Two years have passed since Max Payne first embarked on his desperate quest for revenge. Returning to his former position as a detective in the New York City Police Department, Max is assigned to investigate a series of murders carried out by group of contract killers known as the Cleaners. Unexpectedly, Max encounters the enigmatic Mona Sax, whom he assumed dead. People from his past begin to return one by one, and Max gradually realizes that he did not know everything about the mysterious Circle and those who were involved in the murder of his family. Somebody out there is trying to kill Max, and he must find the answers before they succeed.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a direct sequel to Max Payne. The game is very similar to its predecessor in gameplay concept and presentation, bringing back noir detective atmosphere, cinematic John Woo-style action, and cutscenes shaped like comic book panels.

The game is built on the same engine as the predecessor, with several additional special effects and enhancements, such as dynamic shadows and lighting, cubic mapped reflections, and high resolution textures. The Havok engine with ragdoll physics is used to enhance the interactivity with the game world: objects can be moved and destroyed, physically responding to the actions of the player character and opponents.

A new feature in the sequel is the possibility to use secondary weapons alongside regulars guns, namely melee strikes, grenades and Molotov cocktails. Certain characters will join Max and fight on his side from time to time. The player also controls Mona Sax during a few stages. The Bullet Time feature from the previous game has been upgraded to version 2.0, in which Max's speed in bullet time increases as he gets more kills consecutively.

During the first playthrough the game only offers one difficulty level. If the player struggles to succeed, the game will automatically lower the difficulty, reducing the effectiveness of enemy fire and increasing the amount of painkillers. Additional difficulty levels are unlocked when the player completes the game, as well as two new modes: New York Minute and Dead Man Walking. The first awards the player with a score for completing a level as quickly as possible, while the second has Max fighting endlessly respawning enemies.

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Screenshots

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Windows Spraying the guards with bullets.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne PlayStation 2 Mona coming up to the rescue in the nick of time

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Windows Max waits for his enemies in the dark...

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne PlayStation 2 Main Title

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Promo Images

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Screenshot

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Other Enter the Site

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Wallpaper

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Trailer

Alternate Titles

"英雄本色2：马克思配恩之秋" -- Simplified Chinese spelling

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Part of the Following Groups

User Reviews

Is the glass half empty or is it half full?	Windows	Slug Camargo (589)
Some guys just shouldn't bother with the dames...	Xbox	DarkBubble (376)
Max is back and even more maudlin!	Windows	Scott Monster (1009)
More Payne...	Windows	Sam Hardy (82)
More than I hoped it would be.	Windows	Dave Schenet (138)
Max Payne 2: Electric Boogaloo	Xbox	MasterMegid (902)
One of my favorites!	Windows	reeZe Risowisch (11)
Certainly a great game, but not necessarily better than the original.	Windows	kbmb (435)
Yep, he fell alright...	Windows	SifouNaS (1326)
The fall of Max Payne, indeed.	Windows	Ola Sverre Bauge (241)

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Critic Reviews

Withingames	Windows	Oct 27, 2003	5 out of 5	100
WomenGamers.com	Windows	Nov 03, 2003	9.875 out of 10	99
Gry OnLine	Windows	Nov 03, 2003	90 out of 100	90
GameSpot	Xbox	Nov 25, 2003	8.4 out of 10	84
Game Freaks 365	Xbox	Dec 09, 2003	8.1 out of 10	81
G4 TV: X-Play	Windows	Apr 11, 2006		80
Gamigo	PlayStation 2	Feb 13, 2004	7.7 out of 10	77
Game Chronicles	PlayStation 2	Dec 17, 2003	7.3 out of 10	73
Clubic	Windows	Oct 29, 2003		60
Game Shark	Windows	Nov 05, 2003	D+	33

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Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
Need help with retarded ending	4	Indra was here (20862) Jan 29, 2011
Please help to Max Payne Movie!	2	Ace of Sevens (4471) Nov 12, 2007

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Max Payne

Max Payne looks very different in comparison to the predecessor because this time a professional actor, Timothy Gibbs' was used as Payne's face instead of writer Sami Järvi.

References

Towards the end of the game, one of the police officers quotes one of Max's first lines from the first game; "They are all dead." In both instances, the police are arriving after the situation has been resolved.
If you listen to the messages on Vinnie Gognitti's answering machine, you'll hear a threat from the "God Father." Someone did a an impression of the late Marlon Brando.
First time Max walks around the police HQ, there are two cops in basement garage. The cops are modeled and named after 3D Realms leads and co-founders George Broussard and Scott Miller. Pay attention to their dialogue; it makes fun out of the long production time of Duke Nukem Forever, ending with 3D Realms' legendary release date slogan ("When it's done!").
In the level "Dearest of All My Friends", Max and Vinnie escape in a delivery van which has the word "Deliverator" written on its side. According to Joe Siegler, it's a reference to Remedy's earlier racing game Death Rally, where "Deliverator" is the most powerful car in the game.

References to the game

May Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne was parodied in an episode of "Die Redaktion" (The Editorial Team), a monthly comedy video produced by the German gaming magazine GameStar. It was published on the DVD of issue 06/2007.

Awards

4Players
- 2003 – Best PC Story of the Year
- 2003 – Best PC Graphics of the Year
- 2003 – Best PC Successor of the Year
GameSpy
- 2003 – #8 PC Game of the Year
GameStar (Germany)
- February 13, 2004 - Best PC Action Game in 2003 (Readers' Vote)
- Issue 12/2008 - One of the "10 Coolest Levels" (For "A Linear Sequence of Scares". It is the highlight of the game because it is very different from the rest of the game, represents a silly image of Max' soul and offers many surprising script sequences.)