Hotline Miami

pro

The blazing 2D 8-bit graphics do a great job describing the 1980's Miami, using influences from videogames and psychedelic VHS flicks. You experience this virtual bloodbath from a top-down perspective and the 20 multi-screen levels are filled with all the colors that don't go well together. This is part of the charm and after a short while, you'll fall in love with these neon drenched graphics.

pro

The story in Hotline Miami is as bizarre as the gameplay. Your life consists of going from your apartment to various violent missions which are delivered to your answering machine. After you've finished a level you stop by different stores on the way back. This pattern is repeated with little change, but the quirky dialogue and interesting encounters takes the dark and disturbing story forward and offer many twists and turns along the way.

pro

Gameplay-wise the game couldn't be simpler, and that's the most genius part of it. Using one of the 35 different weapons, your mission is to slaughter everybody in the level in order to get through to the next one. One button for pick up and one for shoot, you can also peek ahead approximately half a screen to see where your enemies lurk. Using guns will have the enemies swarming towards you while melee weapons are silent but just as deadly. Collecting masks give you special perks which are life savers on particularly difficult levels.

pro

The controls are fast and precise and the game has that incredible addictive quality which makes you want to try the level just one more time after you died, and you will die A LOT. On the outlook the game seems to be a simple shooter but the super fast twitchy AI and the level design makes the game more like a morbid puzzle game. Unlike the PC version you now have a very useful lock-on function. Just hit R3 and you'll lock on to the closest foe.

pro

After dying twenty times at the same pixelated blood drenched spot you might start wondering why you're still playing the game. The music might be one answer, its bloody great, no pun intended. Composed by various artists such as Sun Araw, Jasper Byrne and M.O.O.N. the soundtrack makes you feel like you really are taking part in a trippy 2D version of American Psycho. Pretty sure that's a good thing.

con

Might be a bit on the short side. If you're a videogame savant (I'm not) you'll finish the game in one sitting (I didn't).