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Max Payne 2 The Fall of Max Payne The following report compares gadgets using the SERCount Rating (base on the result count from the search engine). |
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POPULAR HAT - 2006-02-13 11:36:00 | © Copyright 2004 - www.hat.net () | sitemap | top |
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.