Max Payne 2 is paynefully (bad pun) short, but every bit as good as the original.
Let's start out with that misunderstood, tragic, and heroic man they call Max Payne. Max started out as a detective in the DEA, but after his family and partner were murdered, he left drugs, and went back to America's most loved people, the New York City Police Department. Of course, as soon as he gets to the NYPD, things, once again, start to go wrong. Max looked a lot like the man that designed him in the original, Sam Lake. Max looks notably older, more rugged, and is modeled after a completely different actor, Timothy Gibbs. That mother-of-all-ironic names that has been thrust upon him, has made him a, household name, if you will.
They're are some all-new characters in the game, like Max's new partner, Detective Winterson. But for the most part, the character's are familiar faces like, Mona Sax, Vinnie Gognitti, Vladimir Lem, Alfred Woden, and many others.
Since this is a newer game, the graphics should be better. As you may already know, the graphics are great. The character models look smooth and sharp. The environments for the most part, are good looking as well. Some of them, look flat, and unsettling. Although, I'm sure that making them unsettling is a key in making this game as intense as it is, they just look flat-out bad sometimes.
The sound is also better this around. Max is voiced by Rescue Me's James McCaffrey again, and he does another very solid voice-over job. His voice is gritty, and the metaphors he uses are all once again, very entertaining. The other actors do a great job as well. The score for the game, resembles the first game very much, and thats not a bad thing. The music is very creepy, gritty, and sometimes a little melancholy. All around, the sound is one of the things that shines for Max Payne 2.
As for the gameplay, if you've played the original Max Payne, you'll find that very little has changed. Once again, that's not a bad thing in this case. All the shooting is still fun, realistic, and intense. The enemies A.I. is still a little clumsy, but they can be very challenging at times, especially when they use group tactics to swarm around you and take you down. Plus, the use of bullet-time is still fun to use, and the slow-mo aspects of the game, certainly won't let you down.
All in all, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, is pretty much the same game that Max Payne was. Despite a better graphics system, some new musical scores, and better ragdoll physics, you may find that they are almost the exact same game. This is not a disappointment, however. If you liked the original, then you'll love its sequel.