After having a rough experience with Max Payne 1 on Steam due to a shoddy port, I entered Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne with tempered expectations. I was still interested in the series, as the story has drawn critical acclaim and is held in high regard. Having seen a YouTube content creator play the game recently, I had a better feeling that this one would work in comparison to its predecessor.

To my pleasure, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne runs like a dream on my modern machine. A lot of love went into this sequel’s port, so I strapped in for the ride. The first thing I noticed was the great graphics for the game’s age. Thanks to the touted Havok engine which preceded the Source engine by just a few years, animations were fluid and hold the game up quite well for knocking on the 20th-anniversary door.

From a combat perspective, this is a total upgrade from Max Payne 1. Max gets access to a wide variety of handguns, smgs, assault rifles, and more, making each encounter a gamble based on ammo and health levels. I found myself quick-saving after every single encounter at the fear of losing progress, as one wrong move meant certain death even on easier difficulties. This intensity had me on-edge and conserving my bullet-time, listening for enemy footsteps, and testing the rest of my abilities.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne picks up shortly after the end of the first game, and takes place over the course of just one night. The breakneck pace of the narrative kept me invested from start to finish, which hurt when I came to the end only wanting more. Indeed, completing the game over the course of four hours made sense for the plot’s length, but I want to play a game this great as long as I possibly can. Nevertheless, the narrative never deviates and makes for a cohesive thriller that doesn’t slow down.

The Max Payne series was a real launchpad for Remedy Entertainment, as we’ve seen them wow players with other titles Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and Control. With a flair for the mystique and a focus on unique shooter gameplay, this series brought the captivating bullet time from The Matrix and incorporated it into a fun, memorable mechanic that never gets old. In addition, the comic-book cutscenes are beautiful and make for great narrative segues.

Rockstar saw potential in Remedy and made the most of it with Max Payne‘s follow-up. Still a great game by conventional standards in 2020, I can recommend Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne with no hesitation at its usual sale price, as, for a few bucks, you’ll enjoy a fantastic third-person shooter. I’m glad I sorted out my backlog and came across this series, which has been a mixed bag so far, but I’m glad to share the high point. I’m now playing through and developing thoughts on the third game, which you’ll read about soon!

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Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

$9.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Great physics thanks to Havok
• Several improvements from first game
• Stellar storytelling

Cons

• Criminally short
• Too tough for some