Topic: Hotline Miami tips

So I've been digging back into this game again this morning in an attempt to polish it off before the next one is out. While I'm enjoying it so far (I've started again as never got more than a couple missions in last time), I'm also starting to feel like I'm really not very good at it. Granted, I've not spent overly long with it yet , but I'm currently on the 2nd stage of Chapter 3, and managed to spend a good 10-15 minutes in my lunch without getting any more than half the floor cleared!

As mentioned before, I AM enjoying it for the most part, and if it's normal to be dying as often as I am then grand, but I can't help but feel like there's some trick I'm missing here. I tend to use melee weapons mostly, due to the way guns draw attention, but one thing I have noticed when throwing / firing weapons is that the Vita controls don't really seem to lend themselves well to doing it precisely in the heat of the moment. Pretty much any time there's more than 2 in a room that's me stuffed unless I've got a long reaching melee like a sword, and if any of them has a gun then that's even more of an issue :/

Any expert tips from you guys would be much appreciated!

As someone who's Platinumed the game I can tell you that it doesn't matter how good or bad you are, you will die. A lot. Once you accept that you can move on and begin to make progress.

To start with you want to just watch what the enemies do, learn their movement. Despite what you do in the game it's best to think of it as an old-school arcade shooter where everything is based on patterns. Learning the patterns of your foes is key to success. Guns are fine in particularly busy areas but don't go hell for leather with a shotgun with two shells! Even with a sub machine gun (24 or 32 rounds) you need to make every single shot count if you're going for the Rambo approach. Also never be afraid to throw your gun at an opponent, empty or not. Once you master the art of staying alive while murdering everything you're going to want to go for highscores and to do that you need to very rarely use the same weapon - and in very quick, seamless movements. Shoot one guy, toss the gun, whack one with a door, punch the gun-thrown guy to death, use the door on door guy again, grab a bottle, smash his head in, get a frying pan and use it on the next guy, etc etc. The frog mask is your best friend when doing this.

For now though just concentrate like I said on learning movements. Even if you only get one guy further each time so what? It's progress. One key is also doors. Run in and out as fast as you can if there's just one guard (or a couple but they're wandering around) as he won't shoot and very rarely call for help, he'll just chase you. Go out the door then just before he gets to it go through and knock him down then (if there's another guy there) toss your weapon at him. Now have a few seconds to mop them up and it's been quietly. If you have them try the horse and dog masks. One of them makes punches fatal and the other is an instant door kill.

One final point is remember to always be on the lookout for glass. Sounds stupid but they can see you through it too - and it's always a guy with a gun!

Don't be put off by feeling you're not very good at it as it really is a practice makes perfect type of game. I completed the story mode by the skin of my teeth and thought 'I wanna play that again!' Was only through that second play, as I started mask and Trophy hunting, that I started learning little nuances and feeling like I was in control, no matter how bad things were going. It really is a wonderful game and next Wednesday (when the sequel is out) can't come fast enough.

Totally agree with what @rastamadeus said, although I've yet to Platinum the game. Personally, my favorite mask is the Tony the tiger's, it's Fists of Fury. I like it because you don't have to have a weapon to be lethal at close range, unlike what normally happens when you're unarmed and you have to sit and smash them once they're down- which is a very vulnerable position. If you memorize the enemies' movements, you can clear most rooms by attacking them in the right order and maybe dodging some bullets (I find shotguns the easiest to dodge as automatics will just mow you down), all without a weapon. Each mask brings with it its own strategies, so use them strategically!

Yeah must admit once I started to be less afraid to experiment with the guns I'm already seeing some improvement, and yeah both the Tiger and the Horse mask are really handy just for getting from checkpoint to checkpoint (I can see them messing up score runs though). Anyway cheers for the tips guys, think I'm just starting to see over the top of that initial barrier now, and definitely starting to enjoy my time with the game more already! Maybe once I get used to the relentless cycle of death in this I'll be ready to finally go back and give the souls games a proper go again!

I found it much easier to play on the ps4. Taking turns couch co-op is a great way to play, as a spectator you notice weak points and can talk over strategy. On your own after playing the same level for ten minutes its easy to put down. But with a friend its next to impossible.

Ah man don't think I could've done it taking turns. I found that once I got past the dying in would just get in to a real rhythm and didn't mind trying again and again. I think only the police level snagged me for a while, but the rest of the game wasn't actually all that bad after applying some of these tips! Beat it in like another day or two in think

I found it easier on Vita than PS3/PS4, simply because you can touch the enemies you want to lock on to. It requires a bit of juggling and quick reaching with your thumb but I found I could link together some decent combos quickly and make better use of throwing weapons that way.

I plan on playing the second on PS4 though so we'll see!

Yeah I really struggled to get to grips with that at first but once I had the hang of it it made things so much easier. The ability to tap someone to lock on before actually entering a room, so you could throw something at them straight off before focusing on the others, really came in handy!

Yeah exactly, if I had 3 guards in a room I'd get a weapon, lock on one guard, enter knocking the 1st out with a door, throw the weapon at the one I've locked onto, then go straight for the last guard with fists, run back on the 1st I'd knocked out with the door to kill him before he got up, then go back to the second one who should still be knocked out and kill him before he's up.

Having the mask that lets you kill with your fists (As mentioned above, I think it's the tiger one?) speeds it up and lets you take out more people as you don't have to go back to kill them after knocking them down.

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--nOX2ysVx-...

Nice box art for Japanese set of HM1 and 2 retail release.