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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing style and storyline- better than most movies, 11 Dec 2003
By A Customer
Like the original Max Payne, MP2 is extremely cinematic: it is a story of crime and passion in the best traditions of film noir. The presentation is just as crisp as the original, includng a vast improvement on the `graphic-novel' which looks of a far higher quality. A very nice touch is the summary of the last game included for those that didn't play it. The voice acting is superb: all voices convincing and suitably moody.The graphics are still a little bit shakey, but are an enormous improvement on the pretty-good original: in each case considering the amount of data being shifted in the little 32Mb memory of the PS2 both games are impressive. That said the grainyness and occasionally blank patches of detail, with some slowdown add to the atmosphere , if anything. As before bullet-time is great: looks great, works well and in MP2 is much improved on its effects. The AI of the opposition is much better than in MP1, or at least seems to be from what I remember of it. The controls are streamlined a little from the original and are more intuitive- they were quite intuitive before. For some reason Max still is incapable of walking: only running- not a big deal, but it does grate on the nerves in high places and narrow spaces. The gunfights are, of course, outstanding: very fast, very vicious and great fun. The storyline is, as with the first game, the best feature especially when combined with the magnificent presentation: the plot is involved, complex and quite deep- as with the original the solid feeling that it will all end in tears is very apparent. A happy game MP2 is not. The soundbites, TV clips and so on from the original are present and much, much bigger: several minutes long in some cases. Often these are ironically funny, and sometimes very disturbing- as befits the situation. The hallucination sequences are well implemented and, so far, more subtle than the original: although every bit as disturbing. This may change as I'm only an hour or two into the game. Simply put Max Payne 2 is excellent: a massive improvement on the excellent original. A simple addition, that adds greatly to the atmosphere is Max's ability to interact with other characters in ways other than shooting them, albeit in a limited way. To see this pushed further and having the investigation as a very active section of the game, rather than backing up the story would be a great addition. Probably unviable in the small memory of the PS2, perhaps. A brilliant game worth anyone's money: given its not hugely different from MP1 I can't give it 5 stars, even though for enjoyment factor I think its worth it. Both games are awesome, dark thrillers a huge sight better than most movies of similar lines that are produced at the moment.
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Suitable for 15 years and over. Not for sale to persons under age 15. By placing an order for this product, you declare that you are 15 years of age or over.
