Love Kills....

I could spend all day dancing around the point, hemming and hawing over the Havoc rag doll physics married to Max Payne 2Â's revamped engine, prattle on endlessly about stylistic presentation, and speak volumes about the ever pleasurable experience of diving down staircases in bullet-time while levying a healthy stream of projectile death into some anonymous bad guy whoÂ's destiny it is to fall dramatically over a banister, but the real question on everyoneÂ's mind is about length. Does Max Payne 2 follow in its predecessorÂ's storied footsteps of being a dense but ultimately short game with little replay value? And for everything else that the game does right, the simple answer to that question is: yes, this is at least as short a game as the original, if not a little bit shorter. And if, for you, that is an unforgivable crime then thereÂ's no point in reading further as nothing I say is going to change the fact that, for the very determined, the game can probably be completed in the span of seven or eight hours. However, thereÂ's more to it than can be measured with a stop watch, and despite its chronological shortcomings, Max Payne 2 manages also to follow in the originalÂ's footsteps by packing a hell of a lot into its relatively small frame.

The first rule of fictional narrative is: thou shalt not make the life of your protagonist an easy one. Max Payne 2 takes this rule and applies it as gospel. The life of Max Payne is at no point an enviable one; a constant roller coaster ride of pill-popping, bullet-dodging heartache. Over the course of his story friends become enemies, and enemies pretty much go right on being enemies, and at some point everyoneÂ's going to pull a gun on you. The only question is which ones actually pull the trigger?

ItÂ's a difficult question to answer, whether Max Payne is a game delivered through noir storytelling, or a noir story delivered through a video game. The distinction is actually an important one considering the different expectations between narrative and game are dramatic. For a traditional first person shooter we expect a passable story delivered through a fun game engine and packed into a time sinking experience that drowns away hours. For a narrative the focus of importance shifts away from the technical and the timely to issues of quality and response. Worse still, the answer to that question is not a concrete one. You can choose to play as you would any previous FPS, or you can choose to experience it for its narrative, and the choice you make is likely to make a significant difference in how much value you feel youÂ've gotten.

As I said from the start you can plow through in the span of half a day if you choose, and from those that do youÂ'll almost certainly hear criticism and disappointment. As a strictly FPS game Max Payne 2 is far too short, far too linear, and lacking seriously in replayability. It certainly has an interesting story, for as quickly as it goes by, and bullet-time continues to be a crowd pleasing gimmick. Visually the rag doll physics latched onto Max PayneÂ's updated graphic engine keep the experience contemporary, and the sound of weapon fire and cacophonous action are first rate. Unfortunately, the game lacks both endurance and variety. There are several levels that you encounter two or more times over the course of the game, and the variety of enemies is left wanting. And, most obvious of all, with little significant reason to go back and play again, Max Payne 2 is a very short game. ThatÂ's what one might say having played in traditional relentless fashion.

I wouldnÂ't recommend playing it that way, though.

Max Payne 2 is best enjoyed when savored, and when savored completely that seven hour game can stretch to twelve or more. It is a full experience; a graphic novel meets video game with film-noir overtones. It is at times funny, challenging, artistic, over-the-top, dramatic, touching, and poignant. It is a hard game to pigeon-hole as it defies the strict conventions of many games that mark its pedigree. Max Payne 2 is first and foremost a story, and the entire structure of the game is built on that foundation. It subscribes to the rules of narrative above game design, trims the extraneous, focuses on evolving and eventually resolving conflict, and seeks to evoke emotional responses above the merely limbic. It is chock full of scripted events, twisting narrative arcs, and never burdened with fat or chaff. The greatest criticism of Max Payne 2, that of being a short game, is born from a conscious design decision, not an accident of unoriginality.

