Review: The Hong Kong Massacre is a bloody good time
Take Hotline Miami, add some John Woo, and you get this stylish action game
It’s the video game version of a John Woo film, taking all the slow motion dual-pistol acrobatics of Hard Boiled, and combining it with the indie gaming classic Hotline Miami. It’s a great combination, adding a heavy dose of cinematic style to Hotline Miami’s fast-paced ultraviolence.
To be honest, it’s hard not to continually compare the two games, because they share so much in common. The objective is simply to eliminate every enemy in a level. Every shot is deadly in both games, with a single hit enough to kill virtually any enemy. Crucially, the player shares the same weakness, making every single enemy encounter dangerous.
But here’s where the games dramatically differ. In Hotline Miami, the risk of death turns the game into a sort of puzzle. Winging it is almost impossible, so you need a plan, an order of battle to eliminate enemies.
The Hong Kong Massacre quite literally dodges this. One button activates slow-mo, allowing you to side-step bullets. Another activates a dodge move, where your character is invulnerable while performing an acrobatic move -- sometimes it’s a roll, sometimes it’s a flip, and sometimes you go flying through a window.
It gives the game a great rhythm, and means despite the repetitive and simple nature, it doesn’t feel stale. It turns every enemy encounter from a risk to an opportunity: How will I take this group of enemies out? Jump through the window and shoot the guy on the right first? Or blow open the door and start from the left?
