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Every bit as good as the original, and more!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 41 / 43
Date: October 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Max Payne exploded onto the scene in 2001 with innovative gameplay using the 'Bullet-time' special effect that made 1999's hit 'The Matrix' so amazing. Incorporating that effect strategically into gameplay was unquestionably difficult, but it was done so well that Max Payne became an instant classic with its noir, indie-movie style story told through 'Graphic Novel' interface, which is basically comic book inspired images with real actors and some great voice-overs. Max Payne 2 retains all those features and more in this new and excellent installment.

Gone is Max Payne's infamous 'scrunchie face' or 'constipation face' from the original. He also talks in metaphors alot less than he used to. All characters have been completely redesigned and are more life-like than ever, with fully animated facial features. The new AI system allows some people to fight along side you, which can really help in a jam. Since the AI is good, you won't find yourself on the receiving end of your computer allies' gunfire too often. As you progress, the enemy AI adapts to your tactics, which keeps you on your toes.

Bullet-Time is better than ever, and the death scenes in this game never cease to entertain. Many people complain to no end about the 'ragdoll physics' on the bodies, which basically means that the dead bodies flail into extreme positions, like a ragdoll stunt double would in a movie. While these physics can be a bit silly (and at times glitchy), I personally think they make for some very entertaining death scenes. At some points, when you defeat a crucial enemy or the last enemy in the area, the camera will pan around in slow-motion and show you the death. Since the ragdoll physics apply to many other objects, watching your dead enemies fall into a pile of 2x4's, sending them flying all over the place, is very entertaining.

The story in this game is just as good, if not better than the first game. The new, haunting soundtrack is also excellent and sets the mood of the game perfectly. Voice-acting even seems to be vastly improved over the first game, even though the first game had great voice acting to begin with. The characters all have their own distinct personalities, and the game was just a blast to play.

The game isn't short, but you could probably rip through it in about 8-12 hours of actual gameplay. Alternate gameplay modes open up when you beat the game, adding replay value. Overall, Max Payne 2 is an excellent game that is well worth the money. The action-packed and dramatic gameplay sequences, great story-telling and music will keep you glued to your screen until the very end. Definitely a sequel that lives up to and even surpasses the original.

One hell of a game; a landmark

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 22
Date: March 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

In 2001, Rockstar Games released MAX PAYNE, an instant hit that raised the bar for video gaming excellence (which was done two more times by Rockstar with GRAND THEFT AUTO III and GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY). Now, with MAX PAYNE 2: THE FALL OF MAX PAYNE, they have once more raised the bar. Video gaming has reached a whole new level, beyond the primitive shoot 'em up games of the early 80's; with MAX PAYNE 2, they are now works of art.

STORY: Fresh from his adventures in the original game, NYPD detective Max Payne once again ventures into the darkest regions of the New York underworld when his old flame, Mona Sax, returns. Throw Sax in with problems at work, a murder attempt on one of Max's "friends", and a cleaning company with guns, and you've got a serious problem on your hands.

GAMEPLAY: [9/10] Very, very fun. Just as successful in letting out your anger as GTA III or the original MAX PAYNE. Movement is strong and graceful, even as the dead bodies fly; fans of the original game will jump with joy when they discover "Bullet Time" (the bullet dodging seen in films like THE MATRIX and those of Johh Woo) is still here.

DESIGN: [9/10] The sets in which the game take place are excellent. They perfectly capture the feeling of murkiness associated with the underworld. Dark, dank, and very unpleasant.

GRAPHICS: [9.5/10] Excellent. Hardly any problem at all. The figures are great and lifelike, Rockstar's best design yet. I didn't have any problems whatsoever. Nearly flawless.

SOUND: [8/10] Very good. You might wish for some more power or realism in the gunshots and explosions every once in a while, but the overall sound is very satisfying.

LENGTH: [8/10] The game's a little short, and those of you excellent gamers out there will get so hooked you might finish it before the day ends.

DIFFICULTY: [8/10] Some levels are fun and very enjoyable, others are wall-punchingly hard. (Is that a new one - "wall-punchingly"?)

OVERALL: [9/10] An extraodinary game. Think of it is as a modern day "Casablanca" meets "Goodfellas" meets "A Better Tomorrow". In fact, MAX PAYNE 2 is more of an interactive film than a video game. Movie buffs will love it, and gamers will cherish it. One of Rockstar's best yet.

