Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5180 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Take 2
• Released on: 2003-12-05
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• ESRB Rating: Adults Only
• Platform: PlayStation2

GamesMaster Magazine
"Unbelievably violent and distressingly short--but brilliantly atmospheric and just so cool to play that you'll forgive it. 85%."

Manufacturer's Description
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a violent, film-noir love story for mature audiences. Dark, tragic and intense, the in-depth story is a thrill-ride of shocking twists and revelations. Working together with Rockstar Games' New York-based production team, developer Remedy has now been able to take the game to new heights with extremely high production values. Professional talent for voice acting and graphic novels, motion capture and access to authentic digital source material from New York City help to ensure that Max Payne 2 provides the quality performances that fans have come to expect from Remedy and Rockstar. The fierce yet stylish action sequences and slow-motion gunplay that has become synonymous with Max Payne are back and better than ever. New and enhanced moves and options provide breathtaking cinematic gameplay. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is set to raise the bar on action games all over again.

Customer Reviews

SIMPLY SUPERB
This game is brilliant. Max Payne, a gun and bullet time. What more can a shoot 'm up fan ask for?
Well maybe more guns than the first game.
Check!
Better graphics than the first game.
Check!
Better bullet time than the first game.
Check!
Another cool kickass storyline
Check!
This game is Max Payne plus. It is everything the first game was and more. If you loved the first game, you can throw that out the window because this will blow you away.
The only downer, and in a way it is not even a downer is that it is very similar to the first game. Being similar to the first game is good because the first game rocked, but it is also bad because it means that there appears to be no variety.
But don't let that put you off, because with a game with good, who cares.
It is a must buy!!!! And I rarely say that

Amazing style and storyline- better than most movies
Like the original Max Payne, MP2 is extremely cinematic: it is a story of crime and passion in the best traditions of film noir. The presentation is just as crisp as the original, includng a vast improvement on the `graphic-novel' which looks of a far higher quality. A very nice touch is the summary of the last game included for those that didn't play it. The voice acting is superb: all voices convincing and suitably moody.

The graphics are still a little bit shakey, but are an enormous improvement on the pretty-good original: in each case considering the amount of data being shifted in the little 32Mb memory of the PS2 both games are impressive. That said the grainyness and occasionally blank patches of detail, with some slowdown add to the atmosphere , if anything. As before bullet-time is great: looks great, works well and in MP2 is much improved on its effects.

The AI of the opposition is much better than in MP1, or at least seems to be from what I remember of it. The controls are streamlined a little from the original and are more intuitive- they were quite intuitive before. For some reason Max still is incapable of walking: only running- not a big deal, but it does grate on the nerves in high places and narrow spaces. The gunfights are, of course, outstanding: very fast, very vicious and great fun.

The storyline is, as with the first game, the best feature especially when combined with the magnificent presentation: the plot is involved, complex and quite deep- as with the original the solid feeling that it will all end in tears is very apparent. A happy game MP2 is not. The soundbites, TV clips and so on from the original are present and much, much bigger: several minutes long in some cases. Often these are ironically funny, and sometimes very disturbing- as befits the situation.

The hallucination sequences are well implemented and, so far, more subtle than the original: although every bit as disturbing. This may change as I'm only an hour or two into the game.

Simply put Max Payne 2 is excellent: a massive improvement on the excellent original. A simple addition, that adds greatly to the atmosphere is Max's ability to interact with other characters in ways other than shooting them, albeit in a limited way. To see this pushed further and having the investigation as a very active section of the game, rather than backing up the story would be a great addition. Probably unviable in the small memory of the PS2, perhaps.

A brilliant game worth anyone's money: given its not hugely different from MP1 I can't give it 5 stars, even though for enjoyment factor I think its worth it. Both games are awesome, dark thrillers a huge sight better than most movies of similar lines that are produced at the moment.

Bring in the Payne
I beg to differ with those who say the game is bad. Yeah it may not be that different but it is am enjoyable experience. Not many new weapons but where would Max Payne be without the dual ingrams and dual 9mm? Bullet time has improved. When you land you can stay on the ground and still cap people and even role around. Again some scenes are like the Matrix.Graphics may be grainy but since when were games abou graphics? Games are all about gameplay and replay ability.