Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

"So much Payne, so much gain..."

Max Payne rocked. Let's get that straight right off the bat. The story rocked, the gameplay rocked, the characters rocked, and the replayability.. um.. what's the word? Oh yeah... rocked. It's one of the few games that I can slide into the system and know with 100% assuredness, that I'm gonna have one hell of a good time.

But like with all great forms of entertainment, you're instilled with fear when news is heard of a sequel. The fear that it'll be a downgraded version of a once great game. The fear that the developers will get a big head and tinker with too many of the things that made the original great to the point that their just not fun. The fear of it turning into a a whole new experience that disregards the last game entirely. Well fear not for 'The Fall of Max Payne'.. for it is one hell of a good time.

What's Old? A lot of the most entertaining features are back and have been revamped, but I'll start with what hasn't been touched.

The Core Gameplay: The majority of the game is still basically the same; run around and shoot. But it's fun... wicked fun. Shooting in Max Payne requires a lot of skills, and the gunfights are quite intense. If you played the first game, you know what to expect. If you're new, it'll be fresh and you'll probably get a lot more play out of it than expected.

The Weapons... um... mostly: The weapons you loved from MP1 are still here(minus the grenade launcher), and a few new guns have been added. What? 1 Desert Eagle wasn't enough for you? Well now you can double fist those babies. Need a high powered rifle? Well MP2 comes with plenty of them. They're still mostly the same, so I didn't find it fresh enough for the new column.

The Grit: The original Max Payne was a gritty thrill ride. The story was loaded with sick twists, and a few of the visuals were downright off the wall despicable. Think of a few of them, and bump it up a few tabs. The language has been beefed up to more adult standards, and the a lot of the happenings are raw. Max Payne is one of the few truly 'cool' games I've ran into.

What's New?

Bulked Up Bullet Time: Fun before? Yeah. Better this time? Oh yeah. In the original, shoot dodging was the move you'd most often utilize, and bullet time was more for tinkering around. This time, the focus of shoot dodging has been taken away, while bullet time has been beefed up... that's right, wicked beefed up. After a few kills you're BT meter will turn gold and Max will enter a higher level of intensity in which his enemies slow and he stays at normal speed. This gives you an even larger advantage in battle. But fear not all you shoot dodge lovers... it can be utilized while in bullet time along with the X button to perform some insane combos. Very cool.

More Gameplay Aspects: ''But JokedUp, you said...'' I said CORE gameplay. There are a few more area's of this game that are more than just running and shooting. For fear of spoiling them for you, I won't say anything more of them except for the fact that they're a very nice addition.

The Story: I know, Max Payne is known mostly for bullet time... but my personal favorite thing about it is the story. We'll be reintroduced to a lot of old characters from the last game, and a couple of new characters will be thrown into the mix. They're all very real, and it resembles a movie almost. Max is a hero to be felt for. He's still living with demons of his past, and no matter how hard he may try to escape them... he never seems to be able to. The story has a nice flow, and it a lot of bumps along the way. If I could think of one word to describe the story, it would be... say it with me now... wicked.

Overall: If you liked the last one, buy this one now. If you don't own the last one, go buy it now(only 19.99) and buy this one as well. 'The Fall of Max Payne' is probably one of the most superbly done sequels yet. Kudos to Rockstar.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/01/04