Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

by Rockstar Games

Product Features

• Max is back on the NYPD as a detective, still haunted by his dark, bloody past. Responding to a police dispatch at a warehouse leads Max down the same violent path he'd abandoned before, with old friends and new enemies along the way.
• Team up with the beautiful and deadly Mona Sax from the first game, as you control her intense sniping missions
• All-new Bullet Time features -- the more enemies you kill the faster Max moves
• New fighting moves and new weapons, like the MP5 and the twin Desert Eagles -- plus Max can equip grenades and Molotov Cocktails, and throw them while shooting
• Advanced AI and superior graphics bring this twisted tale of revenge and murder to life

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000A92KX
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 8, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,973 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Game Informer Review

Bringing PC titles to the PS2 never seems to work out quite right; it's to developer Remedy's credit that The Fall of Max Payne plays as well as it does, especially considering the graphical sophistication of the title. It's no secret that this doesn't look as good as its bigger brothers, but it can certainly stand up to against anything else on this console.

Though the title does maintain a stable number of frames per second, it's just not a very high number. The only times it really felt smooth were when I was in a small room with no other characters present – it was a fairly bumpy ride pretty much everywhere else. Tack on the abysmal load times and three-menu-deep saves, and you've got a significantly slower play than can be found elsewhere.

On the plus side, Max 2 is still an excellent game. All the content is still there, and when you're in the zone capping thugs, you tend not to notice a dropped frame here and there. Also, the control is about as good as it gets – rarely did I yearn for the precision of my mouse.

If you have access to one of the more powerful platforms, keep in mind that Max Payne 2 is a much smoother experience when backed up by some high-end electronics; but, if that's not an option, by all means get this.

Concept:
Hey, let's pretend that the PS2 can run Max Payne!

Graphics:
There is no comparison to the Xbox version, much less the PC

Sound:
Freakin' interstellar. Some of the best sound design around

Playability:
Holding down R3 to speed up turning is a great addition that I'd like to see copied in every single title with analog view control

Entertainment:
Still worth playing, but definitely of a lesser caliber than the other two releases

Replay:
Moderate

Rated: 8 out of 10
Editor: Adam Biessener
Issue: February 2004

2nd Opinion:
Playing this port Max Payne 2 is like seeing a picture of Biggie Smalls wearing Naomi Campbell's bikini – you've got to appreciate the effort that went into fitting everything in, but the results are not pretty. Rockstar claimed that there would be more effort going into the PlayStation 2 port this time around. I only wish I could claim that the work paid off. Yes, it looks better than the horrid PS2 version of the original, but still does not come close to reaching the level of excellence achieved on the PC or Xbox. The primary flaws are mostly visual, everything from the poor water and explosive effects to the dreary texturing to the weird, angular character models. Also, the choppy framerate really diminishes the thrill of the jump-and-shoot action. Even worse, the game loads too often and too slowly. Sorry, Max, but maybe you weren't meant for PlayStation 2.

Rated: 7.5 out of 10
Editor: Matt Helgeson


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Product Description

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne brings back the film-noir and gritty gaming of the popular anti-hero, Max Payne -- a good cop who turns his back on the law, and goes after revenge. Cinematic twists and turn as you follow an incredible plot and uncover the secrets of Max Payne's past

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An under-rated shooter!, January 4, 2004

By 

M. Dog (Everywhere and Nowhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (Video Game)

I was surprised by all the negative reviews of this game. I found it very good. About the only games I enjoy are shooting games, and if you like shooters, I recommend this title highly for one simple reason. Within the game, when you shoot the bad guys, they respond as though they have really been shot. Their movements are ever-changing and very lifelike. I thought the story was very interesting and involving. I also love Hit Man 2, to give you an idea of what I like, but I like this game better. True, Hit Man 2 has better backgrounds and more weapons, but Max feels more like actual shooting.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost as great as the first!, December 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (Video Game)

Pros: Great guns, great graphics, great sound, great level design, and easy to pick up, play, and save games.
Cons: Only half as good as the first game (But that's still a great game!). Story is rough and the dream sequences are just a break in the action and not as good as the blood trail levels in the first one.

Other than that, there's not much to complain about in this game. Some gamers may think it's too easy, but the harder levels are unlocked after you do the first run through, which is fine by me. What the game lacks in AI, it more than makes up in quantity of action packed levels with tons of bad guys to shoot at. Game was very addictive and I had a hard time putting the controller down. Even for a violent game, this was the perfect early x-mas present.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes a great story can't save a game..., January 6, 2004

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (Video Game)

This is a continuation of the original Max Payne story, the film noir (or comic film noir) tale of a hard-bitten investigator with a taste for shooting his opponents. In the course of the first tale, Max loses his family, his job, and his self-respect. Now, in this episode, Payne confronts his own ghosts as he gets caught up in a gang conflict, crooked cops, and a hard fall for the woman who helped ruin his life.

The game unfolds using short cut-scenes and comic book style illustrations to provide the narrative. From a purely artistic viewpoint, the game deserves high grades. The settings are highly detailed, including a grotesque funhouse and a Washington manor house among other settings. Levels are maze-like and sometimes the clues are subtle. Not so subtle is the script, which has a style somewhere between Mickey Spillane and a sledgehammer. Payne's narration is bitter, full of the knowledge that everything must die.

The initial reception of this game was only slightly less than ecstatic. I'm not normally a fan of pure shooters, but I decided that this one was one to try out. What I discovered is that the PS2 implementation (I can't speak for the PC or Xbox versions) left a lot to be desired. Control over the characters is quirky at best. The player has no useful control over Payne's jumping ability - getting Payne to jump out a window to a small ledge just below it results in a low of reloading and cursing. Turns are extremely slow, resulting in all kinds of maneuvers to avoid having to turn when in a full battle.

The end result is that the game failed to capture my full attention - there never came that magic moment when I lost consciousness of the controller. It was the enemy, not the geek trying to unload an AK-47 at me. I just finished playing Prince of Persia, so I was acutely aware of what a game could do, and The Fall of Max Payne simply fell too short of the target. Hopefully, this is the result of a poor port of the game from the PC version. For those that don't have PC's to play on, I would wait a bit for the price to drop.