Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Review

Developer	Remedy Entertainment
Publisher	Rockstar Games
Genre	Action

Topping the original Max Payne can’t be the easiest thing to do, especially since the majority of the gameplay mechanics you introduced a couple of years back have since been “borrowed” in numerous knockoffs and wannabes. If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, then Max Payne was a game that was no less than revolutionary for its genre.

But is the sequel as trail-blazing as the first? No, but there is still a way to keep the copycats from gaining ground, and that’s to be the very best at what you do. Is Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne the very best in its class? The answer to that is an undeniable “yes”.

Gameplay – What makes Max Payne 2 so compelling is how polished it is. Rather than straying too far away from what made the first game so great, developer Remedy instead chose to just do some tweaking here and there to the core gameplay, and then spit shine it with a bevy of new features that, though small by themselves, help to equal a much larger and fine-tuned whole. The story most especially, is really something special, offering a mood not unlike erotic thrillers such as Basic Instinct and Body of Evidence. The story itself is one of Max Payne 2’s greater accomplishments, offering up a gritty, sexy, roller coaster ride that twists and turns from start to finish. Players will even find themselves disturbed by a few story sequences; sequences that actually go as far as to out-spook some horror titles. Just another testament to the game’s gripping tale. If players thought that the original game’s story was good, the sequel blows it away, as Max is plagued by his desire for Mona Sax, a murder suspect in the grand scheme he’s investigating. His desire for Mona gets in the way of his duties, sending him into a complete tailspin, taking the player along for the ride.

One of MP2’s nicest features is the addition of the Havok rag doll physics engine. Because of this, Max Payne’s world feels infinitely more alive. Blast an enemy with your pump-action shotgun, and watch the lifeless corpse fly into a stack of boxes, knocking the whole pile realistically over. Pump some lead into a guy with your twin pistols and watch in delight as he tumbles limply off a balcony to the hard concrete below. Granted, the physics are more about looking cool than anything else, because the physics engine actually does little for gameplay, but the coolness factor just can’t be denied. The new physics here are just awesome to watch, and makes the action much more enjoyable. Combine this with the super fluid controls and flawless bullet time execution and you won’t be able to get enough. In addition to a better bullet time setup, all the controls are very tight and responsive. Remedy added a grenade button; a more welcome addition than what you may think. Unfortunately, the rest of Max’s armory must be accessed the same way as it was in the first game: via the D-pad, and is as cumbersome as ever. Furthermore, jumping can be a real headache, as once again, there will be some narrow planks you’ll need to cross, and some long jumps you’ll have to make without falling. Lining up Max’s position at these parts can be quite tedious, even if the experiences are brief.

If you’re a veteran of the first game, you may remember how important jumping and precision control was during those painful (but ambient) dream sequences that had Max basically walking levels like a tightrope, where the slightest misstep would have Max falling into a black void. Thankfully, those are gone. The dream sequences players run through now are simply fantastic, adding much more to the storyline, all while being easy on the frustration.

There are also some minor gameplay additions, like running from place to place inside a police station to do more mundane work, like typing reports. While nothing more than going from one place to the next and pressing a button, it greatly adds to the storyline, and makes the game world feel that much more alive. There are moments when you’ll also team up with a few non-player characters (NPCs) for a short time, though it too, amounts to little more than a tiny experiment within the game. Players will also be able to control both Max and Mona. You’ll play through a level as Max, and then you may revert to playing through a similar location through Mona’s eyes, as if both levels were happening at the same time.

And even if you are prone to dying a lot, saving and loading is a snap, and is lightning quick. Load times are very swift, as is the saving, in which you can do anywhere. What this creates is a game that doesn’t give you time to be taken away from the game world, which is one of Max Payne 2’s greatest accomplishments.

Graphics - The Fall of Max Payne looks excellent, thanks in large part to that Havok physics engine that makes every body, crate, and piece of furniture move with astonishing realism. Even though the physics don’t seem to actually affect any gameplay, and some of the angles bodies fly can look wacky, the way everything moves makes the experience much more immersive, as you now really feel as if your actions are affecting the world around your character. The texture work is very clean, though not as impressive as it could be in the detail department. For example, passing by a wall covered with bathroom tiles is eerily realistic, showing off some impressive textures. But many of the environments are drab, and devoid of detail, so despite the fact that there is a lot of potential, there just aren’t enough areas that really show off what the engine can do. You’ll spend the majority of the game in rundown buildings, apartment complexes, warehouses, etc, and none of the environments really stand out.

But the smoothness of the animation more than make up for the lack of raw detail. Being an action game with plenty going on at all times, Max Payne 2 has to look great in motion, and it accomplishes this goal easily, with fluid animation on both the models and environmental objects alike. The framerate rarely takes a performance hit, though it does bog down at times. Thankfully, it never happens enough to be a big issue, and it doesn’t affect gameplay.

Character models are fairly impressive in terms of detail, though enemy models tend to have a blockier look to them. The levels themselves, while well-designed for gameplay, can feel repetitive since the graphic style and environmental settings offer so little really conspicuous differences. Also, since almost every level contains piles of crates, boxes, and junk (that all look alike), what differences are there are well hidden.

Sound - Max Payne had style, but Max Payne 2 blows it away. Max’s monotone voice returns, but the dialogue is so much better that one element alone does do the sound package justice. All of the actors do a good job, and there is tons more dialogue to be found, much of it in-game. You can simply stroll around the police station, and catch conversations happening between different people, whether or not they are a major character. The dialogue is a whole lot funnier at times too, taking a page from Grand Theft Auto in terms of commercial comedy, whether it’s conversations between characters or television programs and advertisements. The music is appropriately moody, and is certainly reminiscent of the first game in the series. So not only does it sound better all around, the writing is much better too, making the game all the more enjoyable in every way.

Bottom Line - Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a brilliant piece of work. Everything needed to create a believable world is there: A fantastically told story with plenty of plot twists, memorable characters, memorable moments, and a fluid pace. Furthermore, the gameplay itself is a much more refined version of what you played in the first game, but fixing many of the first title’s problem areas.

If there is any real fault to Max Payne 2, it’s that it’s over far too soon, with a less dramatic finale than what can be expected of a game so story-driven. There are a bevy of modes to play after finishing, but none of them have legs to truly extend the game’s life, since they are basically time-based exercises and shoot-til’-you-die gameplay. The core of the series relies as much on story as it does Bullet Time gameplay, and once finished, there’s little reason to play through again.

But oh, what a ride it is while it lasts.

Review by Brendon Hivner