Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

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Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Windows
  • Xbox
  • PlayStation 2
    • Release
    14 October 2003
    • Windows
      • NA: 14 October 2003
      • EU: 24 October 2003
      Xbox
      • NA: 25 November 2003
      • EU: 5 December 2003
      PlayStation 2
      • NA: 2 December 2003
      • EU: 5 December 2003
    Single-player

    Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a 2003 third-person shooter game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sequel to 2001's Max Payne and the second game in the Max Payne series. Set two years after the events of the first game, the sequel finds Max Payne working again as a detective for the New York City Police Department (NYPD), while struggling with nightmares about his troubled past. After being unexpectedly reunited with contract killer Mona Sax, Max must work with her to resolve a conspiracy filled with death and betrayal, which will test where his true loyalties lie.

    Max Payne 2 is played from a

    third-person perspective. Throughout the single-player campaign, players mainly control Max, with Mona being playable in a few select levels. Both playable characters have access to a wide variety of weapons to eliminate enemies, as well as a bullet-time ability, which slows down time during combat. The bullet-time mechanic has been upgraded in the game to allow players to move faster as they kill more enemies, as well as reload weapons instantly. Due to the Havok physics engine being used, the game also features improved ragdoll physics. The story is again told mostly through graphic novel panels with voice-overs, although several traditional cutscenes are also used. Whereas the first game's plot was inspired by Norse mythology and traditional hard-boiled detective novels, the sequel is mostly based on tragic love stories like those seen in film noir
    , with Max and Mona's relationship being central to the game's narrative.

    Max Payne 2 was released for

    Xbox Series X/S
    .

    Gameplay

    A video game screenshot of a man leaning on the floor while holding a gun in each hand and firing them at another man down a hallway.
    Max performs a shoot-dodge maneuver.

    Max Payne 2 is a

    internal monologue, in which Max iterates what his next steps should be.[2]

    When first played, the game offers one difficulty level that is adjusted automatically if the game is too difficult for the player. For example, if the player's character dies too many times, the enemies'

    respawning enemies.[4]

    Max Payne 2 allows the player to enable

    pistol whip them. AI companions can occasionally come to Max's aid, although their deaths do not affect the gameplay or story.[4]

    Plot

    See also:
    Max Payne (series) § Characters
    A man and a woman embrace each other. Speech bubbles are seen around them.
    Comic panels are used as cutscenes to provide plot exposition in the game.

    Two years after the events of the first game, Max Payne (James McCaffrey) has been acquitted of the charges against him and reinstated in his old job as a detective for the NYPD, thanks to his connections to the Inner Circle secret society. The story is narrated from Max's perspective, who recalls the events of the past few days. The first flashback takes place in the hospital, where Max is recovering from a gunshot wound. Several assassins raid the hospital to try and kill him, but Max avoids them and makes his way to the morgue, where he finds the body of a woman he has recently killed. The game then goes back further in time, to a few nights prior.[5]

    While investigating a gunfight at a warehouse owned by his ally, Russian mobster Vladimir "Vlad" Lem (Jonathan Davis), Max encounters a group of hitmen called "the Cleaners", who raided the warehouse for guns. Max is also surprised to run into contract killer Mona Sax (Wendy Hoopes), who he thought had died two years ago. Max heads to Vlad's restaurant to question him about the raid, only to find him under attack by mobsters led by their mutual enemy, Vinnie Gognitti (Fred Berman). After saving Vlad, he claims that Vinnie, now the underboss of the Punchinello Crime Family, is trying to monopolize the black market arms trade and sees Vlad as a threat.[5]

    After evading an attack by the Cleaners in his apartment, Max tracks Mona to an abandoned funhouse and learns that the Cleaners are trying to eliminate anyone who knows about the Inner Circle. While tracking down Mona's contact within the Inner Circle, Max discovers that he has been killed by the Cleaners, and Mona is arrested by the NYPD for being a wanted suspect in the murder of a senator. While at the police station, Max overhears his colleague, Valerie Winterson (Jennifer Server), talking on the phone about Mona, moments before the Cleaners attack the station to kill Mona. She manages to escape and, after fighting off a Cleaner attack on her hideout, sets out to hunt down those responsible with Max's help.[5]

