Max Payne 2 Review

Game:  Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Year (s):  2003
Company:  dev. Remedy Entertainment
            pub.  Rockstar Games
Engine:  MaxFX 2.0
Type:  Third-Person Shooter

Price (as of April 20, 2012)

Regular price on Steam:  $9.99 (or $15 the first two Max Payne games)
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping):  $50+

Game Time:  about six hours

Obligatory Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLNO4oq2bx8

See Also

Max Payne Review:  http://fpsandmtg.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html


Plot

There's a power struggle going on between nefarious bosses, and Max is set up to take the fall.  Mona Sax is included as a half-ass love interest; other characters also return.  Cutscenes are still done in the form of graphic novels, but there is NONE of the over-the-top similes and metaphors that made the original Max Payne story so entertaining.  I hypothesize a different writer.


Engine and Gameplay

MaxFX 2.0 looks like the original MaxFX.  It was acceptable for 2003, but terrible compared to the engines of 2004. 

Gameplay, and most (perhaps all, it's been a while) of the weapons are the same.  The player is required to play on the easiest setting before doing anything else, so the game goes faster, and the iconic bullet-time mechanic isn't as big a part of the game. 


Expansions / DLC / Sequels

Max Payne 3 is due out in 2012, set in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  It is being developed solely by Rockstar, without the original writer of the series.  The game will use RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine).  Personally, I think the name of the engine is dastardly slander against id's Tech 5 engine used in RAGE.  Or, at least, confusing. 


Final Thoughts

If you have the Max Payne bundle, this game offers more of the same, but without any humor, or much plot.  While it clearly is not, this comes across as a third-party expansion.  The first Max Payne was pretty sweet, and this is... not much worth the time.  I wouldn't highly recommend this one.