Dear Lord

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 26
Date: September 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

One of the most outstanding games I've ever played. The graphics engine is revamped, and the new bullet time 2.0 is AWESOME. The plot is way better than Max Payne 1, even though Max Payne 1 was revolutionary in it's time. The plot is much more part of the game, rather than just running around and wacking the bad guys. This was also true in MP1, plot driven action is taken to the next level in this latest incarnation.

Simply Outstanding

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: October 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Being a big fan of the original "Max Payne" (for playstation2) - I decided that I didn't want to wait for the console version of this new game so I decided to pick it up for the PC. What a fantastic decision.

Max Payne 2 is a wonderful combination of shoot'em up action, a convincing storyline, and oustanding graphics on a very stable engine. This game is constant fun. Bullet time is better than ever and the weapon selection is superb. Plenty of bad guys to kill and plenty of difficulty options for the more experienced gamers. There is also a nice variety in the gameplay by switching characters, going from close quarter battles to open field sniper battles and so on...

One of my favorite things about this game is how well it runs. I have a 1.7ghz Athlon, 768 SDram, 64 DDR Geforce 4 MX 440 and the game runs flawlessly. Ready to go out of the package. Some people have said that the game is too short, well I can't comment on that because I'm not through it yet, I'm on Part III.

In conclusion, if you like games that are heavy on action, heavy on storyline and are fun as hell, than you've found your game.

"The Final Countdown"
GRAPHICS: 9/10
GAMEPLAY: 9/10
STORYLINE: 8/10
SOUND: 9/10

OVERALL: 4.5 Stars / 5
Go Get this game!!!!!

Just when you thought it could'nt get any better...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 21
Date: November 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

!!!Crrrraaaaaaaack!!! (lightning strikes).
The dark ambience of NY city. That pit in your stomach... the feeling that something will go wrong. This game, like its predecesssor attack your mind as well as challenge your moves.

Unlike many other games, higher difficulty does not mean more enemies... but much smarter enemies. Enemies that taunt you when they dodge your bullets... laugh in your face. The music just gets to you. I mean, I just can't stop humming it. My wife hates the game. I am just at the PC hacking away at it. I keep humming the MP2 tune. My moods were governed by the game... somehow you feel what Maxie ol boy is going through. That really got on her nerves. The ingame music is just too good though (even she had to admit... he he he).

Dream sequences (which I found to be most disturbing in MP1) are not as disturbing this time round. Alas!
The game too is not as short as I have read in reviews. Maybe that's because I look inside every single filing cabinet or drawer in the room. Or maybe my gameplay just plain sucks.

The cut scenes are amazing, not just in graphics... but in content as well. They actually carry on from the action. Like the same guy could slump in the cut sequence or fall off a legde, depending upon how you kill him. I have also tried detonating a grenade just before a scene, and sure enough it was there. The graphics and the environment are just too good.
The attention to detail is mind boggling. Even locations which you won't actually be able to access in normal gameplay, but will only view from a distance (unless you know cheat codes he he he) are complete inside and outside!!!

Mona is an absolutely fabulous super chick. Her voice is so cool and when she walks, she could just burn my monitor.

People, let me tell you, its worth playing the hard boiled level .. all the way. Believe me, things are different. (Don't be mislead by the word easiest, its only relative).

Although it was said people won't go through walls, I did have a couple of instances when the head went through. But the movement of the bodies as they fall (rag-doll effect) after being shot is almost too real. The game is also "linear triggered". Meaning that you have to do a certain action in order to enable the next sequence, so there is no free path to achieve the final objective. But who's complaining!!! Just gives me more baddies to kill !!!!
Also, with the Max Payne Editor Tools, now you can create your own levels.... but this may be too much of a daunting task if you do not have some real games programming and design experience. Its a bit overwhelming.

You have to go get this game. Buy it ... rent it ... borrow it... whatever.... if not for anything, for the love of MONA SAX !!!!!!

