Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number releasing March 10

[Bolivar]

I gave up trying to understand reviewers a long time ago but I would guess the more critical writers wanted Hotline Miami 1.5 where you can still run from small room to small room frantically racking up kill combos. The levels are a lot larger with a lot more bad guys in this one. You have to be much more methodical. I imagine you can still find the optimal route to wipe an entire floor in one combo but it's going to take a lot more ingenuity to do it this time. Personally, I find it a much deeper and rewarding experience but I can understand how it might frustrate someone trying to bang out a review, especially if they were a fan of the first game and thought they knew what they were getting into.

Presentation-wise, it's insane. Massive step up from the first game, especially with the music, which I honestly didn't think was possible.

[Pete for President]

Game doesn't start for me. I'm on OSX and all I get is a white screen and a crash. Not even an error notice or anything.

[Bolivar]

I've heard the Steam/PC release was very buggy, not sure if OSX issues are lumped in there.

[krissy]

hi i got the first one just now?????

its hard

do you like hurting people

[Pete for President]

I've heard the Steam/PC release was very buggy, not sure if OSX issues are lumped in there.

Yea I've been reading up/troubleshooting and lot's of people are having trouble on different operating systems. This is one of the reasons I sometimes still prefer ps1/ps2 era console gaming over pc gaming. Anywho I'm sure there will be a patch and all that.

[Bolivar]

Maybe ask for a refund and pick up the PSN version when you get Bloodborne

Vita and PS4 have been bug free so far on my end.

[Pete for President]

Maybe ask for a refund and pick up the PSN version when you get Bloodborne

Vita and PS4 have been bug free so far on my end.

I could do that! As much as I'd want to play Bloodborne I don't think I'll get a ps4 just for that though!

They patched the OSX version and I finally got to play. Big fan of the chainsaw + guns guys

[Bolivar]

I just beat the main game. Some people have beaten it in 5 hours but it seemed very long to me. There's so many characters and missions... some don't advance the plot and at times I ask myself where this is all going and what does it mean. I expect once you unlock the real ending, the individual chapters gain more significance. But if HM2 is the last game in the series, then I'm happy they left us with a ton of game to go back to and try to get an A+ on all the levels. I can't wait to see where the community takes this once the level editor gets patched in.

The first one holds up better as a tighter, small experience but Wrong Number succeeds in iterating on it in every way. As far as I can tell, each episode has its own unique song and I thought that was a great touch. The game is certainly harder but once you stop caring about your survival and start going for big combos, you can pull off some pretty spectacular things. After I see the real ending, I'll probably prefer HM2 over the first one. I can see this staying on my Vita for quite some time as I play through Hard, try to A+ all the levels, and immerse myself in the community generated content. $15 is a ridiculously low price for such a robust overall package.

[Pete for President]

I too just beat the main storyline. This game is really, really intense. Not just gameplay wise, but storywise too. Very immersive. By the end I really got creeped out by what was going on. While I'm very confused by the story I'm also very intrigued by it. I think that's the main thing why this game is so awesome and really adds something to the setup of 1; the whole storyline is one big intertwining puzzle.

I'm trying to puzzle it together, please help if you feel like it! (HEAVY SPOILERS):

The Pig Butcher is the criminal detective Parbo is after. The Pig Butcher is the actor, who gets killed by the actress.

The Russian mob Son's Henchman gets killed by the Fans after his lady leaves him with all his cash.

The Fans get killed by the Russian mob Son.

Jake the Snake was in the army, or am I wrong? And was Jacket in that crew too? And is the guy with the glasses and beard the guy from the convenience store in 1?

The Writer gets a hold of Richter (which indicates Jacket didn't kill him in 1), who is in Hawaii and wants a flight ticket for his mom.

Richter is the guy escaping from prison. While in prison, he gets a visit from the Janitors from 1, right? In the ending he is watching the news when the presidents get killed.

Jacket is in prison, right? And gets blown up by the nukes too.

I only just realised that in the final mission the Russian Mob Son actually kills the trippy versions of the fans and it is actually the same event as you have played through as the fans. The swan creature did ring a bell but I thought it would just be a bad trip out of memory. Pretty cool that it is the real deal.

Does the Russion Mob Son walk off the roof and fall to his death at the end? I don't know.



I can't wait to go through it again.

