adventure

Here's a review, without any BS. Max Payne 2 is a mediocre shooter, plus one absolutely fantastic gimmick: "Bullet time". That's it, plain and simple. Bullet time and slow-motion cinematics are what make this game good. Without them, this game would be a 2-star bargain bin game. Case closed

This is because as far as shooters go, there is very little else good about this game. AI is abysmal - enemies constantly blow themselves up with grenades and don't know how to use cover or flank you. Level design is repetitive and totally unimaginative (with the exception of the weird "Funhouse" level). Most of the game you are going through repetitive brown and gray environments, walking along wooden planks and scaffolding. Over and over again. Unreal 2 was panned by everyone for its level design, but Max Payne 2 is worse.

Worst of all is the laughable "Film Noir" story and the intrusive cut scenes and dialog. This game has cutscene after cutscene after cutscene, at least for the first half of the game. You shoot five bad guys and then sit through a cut scene. Then you shoot four more bad guys and sit through a cut scene. This might be nice for a 60-hour RPG, but it's inexcusable for a game that only takes you an afternoon to finish anyways. On the bright side, it does pick up a lot about halfway through the game.

The story for the game is convoluted, it makes no sense, and it resolves next to nothing at the end. I don't mind a mindless action game if it has a simplistic and unobtrusive story. Red Faction 2 is a perfect example of this kind of game. Max Payne 2, however, has a psychedelic weirdo Clockwork Orange-style instead of the simple and straightforward one in the first game.

And then there's the horrible dialog, which is more full of Film-Noir parody than the first game. The dialog is so intrusive that it spoils any chance that you have of developing genuine feelings for Max and Mona. This is a shame, because the love story could have been a great part of the game. As it is, the romance between them is too unbelievable. Remedy spent too much time writing demented metaphors, and not enough time just coming up with a story that makes sense.

But to overcome all that, there's "bullet time", which is so great that it overrides any faults that the game has and makes it worth playing, albeit at reduced price. "Bullet time" is simply the coolest feature ever added to an action game, and you can play it for hours and hours without getting sick of it. One nice change to "Bullet time" for this game is that your supply regenerates between battles, so you can gun down six guys in a room, all in slow motion, and not worry about not having any left for the next battle. Bullet time combined with rag doll physics makes for endlessly exciting gun battles. Gunfights in Max Payne 2 are pure shooting goodness. Blowing away a guy in slow motion with a shotgun and watching him crash backwards through a glass window is a sight to see.

The other thing that I love about this game are the TV shows that you get to watch and the conversations that you get to listen to. There are a lot of funny things happening around you, especially the TV shows like "Lords and Ladies" and "Dick Justice". I would guess that there is at least 35 minutes worth of TV shows that you can watch in the game. Overall, the environment feels very alive and realistic. More so than most other games.

Max Payne 2 is so absurdly short that you will be done with it in a day, even if you play it casually. Given how much filler and extra material is in this game, I would say that it only provides about 3 or 4 good hours of action. It is fun to replay, but it is still a poor value at full price. I definitely recommend getting this game to experience bullet time, but don't pay top dollar for it.

This game is a worthy successor to the classic Max Payne, which brought action gaming to a new level, with beautifully drawn comic-book shots that drive the game graphically and emotionally.

This game is basically a rehash, or an upgrade if you will, of the original game. The graphics are noticeably better while the Havok physics engine makes the game feel clustered and more real than before. My only reason for not giving this game a perfect score is for it's length, which is very short, and little replay value. You'll probably beat it once or twice, on a harder mode to get the alternative ending.

If you're looking for an action game with great graphics, lots of fun (you're your own John Woo as you ballet through the levels, guns-ablazing and using Bullet Time!), look no further! Just don't expect a long game.

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.