Finished the game today. The bank robbery and the bad trip were high points. Overall, once you get rolling, the game is great. I fired up HM1 and there were some upgrades, despite what people said : the lock on combined with the look ahead function will stay centered on your target, something that didn't happen in HM1. Cutting up on the weapon and mask selection is not too bad since there was a lot of filler and redundant stuff in HM1 (some joke masks and some useless ones once you unlocked a better version). While I'm no expert, it seems you can actually do the missions real quick once you know the ropes : replaying the first few scenes highlight that. I never found the game frustating despite the countless deaths and the prison chapter is probably the only part I tought giving up for the evening. That said I will probably not try the Hard mode, Normal is still pretty challenging.
I think they managed to keep the frantic, desperate pace of the first game despite having larger stages. The game will often force your hand to move at the beginning of a floor because otherwise you'll be killed by a patrol. They also made a much better job at enemy variety. I'm not a big fan of the basketball court part though... "Boss" fights were never the best part of Hotline Miami, considering that the game is based on one hit kills all around... So you end up running in circles a lot. The last stage was a better take on it, the bosses are easy but the visual is really striking.
I still think the story is pretty meh, it doesn't really tie up at all in the end, despite each separate part being functional... Nevermind the question of what was the intent, I think the game does not flow too well here, the Fans are put on a bus pretty early on so you kinda forget about them (The mechanics are for the most part transfered to the Russia Mafiya dude, but it's not the same...), the journalist story felt like having no payoff and he was barely in the game (despite some cool mechanics) and the actor or the Snake dude is likewise more of a footnote than anything.
The ending just nullify anything meaningful the characters could have achieved anyway. I think it was a mistake to have HM1 protagonist "Jacket" appear, no matter how you cut it, the story ends up "justifying" him in some way and give him the melancholic last shot thus framing him a "hero" of sorts. Him being out completely would have left him a nebulous figure and an evil spirit, influencing people from beyond. The game may have felt a tad less gimmicky if characters and their unique mechanics were more consistent.
I didn't expect it but the soundtrack is IMO better here despite being filled to the gills. High quality all around.
