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92%
PROS
Awesome graphics, great control over Max in bullet time, cool photo journal, replay value.
LOWS
No multiplayer, the game is a bit too short, some missions can feel repetitive.
OVERALL
The second Max Payne is a real treat. If it had multiplayer, a longer storyline, and some more new areas, we wouldn't leave our rooms.
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When the original Max Payne came out, people were stunned. I, on the other, hand, didn't understand what the big deal was. Yea, okay, you can move around in slow motion… But, really was there anything more? Then the sequel came out. The overall feeling you get from playing makes Max Payne 2 worth buying. There are a few things I would like to change/add, but you can be assured that Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a great game to add to your collection.
Max Payne 2 has a very dramatic story, and all your missions center around the constantly changing plot. Max Payne is out again to avenge the killers of his wife and baby. Sometimes the plot can get confusing because Max will tell his story from a perspective where he already knows what happened, and backtracks, or he can tell the story from the past and go forward. There are too many imperative plot twists, but I am not going to reveal them… that would totally ruin your gaming experience. All I can say is that sometimes it can be confusing, but for the most part, its one rollercoaster you want to ride. The plot is presented to you through starting mission cinematics but for the most part, the photo/comic book-like journal. This method is unique, and it is nice to take a break from the typical crap we see in mediocre FPS games.
Some levels will feature you playing inside Max's nightmares. This is very weird, but cool. It feels like time has slowed down, and all the colors are blurred. In one dream, you get to play as Max outside of his body, so you see all of the things he did. In this dream, you run around with a pistol and chase yourself. A lot of dreams are strange and might confuse you, but for the most part, its cool to have them for an experience of playing in somebody's subconscious.
The rest of the levels in the game are divided into chapters with three main parts. Each chapter goes a little further in the game, and as the plot gets more in-depth, so do your missions. You will go from simply checking out a warehouse to escaping from a thug infested hospital and infiltrating a mob base. Mona Sax will accompany you on some of the missions, and she will also become an integral part in the game's plot. In the missions that she plays with you, you will have to follow her lead, protect her, wait to be saved by her, and cooperatively take out thugs with her. These CO-OP missions really shine, and take the game to a whole new level.
Sometimes levels will feel repetitive, but for the most part, areas are so detailed you will stop and take a look. In one mission where you need to find Mona, you chase her back to an abandoned funhouse. This building is incredibly cool, with prop antics and moving objects. Even though this is sweet, you will return to the funhouse during a time that it is on fire. Though the props look beautiful in the burning fire, you can't help but feel like you are doing the same thing again. Other then the funhouse level, you will travel through an upscale mob house, a warehouse, Alfred Wood's mansion, and all over the streets. Because of the detail put into each location, Max Payne 2 really stands out.
To take a break from playing as Max, you get to manipulate Mona Sax. Her incredible gun will have you drooling. Oh, that's another thing. The weapons are sick. Dual Ingrams are a blast. Simply run through a door in bullet time, run into the middle, do a back dive, and contort your body into every direction in order to kill all of your foes. There are snipers, shotguns, machine guns, assault rifles, and the typical pistols and grenades/Molotov Cocktails. Dual 9mm's and dual Desert Eagles almost seem like a machine gun when you are firing them. You will have fun with this extreme firepower.
Getting back to playing as Mona… There are a few instances in the game where you will switch from playing as Max to Mona. You will play as Mona when she and Max split up. After you finish with Max, you will switch to Mona to see what she did during that time.
