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Max Payne 2:  The Fall of Max Payne

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $29.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 14-year olds shouldn't write reviews...
Review: ...because most of them are functional illiterates, and for attempting to form an opinion of games like this I also think a fine should be levied. Max Payne is not for children, nor for certain particularly idiotic adults.

That said...

The genre of this game is called "noir" for a reason --Max Payne is the luckiest unlucky bastard on Earth. He survives against incredible odds while watching his life go down the toilet and it's all because he is a 'good man' and he believes in justice no matter the price. The road of truth is costly and boy does he pay.

The comic book style cut-scenes and the noir movie voice over work is perfectly suited to this blackest of love vis-a-vis revenge stories. Graphically it's a masterpiece, particularly the abandoned amusement/theme park. The story is exactly what it should be.

My only gripe is that many people won't be able to fully immerse themselves into Payne's world for wont of a top grade graphics card. Also, for better marketing Max Payne-2 shouldn't have been given the "2" designation so that lots of new fans could have got onboard without thinking they had missed something by not playing the first one. You're not missing too much --in case you wanted to know since Max explains his past in the game's first 5-minutes.

This game is exactly what it says on the box; a film noir love story. 5 stars. If you don't know what "noir" means, look it up.
If you think it's too much trouble you get 1 star.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Entertaining Sequel
Review: Overall this is a great game, graphics, sound, controls, and the storyline are great, I think the original max payne and part 2 break out even, Max Payne 2 is just a little bit better graphic wise. I expected this game to have a longer storyline, maybe even a mutliplayer feature, but there's not, it's not a big deal, it's still an entertaining game, just make sure you save a lot because it's easy to glitch yourself in this game (i.e walking out a window on the ledge and end up falling off into a closed off alley) then you have no choice but to restart or load the last checkpoint, so remember to always save.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Re:I didn't like this-it was disappointing
Review: I loved "Max Payne". From the day I bought it, I was hooked. I finished it, and anxiously awaited the sequel. When It cam out, I played it over at a friends house. I still have not bought it. I was just disappointed with how they took the storyline. In the game, there's no mention as your playing, of the first game(unless you play the "previously" video in the game). Secondly, Max looks NOTHING like he did in the original! I can understand that times change, and I read how super looking max now is, compared to the original, but His looks didn't strike me as great. Medicore, I would say. And last but not least, if you don't have high specs for this game, don't even bother wasting your money, or downloading the demo(especially if your a dial up user). It's just not worth it. I'll stick with the original instead, this game, in my opinion blows goats.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perfection
Review: I don't know how anyone could not like this game.
On newer computers this game is a site to behold.
Every graphic detail you can imagine is here.There seem to be some problems on older computers. But if you have a new system this game is
flawless. I have not found a problem.The only game out now that
even comes close to the graphical detail of Max Payne 2 is Far Cry.

New to this version, is a second playable character Mona.
There are points in the game where you play as Mona,
and have to cover max and keep him from getting killed,
pretty fun.

The Sound: From voice acting to the sounds of the guns
and everything else is fantastic. I bumped into some spray paint cans and knocked them down a set of stairs.
And you can hear the little ball in the spray can banging around.

If you love film noir and or John Woo kind of action
you can not miss out on this it tops the original.

5 stars. Rockstar games has done it again.

I just can't say enough about this game. I love it in every way.

Hopefully this will start a trend of noir games.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Same as the first Max Payne ... avoid
Review: For a sequel that does nothing but merely repeat the original except for little graphics decorating, Max Payne 2 fits the bill. If you like(d) the original Max Payne AND want more, then this sequel may be what you are looking for. If, however, you didn't like the original Max Payne or are just plain bored of it, then forget the sequel and save your money for better games ahead.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Max Payne II: The Revenge
Review: Sequelitis has been a computer game marketing strategy since I was knee-high to a Commodore 64. While sequelitis in film means increasingly cheesy screenwriting and direction-such as with the *Alien* series-it means "rehash" with games.