    Their search leads them to a construction site, which Max and Mona discover is being used as a base by the Cleaners. After killing most of them, Winterson arrives and holds Mona at gunpoint. Mona claims that Winterson is there to kill her, while Winterson insists that she is simply trying to arrest a fleeing fugitive. After several moments of consideration, Max fatally shoots Winterson, allowing Mona to escape. Before she dies, Winterson shoots Max, hospitalizing him. The game then returns to the earlier hospital scene, where Max eliminates the Cleaners trying to kill him and escapes. He decides to visit Senator Alfred Woden (John Braden), the leader of the Inner Circle, who reveals that Vlad is the leader and the one who hired the Cleaners to eliminate his opposition in order to take over both the Inner Circle and New York's criminal underworld.[5]

    Now aware of Vlad's deception, Max raids his restaurant, but finds that Vlad has already left to kill Vinnie. He also discovers that Winterson was Vlad's mistress and was secretly helping him. Max manages to save Vinnie from Vlad's men, and the two head to Mona's hideout to seek her help. However, Vlad ambushes them, killing Vinnie and injuring Max, though not before revealing that Mona is working for Woden and Woden was inadvertently responsible for causing the deaths of Max's family five years ago when he sent the Valkyr files to the District Attorney’s office to incriminate Nicole Horne. After Mona rescues Max, the two head to Woden's mansion to save him from Vlad. After eliminating Vlad's men, Mona suddenly betrays Max and attempts to follow her orders to kill him, but finds herself unable to do so because of her feelings for him. Realizing this, Vlad shoots Mona and kills Woden, when the latter confronts him. Max fights Vlad as the mansion burns around them, and eventually kills him. As the police arrive at the scene, Max returns to Mona, who dies peacefully in his arms. Despite this, Max has come to terms with all the tragedy in his life, and is ready to move on.[5] In an alternate ending unlocked on the highest difficulty, Mona survives, and she and Max kiss. The third game confirms Mona's death as the canon version.

    Development

    Sam Lake
    The game's plot was written by Sam Lake, who also modeled as Max in the original Max Payne.

    Take-Two Interactive issued a press release on 5 December 2001 that announced its acquisition of the Max Payne franchise from Remedy Entertainment and 3D Realms for US$10 million in cash and 970,000 shares of common stock, and its plans to release Max Payne 2.[6] On 22 May 2002, Take-Two announced that they agreed to pay up to $8 million as incentive payments to 3D Realms and Remedy Entertainment to develop Max Payne 2.[7][8] On 3 September 2003, Take-Two officially announced a release date of 15 October 2003 for the game.[9]

    Originally modeled in Max Payne after the game's writer Sam Lake, Max's appearance was remodeled after professional actor Timothy Gibbs for Max Payne 2;[10] James McCaffrey returned as the voice of Max.[11] The game's plot was written by Lake, who decided to write it as a "film noir love story", as he felt that it suited Max's persona the best. Lake hoped that the story would break new ground, noting, "At least it's a step into the right direction. I'd like nothing better than to see new and unexpected subject matters to find their way to games and stories told in games."[12] Lake remarked that basic, archetypal film noir elements found in many classics of the genre "can go a long way" when telling a story, and gave examples that included a hostile, crime-ridden city; a story that takes place late at night with heavy rain; and a cynical, hard-boiled detective down on his luck. Lake considered writing a sequel to Max Payne an "art of its own".[12] Since the setting and characters were already established, Lake decided that the primary goal of the sequel was "to keep what's good and fix what was not so good", and to take the story in surprising directions. The screenplay for the sequel ended up being three times longer than the one for Max Payne. Lake predicted that the more complex story would add to the game's replay value.[12]

