Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (Xbox)

But, of course, no game is perfect, and Max Payne 2 has it's fair share of flaws. Firstly, it's too damn short. You'll love every minute of it, but when the end arrives you may feel a little short changed. Secondly, the ragdoll physics, although mostly excellent, occasionally glitch and end up looking a bit, well, crap. A shame, as the rest of the game looks stunning. Otherwise, everything's as tight as a drum. Some say the bullet time is flawed, but with proper mastery, wiping out a room full of goons never gets old - especially with a pair of Ingram sub-machine guns in your posession.

Gameplay highlights include the funhouse level based on a TV show that plays throughout the game (an excellent parody of David Lynch's Twin Peaks, I might add), and is gloriously surreal. The hand-drawn sets and cardboard-cut-out characters are sheer genius. In fact, the whole game is one big highlight, and thanks to the Havok physics engine, each playthrough can differ depending on how you interact with the environment. Offed bad guys stumble into chairs, fall over balconies and get their limbs caught on stuff - it's completely overblown and unrealistic, as is the nature of the game. The major improvement over the previous game, however, is the upgraded Bullet Time system that now allows for more varied use of Max's slow-mo abilities, and just looks cooler, which is the most important thing, right?

There are a hundred unique touches that make Max Payne truly unique including chattering enemies, hilarious, self-depreciating humour and self-referential TV shows that mirror Max's life. And then there's the graphic novel wherein the game's plot is advanced between levels on the pages of a comic book; gritty, hard-boiled voiceover and all.

So, let's get down to the nitty gritty; should you spend forty hard-earned notes on this? Well, that depends. If you're expecting depth and longevity, look elsewhere, but if you're cup of tea is pure, unadulterated fun, then Max Payne 2 is the game for you. Entertaining but short-lived.

The storyline really sucks. Unnecessarily complicated and yet predictable at the same time. It's totally unengaging, the compelling urge of mysteries to be unraveled from Max Payne 1 is completely gone.

The gameplay is not as bad, but still worse than Max Payne 1. A lot of the time, especially in later levels, you'll be suddenly overrun by enemies and your only resort will be to load a saved game and to anticipate the ambush. This seems to be calculated in, which i find a sign of lazy design. The most blatant of these is a level where a building is on fire and barrels are exploding all the time. Unless you know which barrels are going to explode next, it's a question of luck -or a lot of reloads- whether you'll survive. It doesn't make the game any more difficult, either. Once you know where and when enemies will show up, the game's a doddle.

Level design is ok, except for those pesky ambushes. Some levels are very repetitive and quite unimaginative. I'm getting tired of construction yard and mansion levels...
One that stands out in a really good way is the funhouse level. It has some nice graphics and is basically a lot of fun to play.

Some levels are played in tandem by Max and Mona, with the player switching between the two characters. This could've been a nice touch, but it's actually just a gimmick. You can't switch between characters yourself, and there's no difference between their abilities. The duo levels are few and far apart, so there's no consistency.

The final 'showdown' is a real disappointment. Very anti-climatic, you only know that this is the final level when it's almost over.

The verdict: I wouldn't buy it at it's full price, but wait until it ends up in the bargain bin at about 30. The gameplay is still great and level design is good, so it's a fun game. It just has some very crippling flaws...

I'm so lost for words after finishing this and I felt I owed a few words to everybody reading these reviews and considering buying this game to tap something out for you.

I bought this game myself after finding it on the rockstar site and then reading the amazon reviews. All I can say is it's truly amazing, breathtaking and pure quality!!!!

The storyline is brilliant and each chapter will keep you on your toes. The best thing about this game is that its quite easy to complete and for me thats one of the best parts of it (I'm not a hardened gamer myself) and who the heck wants to play a game they can't win???

After seeing this I also purchased the first version, although I am technically playing them back to front I felt another max payne "fix" was bound to be needed after this and so I ordered that the moment I saw how good max payne 2 was!

Rockstar games rule! Just get it and you'll love it (play it on the big telly though).

I'm off to complete the first one now and all I can say is the opening sequence on that also looks awesome.