
Welcome to Hotline Miami. A self-proclaimed "top down fuck'em up" (in the words of the couple of guys who made it) and my personal Game of the Year. Ok, maybe that doesn't mean much since I haven't played many games that have come out this year, but it really is one of the better ones I have played, and one of the best indie games I have ever played. It is a pretty short game but well worth the asking price on Steam, which will only get better as it will probably be on the Christmas sale.
So let's jump into it...
Story: Hotline Miami makes extensive use of an unreliable narrator, and many events occur seemingly out-of-order. In
Hotline Miami, the player takes the role of an unknown man (He is frequently referred to as "Jacket" by fans due to his distinctive letter jacket, but he is never referred to by this or any other name in the game). He is plagued by visions involving three masked strangers who discuss Jacket's identity and his actions. Jacket wakes up in his apartment on April 3rd, 1989. He receives a message on his phone about a delivered package of cookies and how he should read the list of ingredients. Jacket finds the package outside which contains an animal mask ('Richard'), and instructions to go retrieve a briefcase at a certain location while eliminating everyone there.
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The telephone calls that direct the player to their next objective. They are more ominous than they seem.
From there, the cycle continues. Get some vauge telephone call, some might tell you they need a babysitter at an address. Another might say that a delivery needs to be made. You get the address and you are on your way to commit mass murder at the place. Why this happens is never really clear. I have my own theory that he is just really fucked in the head and he is hallucinating all of what is going on. From the weird movement and the way the camera slightly moves with every step tells me it is a just a really bad drug trip. Is all of it really happening? There are no clear answers. A particular dream sequence says the line: "I have only questions to give, not answers." I feel that is an apt description of the story.
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During dream sequences, the player is taunted by masked figures in a dark room.
However, it does have obvious influences. The creators themselves(Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin) have admitted that Nicolas Winding Refn's movie, Drive, was a particularly big one as his name appears in the games credits thanking him. Similarities can certainly be made, with the hyper stylized violence and silent protagonist leading the charge.
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An impressive massacre at the hands of the protagonist.
Gameplay: This is the bread and butter of the game, and it is solid. There are 20 stages in all and there is a decent
variation in them. The objective is simple, clear the building with whatever weapons you have and can find. From melee weapons like bats, golf clubs, sledgehammers and throw-able knifes to machine guns and shotguns. You might get the impression that you are a walking armory, but that is not the case. Ammo is very limited per gun and you can only carry one weapon at a time. You will come across a decent assortment of weapons on every floor so you will have alot to work with.
I should also mention that, much like Super Meat Boy, you die in one hit. If that bullet touches you or that lucky swing from the enemy's bat hits its mark, its game over and back to the start of the floor you were on. However, it never really feels cheap. It's quick to start you off again and give you more chances to plan your attack. Deaths are somewhat of a learning experience in this game but I feel like it is done fairly.
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"Press R to restart." Get used to seeing this screen.
As mentioned earlier, there is a score system in this game. The faster and more efficiently you kill, the better your score will be. It's a nice, although somewhat macabre, touch. Kill several enemies in a row and you get combos which are worth more points. Add into things like throwing weapons to knock enemies into each other and doors to knock enemies down, there is a lot to work with in terms of using the environment around you against your enemies.So what is the point of the scoring system? There is a base score set for each stage. Beat it, and you unlock new weapons and new masks to wear.
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The more efficient you are at killing, the better your score at the end.
The masks you get have modifiers and allow a good amount of flexibility in terms of how you want to play. There are ones where using doors will outright kill enemies instead of just knocking them out. Another makes you move faster which can come in handy. There are several more which do things such as make dogs not attack you, allow you to survive 2 bullet hits instead of one, gives extra ammo, make gunshots quiet, more melee weapons and so much more. They really add alot to the game, not just in terms of helping you, but also replaying stages. Some masks could help clear that earlier stage a little faster to improve your score.
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New weapons are unlockable after beating chapters.
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Masks add more depth to the game and can make certain chapters easier, all depends on how you want to play.
At the end of a stage, you are graded on how effective you were. The faster you killed, were you taking big risks, how many combos did you get, how fast did you clear it are all tallied up given a letter rank. Not only a good measurement to see how well you did, but also give you some motivation to replay stages.The combat is brutal, frantic, and rarely lets you stop to catch your breath. It keeps your adrenaline pumping nonstop and I wouldn't have it any other way. You blast your way through almost like you are killing to the synthesized 80s inspired music pumping into your ears. It's like you are in a trance. It's made all the more aware by finishing a stage. The music stops and you have to walk back out through the carnage you left behind.
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Job well done.
Controls: Hotline Miami uses a typical WASD for movement. If an enemy is down you can use the spacebar to finish them off without waiting for them to get up. The rest are on the mouse. Left mouse button is uses to pickup and throw weapons, right mouse button attacks/shoots and you can use the middle mouse button to lock on a specific enemy. You can also use Shift to manipulate the camera around farther than you can actually see, invaluable for planning your next move.
Not much to say about the controls, they work great so I had no issue with them. It also recently got controller support with an update so if you wanted to use a Xbox 360 controller for whatever reason, apparently that's an option now. I personally found the controls to be fine but it can be configured to whatever you wish since they allow you to customize it.
Graphics: As you can tell, it uses a very sprite-based, retro style of graphics from a top-down perspective. It does
it's job though, the graphics look fine and I never had a problem distinguishing things in the environment. Doesn't make all the blood spatter any less impressive. The miniature cut-scenes that appear during the game are a good touch as well, almost like a comic book the way the scenes play out.
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Dialogue scenes play out comic-book style.
Sound: Wow, where to start with the music? This is easily some of the best music in a video game I have heard! It's a perfect fit with the gameplay and the setting. Heavily influenced by the synthesized tunes of the 80's, it always seems to set the perfect mood for whatever is happening on-screen. Includes some songs composed by Jasper Byrne, the creator of Lone Survivor. Every song is great, I have taken to liberty of posting some of my personal favorites as well as links to the full soundtrack, on Youtube and Soundcloud respectively.
Here are some of my personal favorites:
Flatline
+ Show Spoiler +
Miami Disco
+ Show Spoiler +
Hydrogen
+ Show Spoiler +
Knock Knock
+ Show Spoiler +
Daisuke
+ Show Spoiler +
Granted that's not to say there are not problems. There were plenty of times where I had frustrating deaths, the story doesn't really have any conclusions (I guess that's what a sequel is for, and its on the way according to the creators), and the game is relatively short. Took me maybe 5-6 hours to get through it, and tack on a few extra hours trying to get high scores and everything. It wasn't a very long journey but it was well worth it to me, easily worth the $10 I spent.
The Christmas sale is coming soon and I would think it will go on sale. Even though the game is being pirated quite a bit at the moment, the creators have taken the liberty to go on Twitter to express their understanding of it. They may take their understanding a little too far when they are actively helping people on ThePirateBay who are having problems with the game or bugs. However I think it goes to show just how dedicated they are to making sure as many people have a chance to play it.
Finally if this got you thinking about it and want see the game in action, there is a decent number of media on it. TB has a WTF Is... of it that is pretty good and a few gaming organizations like IGN and Giant Bomb have videos of it.
Thanks for reading! Happy Holidays TL!
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