    The story, sometimes told through in-game dialogue, is pushed forward with

    cut scenes. The developers found comic panels to be more effective and less costly to use in the cut scenes than fully animated cinematics. They also noted that the graphic novel format allowed the player to interpret each panel for themselves, explaining "the nuances are there in the head of the reader, and it would be much harder to reach that level with in-game or even prerendered cinematics."[10] The developers also found it easier to reorganize the comic panels if the plot needed to be changed while developing the game.[10]

    Max Payne 2 uses the same game engine as the one used in Max Payne, but with several significant upgrades.[13] Even though the game only supports DirectX 8.1, the graphics in Max Payne 2 mimic those generated by DirectX 9 by making optimal use of effects such as reflection, refraction, shaders, and ghosting. The developers considered one particular scene in which effects are used well: When Max has lucid dreams, the screen appears fuzzy and out of focus. Since Max Payne, the polygon count (the number of polygons rendered per frame) has been increased, which smooths out the edges of character models.[14] In addition, characters have a much greater range of expressions. Previously, Max had only one expression available; in Max Payne 2, he often smirks and moves his eyebrows to react to different scenarios.[15]

    The game uses the Havok physics engine, which the developers chose because it was "hands-down the best solution to our needs".[16] They found that a dedicated physics engine was vital to create Max's combat scenes, which Max Payne was known for, "with increased realism and dramatic, movielike action".[16] The physics engine made several situations seem more realistic. For example, when in combat, the player can take cover behind boxes; however, when enemy bullets impact the boxes, they will topple over, in which case the player will have to find another suitable object to use for cover. When an enemy is hidden behind a wall divider, the player can throw a grenade next to it to send the cover flying through the air, rendering the enemy unprotected.[16] The Havok engine was tweaked to make weapons, bombs, and Molotov cocktails act more naturally, and the audio was updated to make them sound more realistic. The new physics engine allowed for certain actions that could not happen in Max Payne; boxes can be moved and follow the laws of gravitation, and explosion detonations make enemy bodies fall realistically.[14]

    The

    modifications for the game. Modifications can perform several functions, such as the ability to add new weapons, skills, perspectives, surroundings, and characters.[18]

    Music composers

    Finnish Singles Chart[19] as well as #1 on Radio Suomipop's Top 30 chart.[20]
    It is referenced many times in the game, usually by characters singing or humming it.

    Anti-piracy

    When Rockstar Games released the game on Steam, they used a no-disc crack to bypass their originally included DRM.[21]

    Reception

    Max Payne 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, while the PS2 version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.

    Steve Polak of the Australian

    Sydney Morning Herald's Dan Toose described the game's experience as "brutal, yet beautiful gun-blazing gaming".[31]

    Jon Minifie of

    Sunday Times's Steven Poole observed that Max Payne 2 does "exactly the same [things as the first game], only better." He found that enemies react convincingly to damage taken from bullets, thanks to the physics engine. Ultimately, however, Poole described the game as "entertaining but not earth-shattering".[32]

    Frank Miller."[28]

    The game's action was praised by several reviewers. GameZone called it cinematic and action-packed, noting that the final scene was worthy of the big screen.

    1UP.com cited the final boss as an ending that inadequately completed an otherwise excellent game,[1] and the Sunday Times' Poole called the story "pungently cheesy".[32] Max Payne 2's length disappointed critics, including GameSpot and IGN, which complained about the short story.[25][27] Toose of the Sydney Morning Herald was also critical of the short single-player experience, but found that the higher difficulty levels and special "survivor" modes helped improve the game's replay value.[31]

    Sales

    Despite a positive reception, Max Payne 2 sold poorly, leading Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive to cite the "continued disappointing sales of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne" as one of the causes for the company's reforecasted sales for 2004.[33]

    Awards

    Max Payne 2 was the recipient of several industry awards, including Outstanding Art Direction at the

    Golden Satellite Awards 2004,[34] Editors' Choice Awards from GamePro, IGN, GameSpy, and GameSpot, and Game of the Month from Game Informer.[35]