I don't mind a rehashed title if I liked it enough the first time around. My high school friends complained that Id Software's *Doom II* was more of the same, plus more demons and weapons. Good enough for me: *Doom* wasn't broke and it didn't need to be fixed. Others disagreed.

People don't agree when it comes to current titles either. But as I watched the end credits of the second *Max Payne* roll before my sleepless eyes, I recognized a rare sequel. No mere rehash, *Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne* improves upon its predecessor in most respects.

<Same Gun-Time, Same Gun-Channel>

*MP2* resumes the titular character's torment sometime after the events of his first rampage. Vengeance hasn't healed Max. He drifts through the days while nightmares consume his infrequent sleep. He lives for his job as a re-instated NYPD detective, explaining, "With no way to deal with the past, I kept my eyes on the road and off the road-kill in the rear view mirror. I chased lesser mysteries, other people's crimes". Standing for so little, it is little wonder how easily someone pushes Max back into action.

A routine call turns deadly when Max encounters a mysterious organization of "cleaners". Simultaneously he runs into Mona Sax, an assassin ally whom Payne believed dead from his first campaign. Payne's pursuit of both puts him once again across the paths of rival mobsters Vladimir Lem and Vinnie Gognitti. Everybody dismisses their conflict as another ill-Gognitti-inspired venture-Payne suspects something more.

Max plunges headfirst into mystery, madness-and yes, infatuation. True to character, he suppresses his burgeoning feelings for Mona in the name of the job: to meet interesting people and blow them away.

<Die-Die-Die!>

Everybody gushes about the series' benchmark graphics and engine stability. And yeah, they are more impressive the second time around. What keeps my boat afloat are the control tweaks.

Payne veterans shudder with memories of winding up a firebomb when an enemy suddenly pops around a corner, the player frantically backing up while scrolling through their inventory to a gun. Now players can lay grenades, club people, and break stuff with a "Secondary Attack" key. All guns can be used as clubs, replacing the pipe and bat of the first title. Additional tweaks:

--Payne remains on the ground after completing a shoot-dodge maneuver--until the player releases the "Shoot" key or runs out of ammunition.
--Shoot-dodging no longer expends bullet-time resource.
--Explosives area effect have been reduced
--Characters no longer suffer guaranteed death from Molotov Cocktails.
--Slightly improved enemy AI.
--NPC's fight alongside Max.
--Players play Mona for several scenes.
--And in a mod nod, developer Remedy lets players wield dual Desert Eagles and a wider variety of scoped weapons.

<Ladies and Lords>

Remedy isn't all sniper rifles and no story. *Max Payne* was a traditional vengeance game, whereby characters were merely layers to be peeled in an onion of evil. *MP2* is a more detailed and involved transition story. Remedy retains the occasional cardboard villain, such as a "Kaufman" character frequently named but hardly described; he utters two lines and dies in his only appearance. Lem and Gognitti display more character traits and figure prominently in Max's quest. Jim Bravura also assumes a greater role, being humanized beyond his pit-bull portrayal in the first game. Enigmatic as ever, Mona Sax reveals little such as her choice of shower songs, her outfits, and her love-hate opinions for Max. As in the first game, Max has a treacherous partner, but this one carries a back-story and she appears regularly.

<Payne's World>

Richer characters populate a like world. Some *MP1* levels felt empty and tired. I found the hotel and apartment segments particularly bland and over-used. *MP2* levels are constructed in significantly greater detail and subtly. Level boundaries, for example, are more logical than the hackneyed truck-blocking-the-road device used in the first game. Plenty of friendly NPCs populate some levels, such as a police station and Payne's apartment. While Payne repeatedly returns to a funhouse level, it is increasingly damaged and opened to exploration. Players won't encounter much on the creative par of the *Half-Life* or *NOLF* series, but the levels are still memorable and more diverse.

Telekinesys Research provides its Havok.com physics engine to complement the world detail. It's not exploited, but Remedy made sure bodies would tumble off scaffolding and fold over rails. Payne can sometimes ram enemies. I have shot flammable barrels and watched them fall off balconies and burst among enemies. The explosions almost shake my monitor with Creative Lab's integrated EAX 2.0 sound support, even on low channels--though gunshots sound weak regardless.

