"With no way to deal with the past, I kept my eyes on the road, off the rear-view mirror and the road-kill behind me. I chased lesser mysteries, other people's crimes."
The Fall of Max Payne is a slick follow-up to the original that scales back the stakes but makes the more sensible choice of portraying an intimate character drama using the ones we already know from the first game. In turn, Remedy treats us to a tragic noir love story between Max and former one-scene-wonder Mona Sax as they become entangled in a mob war.
The more personal approach to the narrative this time pays off, and I found it to be an overall improvement from the first Max Payne's story. The graphic novel interludes, of course, make a return, along with real-time cutscenes. While I appreciate the desire to mix things up more, especially with the fancy new technology at their disposal at the time, I feel that a bit of the style is lost with the reduced number of graphic novel scenes. Though it is an even trade in exchange for a stronger narrative this time around.
The gameplay remains largely the same, though that's by no means a bad thing. After all, the combat in the original was already tight and fun to play around with. What does receive a huge upgrade here, however, is the level design and the difficulty. Clearly, they listened to complaints the first time, as Max Payne 2 provides adequate challenge from beginning to end on the default difficulty. The levels themselves are far more engaging, too, with the funhouse being a particular highlight.
In short, Max Payne 2 provides a worthy follow-up to the original. It doesn't rewrite the book, but it doesn't really need to. Instead, it expands on the base experience in new and engaging ways with a stronger story at the helm.
8/10
The Fall of Max Payne is a slick follow-up to the original that scales back the stakes but makes the more sensible choice of portraying an intimate character drama using the ones we already know from the first game. In turn, Remedy treats us to a tragic noir love story between Max and former one-scene-wonder Mona Sax as they become entangled in a mob war.
The more personal approach to the narrative this time pays off, and I found it to be an overall improvement from the first Max Payne's story. The graphic novel interludes, of course, make a return, along with real-time cutscenes. While I appreciate the desire to mix things up more, especially with the fancy new technology at their disposal at the time, I feel that a bit of the style is lost with the reduced number of graphic novel scenes. Though it is an even trade in exchange for a stronger narrative this time around.
The gameplay remains largely the same, though that's by no means a bad thing. After all, the combat in the original was already tight and fun to play around with. What does receive a huge upgrade here, however, is the level design and the difficulty. Clearly, they listened to complaints the first time, as Max Payne 2 provides adequate challenge from beginning to end on the default difficulty. The levels themselves are far more engaging, too, with the funhouse being a particular highlight.
In short, Max Payne 2 provides a worthy follow-up to the original. It doesn't rewrite the book, but it doesn't really need to. Instead, it expands on the base experience in new and engaging ways with a stronger story at the helm.
8/10