Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Preview

When the Wachowskis first introduced their sci-fi vision, The Matrix back in 1999, the entire entertainment industry got caught up in the digital on-screen breakthrough known as bullet-time - created by visual effects guru John Gaeta. At the time, many movies were inspired by this technological advancement and we soon saw a complete overload of flicks that were packed with bullet-time and slow-mo Matrix-style combat. With the Matrix video game on hold, the PC gaming scene had to wait quite a while to receive its fair slice of the technology. That's the way things were until Remedy Entertainment produced Max Payne, roughly two years ago. Although the game was delayed a couple of times (Remedy encountered a few budget problems), it managed to achieve an outstanding reputation among action games. Thanks to its beautiful graphics and slick gameplay the game turned into a worldwide success. Even now, when you get back to it, Max Payne is a fun and addictive experience. Finally, this Fall, Remedy and Rockstar Games will treat the world to a long-awaited full blown sequel, entitled Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.

"Make it look bad!"

"Why don't you sample this instead?"

Without any hesitation, the developers have decided to go with a somewhat similar storyline, which puts our handsome headstrong hero into another dire situation. Some gamers may not be too happy about the fact that Remedy decided to re-hire Writer and Designer Sam Lake to work on the story once again - as I recall a lot of people complained that the plot in Max Payne was overburdened with overly elaborate English phrases, which certainly didn't add any literary panache to the story. Back to the story in the sequel - the scenery takes us to the Big Apple, where poor ol' Max once again gets framed for murder (just for your petite amusement!). Only this time there's a very strange twist to the plot. The murder of his faithful partner radically changes Max's behavior, practically pushing him over the edge; which is so unlike the Max Payne we all know. (Is it? - 2Lions) For some curious reason, he decided to confess to the murder. No doubt there's a quirk in Mr. Payne's personality we are all yet unaware of. We've seen him upset, but never THIS upset... Or maybe this behavior is tied to something else? Could it be love? Yep, you've read it correctly. Most of you may have heard already that "the Fall" in the game title actually indicates a "film noir love story" - as it was described by the fellows at Rockstar. To put it simply, the game introduces an attractive new female character, named Mona Sax, whose charm eventually captures Max's heart (say, that sounds cool: Sax and Max hit the road - you gotta love it!). This should add a considerable step up in the characterization, as well as an entirely different feel to the entire experience. Basically, the whole tale should be a real rush for all the softies out there (like Six for example [Hey - I resemble that remark! - Six]). A much wider range of professional actors was used to bring this story to life. Naturally, the team at Remedy has Rockstar to thank for this. We all remember GTA: Vice City and how much effort and cash Rockstar coughed up into that venture in order to secure a professional Hollywood cast, and we all know the result of that effort.

Very much like the previous game, Max Payne 2 features comic style sequences that were designed to unveil the plot as you complete each chapter. Concerning the story itself, it was recently revealed that it will offer extra characters, extra content, and an experience that's three times longer than the original game (Duuuuurex - it lasts longer! - 2Lions). This is a welcome move indeed. The first Max Payne didn't take long to finish, which was a great disappointment - just when you got hooked on the whole action and bullet-time thing, the finishing sequence starts and the story comes to an end.

Even though the game remains focused on the single-player ride, greater attention was given to NPC's in Max Payne 2. To work coherently with the new in-depth characterization, the developers have increased the significance of supporting characters that appear next to Payne himself. Just so there's no confusion, these characters weren't meant to obstruct the single-payer gameplay; rather, they are simply there to make the atmosphere more exciting and to tie a few loose ends in the storyline. All of these NPC's that make an appearance through scripted events in the game, were given enough intelligence to fend for themselves. Like in real life, they can die at any time, but they can also handle various situations thanks to their advanced AI (which, I'm afraid, we know little about at this point).

Meet the sexy Sax.

Gentlemen, please surrender your underwear!

The game stays true to the sleek 3rd person gameplay style of the original. This time around the action sequences and the intense gunplay is brought to a higher level, allowing players to use a wide range of new and enhanced moves, on top of various firearms. From what we've seen, however, Max will be using the usual selection of powerful "toys" to make his way through hordes of bad-tempered foes (who are equally well-equipped and usually carry M16s and AK-47s). Like before, our hero packs an array of pistols (most likely the Beretta and Desert Eagle), shotguns, and automatic rifles. The previous game also included a sniper rifle and the M79, but we still don't know if it'll be in the sequel - There's no reason why it shouldn't be in there, but to date, there is no confirmation. We do know for sure though, that you'll be able to use the Ingram MAC-10 sub-machine gun and also toss those lovely Molotov cocktails and incendiary grenades at your enemies.

As far as the visuals are concerned, much of the game has been improved. The proprietary graphics engine was completely revamped to make room for the game's highly detailed graphics - which include enhanced particle effects, complex level design, improved dynamic lighting, real-time shadows, and an increased number of destructive and destructible objects in the environment. Cool things like dynamic lighting and real-time shadows are best viewed when Molotov cocktails and incendiary grenades come into the picture. As you smash one of these cocktails, you can observe gangsters getting caught in the flame. In addition to these enhancements, all in-game characters (especially Max) received a meticulous make over, which consist of detailed and highly advanced facial expressions. This time players will be able to distinct stuff like wrinkles upon the characters' brows, watch them smile, frown, etc. These facial animations also include an enhanced lip-sync technique... boy, they've really gone all out this time. Another crucial addition to in-game models is the body animation and the inevitable rag-doll physics, which is powered by the widely acclaimed Havok physics system (a good example is when enemies are hurled back or fly up in the air from explosions). Besides the stunning death animations that employ the rag-doll system, Havok also allowed an extra detail or two, such as a more realistic presentation of Payne's sexy (Sexy?! Yeah, right! - 2Lions) Italian leather jacket - now it flutters as he runs and hurls himself about to avoid gunfire. On top of that, diverse sections of NYC look more realistic than ever before, since additional work was poured into making convincing outdoor and indoor levels, both of which have been supplemented with more objects and richer scenery textures. The media released so far has left us with some truly nice impressions, so at this stage we can predict that the game is going to be considerably more entertaining than its predecessor.

Unfortunately, that's all the info we have for the time being. Hm, isn't it just like those nasty developers and publishers to keep us dangling until the very last minute... Well, we advise all readers to keep an eye on the official web site for any updates. Also, Rockstar and Remedy refrained from giving us an exact release date for the game, but they are pretty confident that Max Payne 2 will hit the shelves this fall.