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Max Payne II - A late review
In keeping with my tradition of being a cheapskate, I bought Max Payne
well after the buzz died down and nabbed it for a paltry $20. This is
my late review.
There's a statistic floating around out there that by the time a child
is 18 he's seen 200,000 deaths on TV. If you include video games it's
a lot higher. If you've played Max Payne you can probably double the
number. This game is all about the killing. This is slow-mo,
bullet-pumping shotgun blast mayhem. The number of bad guys killed is
easily in the hundreds, maybe approaching 1000.
If you played the original Max Payne there's nothing new here. I
believe the whole excuse to make the game, and what makes it unique, is
the Bullet Time feature, shamelessly borrowed from the original Matrix
movie. This is where time slows down for everybody but our hero as he
dives and squeezes off a couple lethal shots from whatever cannon he's
holding at the moment. Bad guys die in a spectacular flopping ragdoll
motion you get to see over and over and over....
The plot takes up where the original leaves off, with Max's new love
interest Mona Sax the mystery, or is it pursuit? You guide Max as he
walks from one trigger to the next, popping caps into bad guys while he
uncovers clues along the way. Dirty Harry has nothing on Max. Max
kills more guys in the first level than all of Dirty Harry's movie
exploits combined. But hey, it's only a game.
A couple key elements make the game really worthwhile. First, there
are a few levels where Max and Mona switch places and you control the
ultra-hot ultra-cool vixen instead of Max. One relies upon the other
as you blast your way through buildings, providing cover fire for your
boyfriend. It's a neat twist and well done.
Secondly, the scene where you must protect Vinnie Gotnitti, goofball
gangster as he's trapped in a ... well, I won't give it away but it's
pretty damn funny. The voice acting of the Vinnie character is
extremely well done and really makes the whole game for me. This level
is worth the price of admission alone.
Also worth mentioning is the funhouse shootout. It's never all that
scary but it's well constructed and thought out.
The plot is OK, not as good as the first, but plausible. You can
largely ignore the whole plot if you like and just blast your way
through, but if you pay attention it's a little better. There are some
detailed plot elements that all link back together that you don't
notice until the 2nd or 3rd time you play, but overall it's well
constructed and a quality piece.
I think this game benefits from the console link to the PC. We're
seeing more and more games designed for console and/or PC at the same
time. Another example is Riddick, Escape from Butcher Bay. Maybe the
PC versions are dumbed down a little, but overall the quality has gone
up. The voice acting and art are fantastic, and I have trouble
believing Max Payne II could be this polished on a budget designed
without console profit factored into the expenses. Gone are the days
where the programmers also voice the script, and I'm glad. Max Payne
II had some talented people working on it and it shows.
Overall though, the game is short. Some replay value is added by
unlocking difficulty levels progressively but in reality it's just more
of the same thing over and over. Luckily the thing you do over and
over is worth it. Also once you finish the most difficult level be
sure to watch for the alternate ending.
My advice is for $20, definitely buy this game.
Max Payne II - A late review
In keeping with my tradition of being a cheapskate, I bought Max Payne
well after the buzz died down and nabbed it for a paltry $20. This is
my late review.
There's a statistic floating around out there that by the time a child
is 18 he's seen 200,000 deaths on TV. If you include video games it's
a lot higher. If you've played Max Payne you can probably double the
number. This game is all about the killing. This is slow-mo,
bullet-pumping shotgun blast mayhem. The number of bad guys killed is
easily in the hundreds, maybe approaching 1000.
If you played the original Max Payne there's nothing new here. I
believe the whole excuse to make the game, and what makes it unique, is
the Bullet Time feature, shamelessly borrowed from the original Matrix
movie. This is where time slows down for everybody but our hero as he
dives and squeezes off a couple lethal shots from whatever cannon he's
holding at the moment. Bad guys die in a spectacular flopping ragdoll
motion you get to see over and over and over....
The plot takes up where the original leaves off, with Max's new love
interest Mona Sax the mystery, or is it pursuit? You guide Max as he
walks from one trigger to the next, popping caps into bad guys while he
uncovers clues along the way. Dirty Harry has nothing on Max. Max
kills more guys in the first level than all of Dirty Harry's movie
exploits combined. But hey, it's only a game.
A couple key elements make the game really worthwhile. First, there
are a few levels where Max and Mona switch places and you control the
ultra-hot ultra-cool vixen instead of Max. One relies upon the other
as you blast your way through buildings, providing cover fire for your
boyfriend. It's a neat twist and well done.
Secondly, the scene where you must protect Vinnie Gotnitti, goofball
gangster as he's trapped in a ... well, I won't give it away but it's
pretty damn funny. The voice acting of the Vinnie character is
extremely well done and really makes the whole game for me. This level
is worth the price of admission alone.
Also worth mentioning is the funhouse shootout. It's never all that
scary but it's well constructed and thought out.
The plot is OK, not as good as the first, but plausible. You can
largely ignore the whole plot if you like and just blast your way
through, but if you pay attention it's a little better. There are some
detailed plot elements that all link back together that you don't
notice until the 2nd or 3rd time you play, but overall it's well
constructed and a quality piece.
I think this game benefits from the console link to the PC. We're
seeing more and more games designed for console and/or PC at the same
time. Another example is Riddick, Escape from Butcher Bay. Maybe the
PC versions are dumbed down a little, but overall the quality has gone
up. The voice acting and art are fantastic, and I have trouble
believing Max Payne II could be this polished on a budget designed
without console profit factored into the expenses. Gone are the days
where the programmers also voice the script, and I'm glad. Max Payne
II had some talented people working on it and it shows.
Overall though, the game is short. Some replay value is added by
unlocking difficulty levels progressively but in reality it's just more
of the same thing over and over. Luckily the thing you do over and
over is worth it. Also once you finish the most difficult level be
sure to watch for the alternate ending.
My advice is for $20, definitely buy this game.
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