hotlinemiami2
Latest
'Hotline Miami 2' is ready for your user-built sequels
The flashy, lo-res violence of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number just got a new lease on life. The long-awaited level editor companion just dropped its beta status and is ready to go live. Since the second installment was "the brutal conclusion" to the series, a boatload of user-made, downloadable content is likely the closest thing fans will get to an HM3. And that's essentially what users will find now that the game has landed on Steam Workshop.
The pulsing 'Hotline Miami' soundtrack gets physical
Hotline Miami and its sequel Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number have two of the best soundtracks in all of gaming. But for whatever reason, until now there hasn't been a way to get a physical version of the first game's pulsing, futuristic score. As of this writing though, over a thousand people have pledged $75,033 on Kickstarter to change that.
Video game tie-ins shouldn't feel 'cheap'
It used to be that if you loved a video game, your options for showing it beyond buying the cartridge or disc were pretty limited. Now there's a whole cottage industry for gaming fandom. Want a rad vinyl soundtrack for a hyper-violent indie game? Say no more. How about an evocative statue showcasing the duality of a game's strong, female protagonist? You're covered there, too.But for every one of the former, there were seemingly a dozen tasteless cash-ins. When these brand extensions are done right, we wind up with heartfelt keepsakes or ways to keep a game in our lives while we're away from the controller. But when a company blows it, you get crap like tacky game-branded mini-fridges.
Spend the weekend making 'Hotline Miami 2' levels
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is about to get even more wild. The beta is live for the official Hotline Miami 2 level editor, meaning PC players can now create their own top-down mazes of murder. The beta is available via Steam for PC only at the moment, with Mac and Linux launches on the way. Workshop isn't enabled just yet, so you'll have to share your creations through other means. Dennaton Games outlines how to download the level editor and discusses its features right here, with a basic level-creation manual here.
'Hotline Miami' sale benefits the artists behind those wild soundtracks
Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number are both dense, addictive and brutal -- and a lot of those adjectives come courtesy of the games' soundtracks. In recognition of this musical magnificence, Dennaton Games is holding a sale this weekend that benefits the aural artists responsible for both Hotline Miami soundtracks. Hotline Miami 2 is 40 percent off ($9) and Hotline Miami is 75 percent off ($2.50), and 100 percent of the proceeds during this sale go directly to the games' musicians. The combo pack, offering both games, is just $11 during the sale, and both soundtracks are discounted as well: 75 percent off for Hotline Miami's ($2.50) and 40 percent off for the sequel's ($9). The sale is live now through Monday at 10AM PT. If you've never heard the Hotline Miami soundtracks (Seriously, what are you doing with your life?), listen to a few songs below.
These are our favorite video game soundtracks
Music can tame the most savage beast, but when you're slinking around a cargo ship as a super spy, playing cowboy or making your way toward a massive mountain in the distance, sometimes you don't want calm. You want dirty, wistful or haunting tracks to fit the action onscreen. The best video game scores stick with you long after you turn the TV off, though, and that's what we want to highlight here. We're pretty big fans of how they've progressed throughout the years from simple beeps and boops to full-blown symphonic masterpieces that've traveled through concert halls around the world. Just below you'll find the scores the Engadget Gaming crew's most fond of and one that we don't particularly care for but felt like calling attention to anyhow. Have a favorite of your own that didn't make the list? Hit the comments below.
JXE Streams: 'Hotline Miami 2' creators discuss its neon violence
Hotline Miami makes you feel things that you don't want to feel. It shows you a veritable smorgasbord of ugly -- from its jagged artwork to its stomach churning cartoon violence -- and somehow makes you love it. Which is precisely the point. Dennis Wedin and Jonatan Söderström, the duo comprising Hotline Miami studio Dennaton Games, returned to their signature world of psychosis, brutality, and '80s flash this March with Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. The sequel puts even more emphasis on story and character, which makes its ugliness even more affecting. We'll discuss that and more with the studio during today's two-hour stream of the game.
