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The lack of detail does little to lessen the enjoyment of watching your victims flail and collapse in super slo-mo. Still, what they lack in detail they make up for somewhat in the physics department. The graphics in Max Payne 2 on the Xbox are sharp but not especially impressive, even by the standards of its day. You may even find yourself a bit moved in the end, despite the silliness of some of the game's plot elements.
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Ultimately, the game deals with some pretty heavy themes, and surprisingly, doesn't come across as disingenuous in the process. That's largely due to events that took place in the first game, which you should definitely play before playing this one, but if you're dead set on skipping right to Max Payne 2, there is a recap of the first game's story you can watch to bring you up to speed. Rather than seeing himself as a total badass like so many tiresome characters in contemporary action movies and video games, Max is more of a worldweary sort, a hero who seems to belong more in a noir film of the 1940s than a modern-day tale, a sad guy who is just struggling to do what needs to be done and isn't even sure what he's living for anymore. Max is a bit more interesting than your typical video game hero. What really makes all this stuff work, though, is the strength of Max Payne himself as a character.
#MAX PAYNE 2 METACRITIC TV#
There are also a few effective dream sequence stages, and one particularly fascinating location: a disused funhouse based on the Twin Peaks-inspired TV show Address Unknown.
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Most of the story is told in panels imitating a graphic novel, and throughout the game you'll come across televisions broadcasting programs that comment on the events in Payne's life in interesting and frequently humorous ways. The details of the narrative are pretty standard organized crime war/conflicted love affair stuff, but the writing and presentation make it worthwhile. There's a well-written and well-presented story here, as well. Fortunately, there is more to Max Payne 2 than the bullet time gameplay device. Those looking for a stiffer challenge, though, will find it in the tougher modes that become unlocked after finishing the game once on the easiest setting. What's more, life-restoring painkillers are plentiful, and thankfully you can save anywhere, so even if you do get killed, you usually won't be set back very far at all. So long as you have bad guys to kill, you can keep bullet time going, as each one you finish off refills your meter a bit, and as you kill guys you also become capable of moving faster, making your enemies easy pickings. Bullet time also makes this game pretty easy, at least on the initial difficulty level. It probably would at some point, but the game certainly isn't long enough for you to reach that point. Jumping around corners and taking out unsuspecting goons in slow motion just doesn't get old. Shootdodging is a variant on standard bullet time in which you leap through the air and shoot at the same time. You can see bullets slowly flying through the air and spent shell casings flying out of your gun, and the game's nifty physics engine means that the bad guys often react in surprising and enjoyable ways to all the hurt you dish out. Bullet time slows all the action down to a crawl but lets you keep aiming and firing your gun as you can in normal play, giving you a distinct advantage over all the people you shoot. What sets all this shooting apart from all the shooting you do in other games in which you shoot lots and lots of people is this game's use of bullet time and a technique called shootdodging. In this game, you shoot lots and lots of people. In that spirit, I'm going to try to keep this review short, but still tell you what you need to know. By carolynmichelle | Review Date: Max Payne 2 is a ridiculously short game, yet it still manages to do everything it needs to do to leave you feeling satisfied.