Back in 2012, Dennaton's Hotline Miami made a surprise splash on the gaming stage. It was energetic. It was brutally difficult, but fun. It had an epic soundtrack. It was a hit with critics. Never was it meant to be a bestseller, but Dennaton proved that a triple-a budget wasn't necessary to produce a spectacular game. A sequel for such a title was a must. But not just any copy-paste formulaic trash- there had to be more this time around. More levels, more characters, an even better soundtrack, the whole deal. Three years after the first installment, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number was released to a crowd anxious to see if all Dennaton's promises held up. And did they ever....

A Rough Town Gets Rougher:

The year is 1991. It's been two years since Jacket's homicidal rampage through the city of Miami, and the town is as cold as ever. Murders are rampant, and there is a battle between killers for fame and control of the streets. You control a colourful cast as they strive for notoriety: The Fans are sociopaths who hail Jacket as a hero and pay tribute with blood. Plenty of it. There's Manny Pardo, a bent cop who almost flaunts his violent nature. Even a pacifist by name of Evan Wright, who is desperate to complete his book on Jacket's "career", often putting his life on the line for info.

And that's just the story set in 1991! In 1985 you play as Beard, a character returning from Hotline Miami....as a comrade fighting with Jacket against the Soviets in Hawaii. In 1989, the characters of Richter and Jake are introduced as normal people drafted by the mysterious ultranationalist organisation 50 Blessings to kill Russian mob members, revealing that Jacket's rampages had roots deeper than anyone could have known.

The architecture of the story is incredible. It's told in a Pulp Fiction-esque non-linear style, with consecutive levels (26 in total, divided into 6 chapters excluding the prologue and epilogue) often being set in different dates in different times, in different years. It may seem confusing at first, but soon the genius of this style comes through. The characters’ lives are chaptered by acts of violence with their views of the greater world being blurred- the non-linear structure of the story is symbolic of this.

Overall the enormous medley of new playable characters and expanding on the story of Hotline Miami adds a great deal of entertainment to the experience. Just one problem- the ending is awful. It's too abrupt and gives no form of satisfaction or closure to this final installment of the Hotline Miami saga. ESPECIALLY seeing as how long the game is.

A New Crew:

Over the course of the game, you play a total of 13 different characters. Many of these protagonists have their own special ability or weaponry that can be unlocked via story progression. For example, Beard can unlock and use many guns in his fight against the Soviet Army; everything from assault rifles to FLAMETHROWERS. And you'll need to master these skills, because impossible as it may seem the difficulty from the first game has been significantly amplified.

There are a whole host of foes, from Russians to Colombian mobsters to police, among them dogs, katana wielding berserkers, and thugs which require guns to down- and they all REALLY want you dead. The main difference between enemies between the two installments is firepower- more baddies have guns, and have much itchier trigger fingers. Thus, stealth is key, as is boldness so you can kill the enemy in the most ideal position possible. Even that's made harder with more advanced AI as enemies will now actively search for places to flank you and you need to be prepared for that. Remember that you die in one hit, too! There's even a hard mode where the stages are flipped and baddies are even more trigger-happy and agile and even more numerous. Oy. Vey.

Thankfully, the game controls very fluidly and I encountered few problems with performance (those I found just took a bit of reconfiguration in the options menu to remedy). This level of stability means that many different play styles are possible- you could play it slow and pick off mooks one by one or you could go blitzkrieg mode, mowing down droves of forces and racking up combos (see below for more on that).

Overall the game plays very well and besides a few negligible glitches involving enemies getting stuck in loops, it makes for a pleasant experience with many routes to offer.

Combos and extras!

The score and grading system returns from the previous title. It's a bit more refined and involves more categories but the basics are the same. If you kill someone, it sets off a combo. This combo will vanish after a brief period but can be increased by killing more people before it does. As that combo increases, your score will grow exponentially each time you net another kill. It also creates a sense of urgency- you want to increase the combo so you kill faster and faster and the larger it gets, the bigger you want it and you start to panic; "I-I-need to get it higher but enemies are all dead I need to move ug-ugh...". This way the game does a splendid job of toying with your emotions and pushing you to get that satisfaction of finishing a level with a high combo.

At the end of a level your final score is tallied and converted into a grade. The score is calculated from several stats but the most important are combos and time (how fast you completed the level). If you get extremely high combo(s) (depends on how many enemies are in a level) and finish the level quickly, you will likely get and A, A+, or even an S. Conversely, a low combo(s) will result in a C or lower. This is a simplistic mechanic but a fun one, and you will quickly find yourself trying to get A+ on all of the levels. Not even remotely easy, but highly entertaining.

My biggest disappointment with this game is the lack of bonus levels. There's only one which can be found very easily ("survive this random level, wait, then click one!") and is a lackluster experience. The level in question is basically an excuse to throw in all of the mask/characters from the first game that didn't make it here as a cameo. Oh, and then you fight a few dozen gangsters on the way out. For a game as expansive as Wrong Number, there should have been far more unlockable areas and levels.

More gore?

Like its predecessor, Wrong Number has a retro graphics scheme displayed from a top down perspective. Obviously it doesn't have the ultra-amazing looks the newest Call Of Duty will have, for example, but the graphics are nonetheless quite impressive. Generally, textures have a high amount of detail and polish. For example, a level set in the subway has an impressive tile flooring that features visible cracks, dirt, decay, and an overall uniqueness present throughout (at least different from the set of tiles behind it). The fact that much effort went into making the textures look realistic even through a cartoon style is palpable.

As for finer details like characters and effects, those are nailed as well. When you kill an enemy, you can often see their guts and brains spilling out and the resulting blood pouring all over the floor. The animations for things such as characters and rain are also very fluid, and unlike the first game I have never seen them glitch out. In addition, the animations for the faces of characters which pop up while they speak look extremely well done and move, again, fluidly.

The best soundtrack in gaming history? Possibly.

Wrong Number's soundtrack improves upon its predecessor’s already amazing one enormously. The heavy electronic synth tunes here are packed with energy, charisma, emotion, and power. So powerful are they, in fact, they will propel you through otherwise nearly impossible levels. One of the best songs in the game plays during an attack on a Russian Mob building by all of the Fans. The level is highly difficult but the track alone will instill you with mountains of motivation and render it easy to progress further. There is not a single bad track here- they all fit their areas flawlessly and all have their each unique ring to them.

Verdict:

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a marked improvement upon the first Hotline Miami. It's amazingly fun and boasts a great story complimented by superb graphics and one of the best soundtracks in gaming history. If you're not faint of heart, this is a heck of a game to get....and get hooked on.

Final Score: 9.5/10

I'm actually still waiting to play the sequel. I really LOVED the original. Like more than I've liked a lot of games over the past few years. Love the retro vibe, and the soundtrack was AMAZING. I also liked the stealth aspect of the game. Made for a VERY enjoyable experience for only a few bucks spent.

The fact that the sequel everyone is saying has EVEN BETTER music has me really wanting to play this ASAP. I just need some time to sit down and actually pick it up and play it.

Great job on the review as well. I really enjoyed reading it. Keep up the great work!

Certainly not my kind of kind, but your made an excellent review nonetheless. You gave it plenty of details, your structure flows very well (even if it's not "traditional" review structure) and I can't wait to read another review from you.