The engine functions fine on my antiquated system: 900 MHz Athlon, 512 MB stick, Geforce 4 Ti card, and Windows XP. *MP2* requires 2 discs to load and play, taking up 1.6 gigs of harddisk space.

<Detective Payne?>

It also took just ten straight hours for me to beat, from Saturday night to Sunday morning. Part three needed to be developed a bit more, while the climatic level lacked the satisfaction and suspense I felt when I shot up the evil office building at the end of the last game. As with *MP1*, I missed having crawl and climb functions. I'm also tired of inventory conventions; I'd rather carry three or four weapons and a bunch of magazines than a bunch of weapons with arbitrarily limited ammo pools.

Considering the overall plot and play of the game, I wasn't bothered. *Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne* is a fine sequel from Finnish developers who appreciate stable game engines. Veterans and greenhorns alike should recognize the details elevating this gun-fu drama beyond mere rehash.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fun.
Review: This game was really fun. Tt didn't have the same feeling as the first Max Payne, but it did have an excellent new element which was quite mystical, i must say. the graphics are pretty good, but the characters are really glossy which was kind of stupid, but it's a good game, buy it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Max is big on fun, short on endurance
Review: Max Payne 2 takes all the elements that made the original a hit and updates them to make an exciting if brief thrill ride.
The bullet time feature that was the main drawcard of the series is great fun to play with. It basically allows you to play
the game in slow motion while your opponents move in real time, as many people will recognise from the Matrix films. The
cutscenes are done using graphic novel pages that help give the story its film noir moodiness. The action is fun and the
story so stylishly done that you can get sucked in. However, the game isn't by any means perfect. The action while fun isn't
greatly challenging and the average gamer will find that the first run through is relatively smooth with only the occaisonal
tough parts. Its this ease of progress that also makes the game a short experience, just as you find yourself getting into
the story it is over and you are left with some unlockable options and a feeling of disappointment. It is a prettier (though

perhaps that isn't the best word to describe this game) game then the original, of course this is to be expected with the
passage of time, but somehow it isn't quite the fulfilling experience the original was. In the end I can recommend it for
fans of the original and those who enjoy action games, but with the caveat that you might not want to pay full price because
it doesn't justify it. Wait for a lower price point and then enjoy the ride.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another gaming masterpiece from rockstar
Review: Max payne2 has some of the most memerable graphics on the pc to date. The story is very well done and in some what
way cheezy. I love story may have made some gamers mad but it didnt bother me what so ever. I have beatin the game but not on dead on arival mode. Its suppose to be the real ending. IF ANY BODY DOES REVIEW THIS GAME CAN YOU TELL ME!. my computers not workin for a while so I cant play it. The game is very good looking speciaLLY that mona sax.

THe sad thing for ps2 and x box owners are that they took out some NAUGHTY stuff that they have in the pc versian.

If you got to the part with mona naked thats all you get to see...........NOT!....there is a cheat that rs put in the pc versian that enables players to play mona...IN THE NUDE!....and yes every thing is detailed and yes you can see her you know whats and down her you know what IM talking bouts.

Overall the game has a good gameplaying experience that well keep you playing untill the end. I still want to know how the real ending is. The graphics are what will get you to play.

a little bit short thoe, the game is but still it is a memerable game to be played. Im mostly not complaining bout the price because I got the game for 34.99 at fries electronic...and no it wasnt used it was on a half price sale crap but stil

BOTTOM LINE IS GET THE GAME. later..........

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fun Stuff
Review: Max Payne 2 is the most fun single player video game on the computer right now. The gameplay is terrific and the graphics really set the dark tone of the story very well. The computer AI is admittedly dumb, but you must realize that giving the bad guys stellar AI would make a game about one man tearing up hordes of thugs single handedly rather hard. So for the sake of a good time, let's let the computer be dumb.


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