Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is the second instalment of the third-person shooter game from Remedy Entertainment. The player is the titular Max Payne, a former DEA agent. In the first game, Max was accused of murdering his best friend, Alex and forced to go on the run as a fugitive until he could clear his name and catch the true villain, a corrupt agent called B.B.

Max Payne 2 takes place two years or so after the events of the first game, and Max, having successfully cleared his name, is now working as a New York police detective. He meets up with Mona Sax, a character believed dead at the end of the first game, and when forces seem to be conspiring against them, they work together to uncover the truth. Mona Sax is playable in some parts of the game. Ultimately, Max and Mona discover the Inner Circle, an unsavoury alliance of powerful people, from the leader of the Russian mafia to highly placed US government officials, like senators.

SPOILER ALERT: As the game concludes, Mona dies, this time in Max' arms so there is no doubt about her demise. However, at the highest level of difficulty there is access to an alternative ending in which the story takes a non-canonical turn and Mona survives to fight another day!

The game garnered high praise from the critics, for polished acting, great storylines and fantastic gunplay action despite not selling as well as had been anticipated. The patch ensures that graphics and visual effects are an improvement on the first game, with realistic reflections, shadowing and the use of a physics engine to realistically portray gravity, movements (of people and objects) and also to allow the enemies to respond accurately to damage taken when under fire. Max Payne 2 also uses something called 'bullet time' which allows Max to proceed safely while his enemies are moving in slow motion. Bullet time continues as long as Max is shooting. This innovation was included to encourage the player to head into dangerous situations without worrying about taking a lot of damage or losing a life, rather than crouching in a place of safety and waiting for the enemies to come to them – instantly adding excitement and action to an already action-packed game!

Pros

• Great graphics, smooth gameplay, strong storyline
• Part of a series, Max Payne 3 is already out, so lots of gaming for fans

Cons

• Some critics complained that the story line was too short