You know I think we are starting to have a very bad trend with PC games lately - they are WAY too short for the price. I had decided to wait till some reviews were posted for Max Payne 2 before I went out and spent my money on it. Yeah this is the same company that brought us Max Payne 1 as well as the GTA games, but you never know. But Thursday night reviews started to hit and the game was getting very high marks. The only thing every reviewer knocked was how short the game was. Now Max Payne 1 was by no means a long game, it took maybe 10 hours or so to beat it start to finish. But it left you full, there were a number of memorable boss battles, and quite a few different areas to explore. However to call Max Payne 2 short is an understatement. I got it last night after work and beat it this afternoon. I would say 4-6 hours of game play start to finish max. When I realized I was coming to the end, I was like "That's IT??? I'm just getting into it!” I would say if Max Payne 1 were as long, it would of ended when you found the Don in his mansion and the killer suits assassinate him. Max Payne 2 was in serious need of a 4th chapter and a few more environments. Oh as baffling as it is, there are no real boss fights at all. There are a couple main characters you waste, but they go down as fast as a normal goon. On the good side, the game looks and plays GREAT. They used the Havoc engine for this game, which means pretty much anything not nailed down, can be moved. The trendy "rag doll" effect also is used when you kill a bad guy. Instead of having a predawn death animation, they will fall and land in a realistic way. The effect is really quite gruesome when you hit someone with a shotgun near a ledge. :) Also Bullet Time has been improved and is much more useful. When you enter bullet time, the more and more kills in a row you get drives you deeper "into the zone". It gets to the point were the bad guys are moving in super slow mo while you are moving at normal speed. In the end, a really cool game, but hard to justify $49.99 for. You don't even have multiplayer, which makes justifying the cost even harder. Either wait a few months for the price to go down, or rent it for PS2 when it comes out.
Other Helpful Reviews for Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
We all know how good the first Max Payne was. It was a rollercoaster ride; we fell in love, we investigated and then we killed. In the same sense, Max Payne 2 keeps this immersive quality. Throughout the game we're gripp... Read Full Review
In Max Payne 2 you once again assume the role of Max Payne who has returned to work for the NYPD after the rampage Max went on following the murder of his wife and child that occurred in the first game. Like in the firs... Read Full Review
