4.5/5 ★ – AdamFiddle's review of Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne.

Story-wise, I think this is my personal favourite of the series. I’ve undoubtedly played Max Payne 3 the most, but with mods I easily sank 100 hours into this game before my old PC died. I’ve most recently replayed it on Xbox, and it’s about as good as I remembered. The gameplay is still smooth, similar enough to the first game with some nice streamline developments. The new bullet time function is quite polarising, I understand why, but I think it works, and the challenge on higher difficulties is still there. The levels are dynamic, and the new physics engine makes for an enjoyable sandbox. In terms of story, this game does everything a good sequel should. Previous characters are well developed upon, and previous narrative threads are brought to a mostly satisfying conclusion. The story has less spinning plates than the first game, allowing for a deeper, more personal story to be told. I read somewhere that Sam Lake took a writing course between games, and I think it paid off. His previous overly flowery metaphors are dialled back here as character takes centre stage. Mona Sax is an excellent foil for Max’s gloominess, and Max’s development across the story feels much truer to the hard boiled detective stories that inspired him. His closing monologue is genuinely so great. Once again, very much looking forward to the remake. Curious to see what’s kept and what’s lost. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind animated cutscenes instead of comic panels. I imagine this is not a popular opinion, but the original games are going nowhere, so I think they should feel free to experiment. That being said, I do still hope they find a way to continue using McCaffrey’s voice work. He just IS Max.