A beautiful Epic of a Game...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: January 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Max Payne 2 is a different breed of game. it even steps away from the roots of its predecessor. Max Payne 2 is an overly violent game with everything a great story of film noir and love should have. It has blood, love, and sex. The story is really quite beautiful Of course, max Payne 2 has everything a great game should have.
Max Payne 2 starts where Max Payne ended. Of course, the story strays, and Mona Sax now plays a much larger role in the game. Max continues his struggle to find his puruers and his family's killers, all the while betraying the NYPD and following a trail of love left by the luscious Mona Sax.
Max Payne 2 updates everything that made the first game so wonderful. It still incorporates bullet time, but incorporates new control functions, new characters, and much improved graphics and sound. The graphics in Max Payne 2 are beautiful. The environments look wonderful, but the character models are simply beautiful. Of course, like any other high-end game, Max Payne 2 offers a much better experience to high-end computers. Mine is three years old, and it still functioned up to the highest standards. I put everything to the highest level and had very little slowdown.
Max Payne has been updated as a character as well. He now has better facial expressions and doesn't just look like he has severe constipation. His character is much more heartfelt and has more emotions as well.
Max Payne is dark and gritty, and plays out like a beautiful film noir story with guns and deep love. It is a beautiful game, and has very few faults. The only complaint I have is that it is terribly short, but other than that, the game is close to perfection. I advise any fan of dark, gritty, beautiful tales and games to check out this miracle of a video game.

Max is back and better than ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: July 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

What a terrific game. Excellent graphics, solid sound, great story, and great characters.

You lead Max through his next mystery through many levesl of very intense and very difficult action.

On a routine check of a warehouse, shots are fired. As Max investigates, he comes across a cleaning company whose only cleaning is cleaning people out of their weapons. A woman from his past he thought dead (I believe she is from the first Max game) is very much alive. There are many players dealing in weapons. Max doesn't know who to trust. Not his co-workers, friends, and this woman. As the story gets deeper and deeper, you reveal the mystery and solve a few other things from your past. All of this leads up to a few surprises and very challenging final battle.

Bullet time is back and there are a few new moves that happen when you activate this. It's very cool seeing the bullets whizzing by you. There are quite a few new weapons and many levels that give you hours of game play plus you have some very strange levels as Max battles his innerself.

And once you beat the Detective level (which is pretty hard itself), you open up the other play options like beating the levels before the time runs out and a deathmatch type gameplay where you try to stay alive as long as possible. The longer you stay alive the more bad guys show up to kill you. Every kill adds 2seconds to your score and saves your best times on 5 or 6 different levels. Plus you have even tougher gameplay levels where the enemies skills are even better. WHEW!

This all adds up to a great game that you will not regret playing.

This is the best action game you can get for PC

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: October 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is the best action game you can get for PC right now. The game picks up after the first game and Max works at the NYPD now and has aged as well as other characters from the previous game. As you can tell by the cover art on the box, the story has to do with a girl, Mona. I don't want to tell you much about it, because I don't want to ruin the really deep storyline.
When you start up singleplayer you will notice that everything looks like it did in the old game but with way improved graphics. Which isn't a bad thing, because the way the HUD looked in the last game looks great in the new one also. Everything looks sharper now. The bullet effects look great, shells hit the floor as you fly through the air with two pistols firing away at a nearby enimie. You will also notice the physics. The physics are the best in any game you will see so far. You can shoot back an enemy and he will fly into a big pile of boxes and brooms with ragdoll physics and while he falls to the floor, the last bullet you shot hits him in the arm and it spins him backwards and falls over the ledge two stories above the city pavement.
This game is awsome. I am not exagerating one bit when I give this game 5 stars. The only gripe I have is, this game can be completed in about 8 hours (Rockstar will release a map editor later, so users can create there own missions) and even on a High End machines the load times aren't long, but longer than they should be. But this game is simply, outstanding! Go buy it now!

Maybe Im stoopit

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: November 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Everyone says this game is so short. People complain because its only 8 hours of game play. Well Ive been playing for weeks and I still havent finished it. Maybe its the way that I play. The game is so engaging that I love to play every combat scene over and over until I get it perfect. Then I save and go a little further. It usually takes 4-5 times going through each area to get everything right.

People who complain about the length of this game are like people who complain about the small portions of food at a 5 star restaurant. Its quality, not quantity, folx. Max Payne 2 is not like McDonalds. Take smaller bites and savor the experience.

Payne Rules!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: October 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you were a fan of the first, you'll love this! The visuals are awesome. I just got through to part 2 of the story tonight. The funhouse chapter was so cool (not challenging at all, just a visually stunning environment to walk around in). They really did a good job with it. Bullet time and environmental interaction is so much better. Sound is better too. I want to add more, but I don't want to spoil all the cool stuff you're gonna see (Mona baby!). Get this!

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