    During the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Max Payne 2 for "Game of the Year", "Computer Game of the Year", "Computer Action/Adventure Game of the Year", "Console Action/Adventure Game of the Year", and "Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance - Male" for James McCaffrey's vocal portrayal of Max Payne.[36]

    Remake

    In April 2022, Remedy announced that it is remaking Max Payne and Max Payne 2 on its

    Xbox Series X/S.[37]

    See also

    Notes

    1. ^ Ported to Xbox and PlayStation 2 by Rockstar Vienna

    References

    1. ^ a b c 1UP Staff. "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (PC)". 1UP. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
    2. ^ Max Payne 2 instruction manual. Rockstar Games. 15 October 2003.
    3. ^ "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (PC)". GameZone. 15 October 2003. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    4. ^ a b Reed, Kristan (20 October 2003). "Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    5. ^ a b c d e "Max Payne 2 Game Guide". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    6. ^ "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Announces Max Payne 2 is in Development". Take-Two Interactive. 5 December 2001. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
    7. ^ "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Announces Max Payne 2 Is In Development". 3D Realms. 22 May 2002. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
    8. ^ Walker, Trey (6 June 2002). "Max Payne 2 worth $8 million?". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
    9. ^ "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Reports Record Third Quarter Fiscal 2003 Financial Results". Take-Two Interactive. 3 September 2003. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
    10. ^ a b c Edge Staff (23 July 2021). "Max Payne turns 20: Remedy Entertainment looks back on the making of its iconic action game". gamesradar. Archived from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
    11. ^ a b c Kosak, Dave (20 October 2003). "Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne (PC)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 29 June 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    12. ^ a b c "Max's Pain". IGN. 19 September 2003. Archived from the original on 22 September 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
    13. ^ "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne". MobyGames. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
    14. ^ a b c Abazovic, Fuad (2 November 2003). "Max Payne 2 has magnificent graphics". The Inquirer. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    15. ^ Butts, Steve (13 August 2003). "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne". IGN. Archived from the original on 15 August 2003. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
    16. ^ a b c "Max Payne 2 Q&A, exclusive media". GameSpot. 19 September 2003. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
    17. ^ Butts, Steve (7 October 2003). "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne". IGN. Archived from the original on 18 October 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
    18. ^ "Max Payne 2 Mod Info". Rockstar Games. Archived from the original on 13 January 2006. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
    19. ^ "POETS OF THE FALL - LATE GOODBYE (SONG)". www.finnishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
    20. ^ "Late Goodbye hits no. 1". poetsofthefall.com. 8 May 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
    21. ^ "Is That A Cracked Version Of Max Payne 2 On Steam?". Kotaku. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
    22. ^ "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
    23. ^ "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
    24. ^ "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
    25. ^ a b Kasavin, Greg (16 October 2003). "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    26. ^ a b "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (Xbox)". GameZone. 25 November 2003. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    27. ^ a b c "Max Payne 2 Review". IGN. 16 October 2003. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    28. ^ a b Tilley, Steve (26 October 2003). "Payne Sequel has Grit and Polish". The Toronto Sun. p. S12.
    29. ^ a b Minifie, Jon (22 January 2004). "Max Payne 2 (PS2/Xbox)". The New Zealand Herald.
    30. ^ a b Polak, Steve (8 January 2004). "Max is back and the fun is right on target". The Daily Telegraph. p. T18.
    31. ^ a b c Toose, Dan (13 December 2003). "All guns blazing". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 22.
    32. ^ a b c Poole, Steven (18 January 2004). "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne". Sunday Times.
    33. ^ Feldman, Curt (2 February 2004). "Take-Two adjusts financials south, blames Max Payne's poor showing". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    34. ^ "2004 8th Annual SATELLITE Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    35. ^ "Max Payne 2 awards". Rockstar Games. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
    36. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
    37. ^ Peters, Jay (6 April 2022). "Max Payne remakes are on the way". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.

    External links

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