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jp's Hotline Miami (VITA)

[January 31, 2014 03:54:03 PM]

Ok, so now I've really finished it. 2nd time credits roll should do it, no? I know I didn't get the 2nd (secret) final ending - but I read about it online so I guess I'm good. I actually preferred the 1st ending - where the people behind the whole game (the ones that call you and leave messages with instructions) turn out to be a pair of pranksters who are, in a nutshell, trolling you to commit crimes. It sort of makes sense that this senseless violence your character engages in is actually senseless. After all, the two guys (cleaners) presumably aren't paying you...and there doesn't seem to be anyone who benefits directly from the violence.

I'm not sure what else to say other than that I did enjoy playing the game (but only after I learned to use the touchscreen to auto-lock on enemies) despite its difficulty. The narrative was quite muddled, somewhat interesting (I did enjoy the feeling of encroaching insanity), but in the grand scheme of things perhaps the game is overblown in terms of the hype and acclaim it received?

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[January 27, 2014 09:57:55 PM]

So I beat the game! The "guy" kills an old dude in a wheelchair, heads out on a balcony and lights up a cigarette. Then he tosses a paper and cue credits. Yay! I was so happy (because the game is so hard). I have no idea what the whole thing was about.

And then...

I'm now playing ANOTHER character who doesn't wear a mask (no special powers, though you can still earn new masks, go figure) and can't pick up weapons (he carries a knife). These are REALLY hard - because of the no weapon pickups in particular so I've only been able to beat a few of those levels. He's related (somehow?) to the earlier character. He doesn't drive a car, but a bike and is on a mission for revenge. However, he still gets weird phone calls? I guess I should be paying attention to the dates that appear in the beginning of each level because the missions might be out of order chronologically.

I suspect I'll have to go online somewhere to make sense of it all... sigh.

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[January 17, 2014 05:57:30 PM]

I'm on to chapter 3 now, so I've made quite a bit of progress. The game is still very hard, for the same reasons as before, but I've discovered (learned?) that you can lock on to an enemy. This is really helpful when I storm a room or want to quickly throw something at an enemy. It makes the game a wee bit easier not not a lot. The enemies are still too fast for me to use the auto-lock in a room full of enemies, for example. So mostly it helps me execute the first part of a "plan" rather than make the entire plan easier. It's better than nothing.

I was telling a friend about how brutal the game is. He responded that it's 8-bit. But it's still really brutal I replied. And it is. It's also a bit disturbed since you're not entirely sure who the character you're controlling is and why he does what he does (he's basically a brutal hit man). My current hypothesis is that he's an insane psychopath who's deluded and will at some point either get dragged away or he'll wake up and face the horror of his actions. Basically, the world he perceives isn't what is actually going on. I still have no idea who the chaps in animal masks are - I suspect inner demons/personalities or something like that.

Here's hoping I'm able to finish the game...

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[January 13, 2014 11:42:35 PM]

So far (I've finished the 4th mission, I think), this game lives up to everything I had heard: incredibly violent, disturbed, a rocking good sound track, and very difficult.

It's the difficulty that has me annoyed the most - mostly because I don't really like the sensitivity on the right stick (the one you use to aim). I find that I have to "set it", then move in and kill the enemies, and them find a quiet place before I can "set it" for the next room. It's really frustrating and annoying and it's also likely that I'm simply not that good at it. I've just been surprised by how hard it's been for me to aim when I'm NOT under stress. So, getting things lined up nicely is hard even when I can do it slowly and carefully.

As for the game? Wow, it's pretty bizarre and messed up. I think that the different masks you unlock have different game effects (based on the description), but I haven't really experimented all that much to see if it's true.

For now, it's SO HARD! I'll need a ton of patience. Good news is that the restart loop is very quick and there's a trophy for dying a lot. I don't think I'll have much trouble earning that one!