Developers / Publisher – Remedy / Rockstar Games Homepage Genre – Third-Person Adventure/3D Shooter Note: The Playstation 2 and X-Box versions are out on 3rd December 2003
Introduction
This one certainly appeared like a shot in the dark! The first Max Payne felt like it took ages to come out, years of development and delays. Yet the sequel seemed to just appear as previews on mainstream sites a few months ago, and then it was released on time! Good start.
However, sequels are always very difficult thing to get right. A sequel has to somehow be just as exciting, fresh and innovative as the first one, yet still be a logical jump from the first instalment without spoiling it. Add too little and people complain that’s its no different than the first, add too much and people will say you’ve spoilt the atmosphere, style and look the first one had. Creating a good sequel is by walking a very thin line successfully, so it’s not surprising that many sequels in games and films never live up to everyone’s expectations.
Max Payne 2 nevertheless manages to walk that line extremely well. In my mind it’s a near perfect example of what a sequel should be. Max Payne was a good shooter, with a well told story and plenty of action. Max Payne 2 builds on those strengths, and achieves the status of worthy predecessor that will defiantly keep fans of the first pleased.
Compatibility
I’ve only put the recommended specs up because I doubt many will want to play it on minimum settings. Max Payne 2 looks wonderful, and is perhaps the best part about it. Without its awesome graphics it would lose much of the essence the game generates whilst playing.
On my system, playing at 1024x768 (32bit colour) I noticed no slowdown in the slightest, even in massive fire fights or graphically intensive areas.
