Party Hard 2 Review On Xbox

Party Hard 2 is a strategic Hitman-like isometric game with an lovely pixel art style.

The premise is that you play as a person who just wants some sleep. However, it's 3am, and once again your neighbors are having another loud party. You snap and decide its time to finally put an end to it – by any means.

The game boasts an 14 crafted story based levels with 2 bosses, 4 different characters to play and unlock, randomly generated object placement, dozens of traps and even twitch integration.

Gameplay

I never played the original so went into this sequel a bit blind. Thankfully you don’t need to have played the original to understand the plot of this one. The games core identity is that you are a killer with a variety of objectives, and to progress you must complete said objectives anyway you choose.

From the beginning you get the option to choose from two characters each with unique stats and an special ability, with two more being added as you progress. The main one is the ‘’party hard killer’’, however there is the ‘’wannabe’’ character which provides an easy option to play the game. 

Just don’t expect any achievements to unlock if you choose said option. The other characters allow for a more varied playstyle that actually is harder than the option to play on a harder difficulty. For instance, if you choose the alien, you have to remain hidden from all NPC’s otherwise mayhem will ensue, something you don’t have to worry about as the ‘’party hard killer’’ as you basically blend in with the crowd. Once chosen, you then start the level which is introduced with a short visual narrative, and then you are left to your own devices to cause as much or as little mayhem as you like, before escaping.

As I said earlier, gameplay wise its all about objectives which vary from killing everyone at the party, to specific goals such as finding objects, or performing different tasks like blowing up trucks. How you go about said objectives is entirely up to you and this is where the real fun begins. It allows you to be creative in how you would accomplish them. For instance, say you need to take out some drug dealers, you could lure them with objects, such as money or a boombox, then either kill them stealthily and hide the bodies. 

However, you may find that boring, so how about getting them positioned near one of the many traps spread around the level and setting it off, not only taking out them but bystanders too. There is a plethora of ways to end peoples lives here, which with some thought and creativity, can provide some truly marvellous kills. Also by using a variety of materials found around the levels you can also craft items by combining them, like using a gas can with a beer bottle, to make a Molotov. Add this to a room you have just doused with petrol and you can easily ramp up the death count. 

For me what was most enjoyable was actually working out what I can do, which proved more of a challenge than simply ending a targets life. Every main character also has a special ability, which I actually forgot to use most of the time, which re-charges the more you kill. These vary per character with the main character having a area wide kill, or the alien having a wide spread trap which hold targets in a specified location.

Now all this would be a pain If they hadn’t made sure you can easily find your targets, short-cuts and materials as the levels as busy with a lot of things going on. Thankfully the dev’s have provided the killer with the ability to see highlighted elements with just the click of a button. Green items are the ones that can be picked up / combined with in order to make deadly traps and weapons. Orange ones are NPCs with a special role to them, like bodyguards and janitors, and the red ones are your primary targets. 

Using this ability will become second nature to you by the second level as its essential in keeping track of all targets and in turn learning their patterns. And learning said patterns is wise and you never know when things will go wrong and the police will get called. You see, for every kill there is a meter that rises which will bring the cops out when it gets full. Now this can be circumvented by hiding said bodies, however, if you go full carnage, these will result in the local plod turning up straight away, and if your seen that’s it, game over. And because you have a limited stamina, don’t event think you can out run them.

Level design is superb, with multiple environmental kills and set-ups available for you to find and utilize. I mean who would of thought, hiding 3 dead bodies in a grave would cause a zombie to appear!! and they become more interactive and larger the more you progress. Thankfully shortcuts are dotted around that help you out if you need to get to one side of the map to the other quickly. There is also a number of number of secret areas that will need some creative thinking to get into, but are worth the time if you can get there. Add to that a lot of hints and events you can trigger if you look carefully at the posters dotted around the place, and there is always something new to explore. Plus items don’t spawn in the same spot, so should you loose a level, you will have to explore to ensure you get the materials you are after. Due to the size of some of the maps and the tasks you need to complete, levels can take anything from 20 minutes to hours depending on how you wish to go about killing.

The only issue found and this was rare by the way, was working out a safe distance to take out a partygoer without being spotted. Sometimes, I was completely hidden but still spotted, others, I was wide open and ignored. Again not a major issue but it did crop up now and then.

Graphics

I really liked the pixel art-style here, it ties in perfectly with the games great isometric view. Whilst yourself and NPC are 2d sprites, the fact its set in a semi-3d pixelated world does wonders for a unique look. It helps you easily spot items placed around the level regardless of its bright setting and crisp visuals. Explosions, fire and general bloody death all are suitably satisfying in its pixelated form and after awhile becomes endearing. There is also a comic style cut-scenes which help tell the story from a 3rd parties point of view which really helps break the game nicely into parts and introduces the new levels different art style in a convincing way.

Weapons, general NPC movement, environmental settings and lighting are all lovely, and really shows off how well a polished pixel art game can look. Interactions with NPC’s is also well done and not just static elements, so you can have a lot of fun, manipulating them like to wet themselves, bribery or just getting them drunk, which is then visually shown with a poison symbol over their head. In terms of visual bugs, I found nothing and from what I could tell it had a steady framerate.

Sound

Here again sound as been done very well, with music replicating the general feel of a party atmosphere. There is also great voicework in the cutscenes with humorous takes being expertly given between levels whilst progressing the story along. General sounds are also crisp and explosions in particular feel weighty to help you know something has gone up when not in the vicinity. Overall, this is an area that works well and regardless of your output would give your ears the oomph they need to murder more.

Verdict

This leads me onto the rating of the game:-

Now I rate games in order of, avoid, on sale, great purchase and must own. My rating for Party Hard 2 is "Great Purchase".

There is plenty here to keep even the most clever killer amused and with Twitch interaction also tied in, this will be a great game to enjoy alone or streaming.

The game is currently priced on Xbox at £16.74 or approx $19, and depending on skill and patience would give you about 20+ hours worth of gameplay to potentially clear the story. Combine this with a multiple different objectives you can replay, different characters to unlock, and items that randomly generate, it’s a great game for that price.

If like me you have never played Party Hard, Party Hard 2 is a great game to start from. Murder people to your hearts content in funny and unique ways whilst enjoying this lovely pixel art style is a great way to spend an evening.