[Bolivar]

I too just beat the main storyline. This game is really, really intense. Not just gameplay wise, but storywise too. Very immersive. By the end I really got creeped out by what was going on. While I'm very confused by the story I'm also very intrigued by it. I think that's the main thing why this game is so awesome and really adds something to the setup of 1; the whole storyline is one big intertwining puzzle.

I'm trying to puzzle it together, please help if you feel like it! (HEAVY SPOILERS):

The Pig Butcher is the criminal detective Parbo is after. The Pig Butcher is the actor, who gets killed by the actress.

The Russian mob Son's Henchman gets killed by the Fans after his lady leaves him with all his cash.

The Fans get killed by the Russian mob Son.

Jake the Snake was in the army, or am I wrong? And was Jacket in that crew too? And is the guy with the glasses and beard the guy from the convenience store in 1?

The Writer gets a hold of Richter (which indicates Jacket didn't kill him in 1), who is in Hawaii and wants a flight ticket for his mom.

Richter is the guy escaping from prison. While in prison, he gets a visit from the Janitors from 1, right? In the ending he is watching the news when the presidents get killed.

Jacket is in prison, right? And gets blown up by the nukes too.

I only just realised that in the final mission the Russian Mob Son actually kills the trippy versions of the fans and it is actually the same event as you have played through as the fans. The swan creature did ring a bell but I thought it would just be a bad trip out of memory. Pretty cool that it is the real deal.

Does the Russion Mob Son walk off the roof and fall to his death at the end? I don't know.



I can't wait to go through it again.

(SPOILER)I just checked and yeah the final copycats mission is on the same night as the final mission. Insane. I thought he was just hallucinating off memories. I assume he just ODs at the end but he probably does just walk off the edge like you said.

Jacket and Richter both being alive really threw me for a loop. I always assumed The Biker's ending was the true ending because of their personalities. Jacket almost always kills off everyone whereas Biker frequently leaves the last person alive. At the call center, he tells Jacket he doesn't want to hurt him but Jacket sees him saying "You're dead meat," right off the bat. The theory is that all the trippy trout and mutilated people in Jacket's chapters after that means he died that night. Richter being alive is weird - did he kill Jacket's friend or not? Maybe he really was in prison like in Jacket's chapters but just wasn't killed by him.

So many questions but I'm hoping we get some answers by the real ending. Just hope it's not too hard to get...

[Pete for President]

From what I've read the hard ending doesn't change much. Have you beaten it yet?

Discovered this the other day:

Screen Shot 2015-03-23 at 15.11.03.png

If you open the trunk in the intro where detective Pardo visits Alex (of the Alex & Ash fan duo) a person is inside. Turns out spoiler the pig murderer is not the same killer as the miami mutilator, but Pardo is actually the murderer. I thought he was just haunted by his chase on the real killer, but after reading up on this it all makes sense considering he mentions media attention all the time.

One of my favourite reviewers reviewed the sequel as a huge step back from the original, mainly story and setting wise. But man the more I play and the more I pay attention to dialogue and small details (both of which on many occasions doesn't seem to mean anything at first glance) the more this game comes together as an awesome intertwined cluster of storylines. On my first playthrough I actually started to disgust some of my actions, and knowing what I know now about these characters makes it even more intense. It's what I would call good character development, and a good story.

Also after playing the fans last mission again, as Pardo spoiler executes a surrendering Tony and walks out of the building you can see the body of the Russion Mob Son on the pavement covered by a sheet. He did walk himself off the building.

I love this game.

[Bolivar]

I just started the second act on hard, I'll probably see it through for the trophy even if it doesn't change much. Is there a real ending to see this time?

Really tempted to click those spoiler tags but I'm guessing I should play those sequences again first.

[Pete for President]

I just started the second act on hard, I'll probably see it through for the trophy even if it doesn't change much. Is there a real ending to see this time?

Really tempted to click those spoiler tags but I'm guessing I should play those sequences again first.

These findings are from playing on normal on a second playthrough, so it'll be safe to click and peek as you've gone past it before.

How is hard (and mirrored) mode? I unlocked it but haven't tried it yet

[Bolivar]

That's amazing!

Hard isn't too bad, there's just a few more of the bigger dudes. If you could handle Normal it's not that big of a step up. The biggest challenge is no auto aim on the PlayStation version but I'm used to it, since I beat the first game without knowing about it.