Further, the context through which the story is told, that of the video game, is competitive with any other on the market. Max PayneÂ's revamped visual engine proves very adaptable to a variety of effects, including swimming dreamlike sequences, the much touted bullet-time, large environments, and believable explosions. When married to the Havoc rag-doll effects, the world becomes that much more tangible a place. And, developer Rockstar has the good sense to play with these effects, occasionally setting up situations where a well placed bullet can send a few dozen objects skyward and crashing down again with credibly realistic physics. ItÂ's the small touches of fun, or humor, or entertainment that prove the glistening polish to an already rich experience. Max Payne 2 is a game of wonderfully interconnected moments, and in the sum of its parts, few though they may ultimately prove to be, one should be able to find value to justify its purchase.

Gone are the jumping puzzles, and the incongruous placement of health and weapons. Gone are bizarre manipulation puzzles, irritating key hunts, or the padded gameplay of too many similar gun battles. Max Payne 2 is short, in part, because it eschews what we complain about in every other game, artificial extensions of gameplay through a thousand clichés. Instead, it is dedicated to keeping you in the story and keeping that story moving ever forward at a furious pace. Max Payne 2 is a sprint instead of a twisting jog, or worse a treadmill.

As much a tragic love story, if somewhat melodramatic, as action game, the story picks up essentially where the original left off.  While one could certainly play Max Payne 2 without having played its predecessor, it's not necessarily recommended.  This is a true sequel, and doesn't cut you much slack if you don't recall the plot and faces of the first game.  A quick intro 'Previously on Max Payne' helps reacquaint you with some familiar faces and the ever twisted tale of Mr. Payne, but to really get the full effect this sequel expects you to have played its predecessor. 

At the risk of sounding like a Max Payne apologist, yes there are levels that show up multiple times across the game, but never in precisely the same context or state as visited before. You may find yourself traversing a familiar hall, but itÂ's never simply to get back to the same place youÂ've been before, nor is it presented in the same way. Next time you come back to a given place it will likely be in a completely different state than when you left it, and the differences are more than surface changes.  

 

Yes, there is no great variety of enemies, but neither should there be. Games often allow themselves to be overly burdened by great twisting complexities, become stories where security guards become marines, become government agents, become aliens, become giant mutated monsters from Dimension X, and generally thatÂ's fine because you showed up to shoot guns at whatever moves. Max Payne doesnÂ't follow the conventions of those games. There are no giant looming monsters to battle because the laws of the narrative wouldnÂ't allow it.  In Max Payne 2 there are good guys and there are bad guys, and though the characters may occasionally switch sides the cast stays relatively fixed.

Yes, this is a short game. But, there is a time and place where length is not first, or even near first, in determining the value of a game. Max Payne 2 would ultimately be ruined for what it is by arbitrarily extending the gameplay. Look at it this way: if games were ice cream, most FPS games are the giant tub of brand name vanilla sitting freezer burned on the bottom rack, and Max Payne 2 is the ice cream that costs twice as much but comes in a handheld container about one tenth the size of that bulk ice cream. Usually, you just want some boring old vanilla ice cream - perhaps with some chocolate syrup slapped on the top - and thatÂ's fine for your average July afternoon, but sometimes you get a taste for something denser, more filling, more decadent. Max Payne 2 is that. It is the old adage less is more digitally applied.

ItÂ's hard for me not to recommend Max Payne 2, and so I wonÂ't fight my inclination. Go in with the caveat that itÂ's a short game, one that should be enjoyed as slowly as possible, one that will leave you wishing thereÂ'd been more, but go in nonetheless. This is a thick game full of engaging narrative and a clear sense of style. It is uncompromising in its presentation, perfectly aware that it breaks the rules of conventional gameplay and never shying from the fact that it doesnÂ't care. It admits from the start that, above all else, the story matters and nothing you do, nothing you experience, fails to forward that story. It is well acted; full of scripted events, artistic, smart, and at every turn happy to make fun of itself. And, if you simply canÂ't see spending that kind of money on a short game, then keep your eye open for specials and discounts, because the game deserves your time and attention, be it now or later.

- Elysium