Max Payne 2 is a continuation of the first game and pretty much improves upon everything thanks to a higher budget, with Remedy being picked up by Rockstar Games.

• The gameplay and gameplay loop is what you know and love from the first game, with improvements - Enemies deal less damage on the game's first difficulty, you can move at normal speed whilst in bullet-time, bullet-time slowly regenerates by itself on top of killing enemies, and you can shoot while being on the floor. Huzzah!
  
  
• The story follows up from the first game, with the game taking more of a film-noir love story side approach, as Mona Sax pops up whilst answering a dispatch call and the past comes back to haunt him once again. I won't spoil too much for those that haven't played it, but it's really good, told in comic strips and top tier voice acting from everyone involved (R.I.P James McCaffrey :( )
  
  
• Graphically, looks levels from the original, and runs good straight out of the box. There is a Max Payne 2 Fix Pack you can download if you wish from this steam guide, just a quick drag and drop files into the game's main directory
  
  https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1633394421
  
  
• Good weapon variety - Weapons are the same as before, with some new ones - The dual deagles (I was so happy when I learnt these could dual wield because they SLAP) the AK and the M4 carbine just to name a few (you can argue the carbine is pretty much just the commando from MP1 but reskinned). MP2 encourages you to use different weapons for different scenarios, so don't expect to be using the same guns over and over again
  
  
• Game uses projectiles and a bloom system as opposed to hitscan to give the game a bit of a skill gap, where movement, timing and dodging bullets is key to coming out unscathed. I like this a lot, it helps balance the "BS" deaths that you'd get in other games, where you just die to ridiculous hitscan enemies. (I'm looking at you Call of Duty on Veteran)
  
  
• OST never fails to disappoint. Nuff said. Masterpiece
  
  
• The addition of NPCs helping you was pretty cool. There's a moment in the game where two people can help you gun down cleaners, and even though it's short and sweet, I can appreciate it being a thing for its time. It felt more like an experiment to me, and it worked, so huge props to Remedy for trying something different
  
  
• More deep, hard-hitting Max Payne one liners. "Death is inevitable. Our fear of it makes us play safe, blocks out emotion. It's a losing game, without passion you are already dead."
  
  
• Set pieces are really good. My favourite one would have to be the construction site, where you play as both Mona and Max, especially when you get to Mona, as you defend Max from hostiles and work your way through different sides of the site to get the drop on enemies. May seem like a simple, one-off escort type of mission, but for its time, very fun to play!
  
  
• Unlockable difficulties, allowing multiple replays and just making the game harder for yourself
  
  
• I learnt that this and MP1 use an "self-adjusting skill level system," where the difficulty changes based on how good you're doing. This is only available on Detective, but I thought it was cool to mention because it'll be a mix of easy and hard moments when you play for the first time. This is why.

• Game was too short!!! I completed this two hours quicker than MP1 (MP1 took me 6 hours, MP2 took me 4), which is a shame because after I finished it, I felt like it more of a showcase or tech demo than an actual game, despite being a full game. Maybe it's because of the numerous difficulties you can complete it on, so that's why they decided to make it shorter
  
  
• Story could've been fleshed out a bit more, felt a bit confusing at times and didn't get the full picture until I watched a video on it

Max Payne 2 is a great sequel to the original game, building upon what they've established and making it more stylish, visually pleasing and question life. That last part is on Max, given how dark and sad this story gets.

"The past is a gaping hole. You try to run from it, but the more you run, the deeper, more terrible it grows behind you, its edges yawning at your heels."

[h1] Introduction [/h1] Max Payne 2 is a continuation of the first game and pretty much improves upon everything thanks to a higher budget, with Remedy being picked up by Rockstar Games. [h1] Positives [/h1] [list] [*]The gameplay and gameplay loop is what you know and love from the first game, with improvements - Enemies deal less damage on the game's first difficulty, you can move at normal speed whilst in bullet-time, bullet-time slowly regenerates by itself on top of killing enemies, and you can shoot while being on the floor. Huzzah! [*]The story follows up from the first game, with the game taking more of a film-noir love story side approach, as Mona Sax pops up whilst answering a dispatch call and the past comes back to haunt him once again. I won't spoil too much for those that haven't played it, but it's really good, told in comic strips and top tier voice acting from everyone involved (R.I.P James McCaffrey :( ) [*]Graphically, looks levels from the original, and runs good straight out of the box. There is a Max Payne 2 Fix Pack you can download if you wish from this steam guide, just a quick drag and drop files into the game's main directory https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1633394421 [*]Good weapon variety - Weapons are the same as before, with some new ones - The dual deagles (I was so happy when I learnt these could dual wield because they SLAP) the AK and the M4 carbine just to name a few (you can argue the carbine is pretty much just the commando from MP1 but reskinned). MP2 encourages you to use different weapons for different scenarios, so don't expect to be using the same guns over and over again [*]Game uses projectiles and a bloom system as opposed to hitscan to give the game a bit of a skill gap, where movement, timing and dodging bullets is key to coming out unscathed. I like this a lot, it helps balance the "BS" deaths that you'd get in other games, where you just die to ridiculous hitscan enemies. (I'm looking at you Call of Duty on Veteran) [*]OST never fails to disappoint. Nuff said. Masterpiece [*]The addition of NPCs helping you was pretty cool. There's a moment in the game where two people can help you gun down cleaners, and even though it's short and sweet, I can appreciate it being a thing for its time. It felt more like an experiment to me, and it worked, so huge props to Remedy for trying something different [*]More deep, hard-hitting Max Payne one liners. "Death is inevitable. Our fear of it makes us play safe, blocks out emotion. It's a losing game, without passion you are already dead." [*]Set pieces are really good. My favourite one would have to be the construction site, where you play as both Mona and Max, especially when you get to Mona, as you defend Max from hostiles and work your way through different sides of the site to get the drop on enemies. May seem like a simple, one-off escort type of mission, but for its time, very fun to play! [*]Unlockable difficulties, allowing multiple replays and just making the game harder for yourself [*]I learnt that this and MP1 use an "self-adjusting skill level system," where the difficulty changes based on how good you're doing. This is only available on Detective, but I thought it was cool to mention because it'll be a mix of easy and hard moments when you play for the first time. This is why. [/list] [h1] Negatives [/h1] [list] [*]Game was too short!!! I completed this two hours quicker than MP1 (MP1 took me 6 hours, MP2 took me 4), which is a shame because after I finished it, I felt like it more of a showcase or tech demo than an actual game, despite being a full game. Maybe it's because of the numerous difficulties you can complete it on, so that's why they decided to make it shorter [*]Story could've been fleshed out a bit more, felt a bit confusing at times and didn't get the full picture until I watched a video on it [/list] [h1] Conclusion [/h1] Max Payne 2 is a great sequel to the original game, building upon what they've established and making it more stylish, visually pleasing and question life. That last part is on Max, given how dark and sad this story gets. "The past is a gaping hole. You try to run from it, but the more you run, the deeper, more terrible it grows behind you, its edges yawning at your heels."