Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

gameplay wise, max payne 2 is much of the same as the first game, but it doesn't need to reinvent itself when the gameplay is already so good. the real improvements come with the graphics, style, and plot. you can definitely see a major improvement in the graphics between the first and second games especially when you play them back to back. the game is also more stylish in some areas making things more satisfying. the plot also is amazing, and ties up many of the loose ends from the first game in a neat little bow. like a movie sequel that's better than the first, max payne 2 is amazing.

Not that much of playtime on the story but definitely still playable even in 2024, but you have to do some fixes for Windows 10 and 11 to play it.. Overall a great game!

A great sequel to a classic. The only shortcoming of Max Payne 2 is the story being shorter than the first game. The gameplay is still solid, its smoother and a bit more polished than the original. Also, it doesn't require any fixing before playing, you can just install it and play it.

I remember the first time I played Max Payne 2.
It was late 2003.
I was fifteen — older, but still not quite ready for the deeper cut this story would leave.
This time, the rain felt different.
The city felt colder, and Max felt even more broken than before.
But it wasn’t just a game.
It was the beginning of the end.

The game opened like a dream, a haunting blend of reality and nightmare.
I saw Max slip deeper into his own madness.
The world around him was chaos, and he was stuck in it.
I wasn’t playing.
I was spiraling with him.
The lines between love, loss, and vengeance blurred like smoke.

The gunfights were even more frantic than before, but this time, it wasn’t just survival.
It was something darker.
Something that felt inevitable.
Max wasn’t trying to save himself anymore.
He was just surviving the fall.

Every moment in Max Payne 2 felt like a confession — a whisper in the dark.
Max’s pain, his loss, they were no longer just part of the story.
They were part of me.
Every bullet he fired was another piece of his soul leaving him, and I felt the weight of each one.

Sometimes, I’d pause.
And just watch Max stand there, looking at nothing.
A man caught between two worlds, trying to make sense of a life that had already shattered.
The game wasn’t just about revenge anymore.
It was about trying to survive the things that you couldn’t outrun.

Sometimes I wish Steam had a "eh" option for reviews because I found it hard to choose between a positive or negative recommendation for Max Payne 2. The first one had a pulpy originality to it which I found charming and enjoyable playing it even 24 years later. Max Payne 2, by contrast, just feels like more of Max Payne 1. That's fine enough, I liked Max Payne 1, but the greater technical art I feel lets it down in the pulpy noire storytelling department.

Max Payne 1 was sufficiently low budget that I felt like I was laughing along with a crunchy student film. It took itself seriously, but that endearing sort of way where it's taking itself so seriously, it almost wraps back around to being parody. This game is just a little bit higher budget and that makes how pulpy the story still is a little bit harder to enjoy. There were times where I felt I was laughing at the game, rather than with it.

It's still fun, it's more Max Payne, and it makes an interesting reference point to see Remedy's earlier attempts at the themes of predestination and meta-genre that they went on to explore in Alan Wake. However in terms of within the Max Payne franchise, it feels like a middle child that you wouldn't be missing huge amounts to skip.

When I try to launch the game, the game is not appearing, but when I go to steam it is running. Please fix this issue.

Personally i don't like it as much as the first one. It has a really good story and solid gameplay, but it sometimes feel to easy. The soundtrack was a banger and the ending was great.

10/8.5

A great game with a nice atmosphere, lore goes deep and the artworks are stunning.

- One of the best games of the era. Fun bullet time hell and a decent story to get you through

This is the sh8t game at all I did everything but nothing happens this game is dead

Very short, unfortunately. Gameplay has been vastly improven and it is great fun.

Great story. Great atmosphere. Great action for its time.

Definitely one of the classics that time sort of forgot. Do yourself a favour and try it out.

I think I prefer this to the first one tbh. While the first game is phenomenal, the sequel has a couple of improvements, such as chapter select, bullet dodge doesn't use bullet time and a fancy reload animation that ducks under bullets while in bullet time. The final boss fight is probably the only bad part of the game imo, it just wasn't a good fight.

The first game was great, but this one is better. Definitely worth playing.

achei um jogo muito bom a forma do jogo e interessante e por algum motivo me lembra o filme matrix

Really good game with a few levels that seem a bit rushed, particularly the final boss fight. But still worth the price

Max Payne 2 brings more of a love story into the mix of an action-noir story. The concept really works out. Big step up in graphics during this era of video games. Mostly, this game is a big step up in every component to a video game. It's not as good as the first Max Payne game as in terms of story in my opinion. Overall, this game is a good game with a thrilling story. Rating: 8.5/10

For its time, this game was a masterpiece. Even today I didn’t feel it was soo much outdated or clunky. It runs perfectly on modern hardware (you just need to install a widescreen fix), so if you’ve never played it before, I highly recommend giving it a try!

An improvement on the first in every way. Especially because this one actually worked for me right out of my box. I ended up playing the first on xbox and I still enjoyed. Still a great game but I think this one just really dials everything in perfectly.

Max Payne 2 is an excellent sequel to an already great game. Nothing but improvements are added as an addition to the original source. Gameplay is heavily improved with physics changes to the engine, improvements to bullet time and character swapping in the story. Bullet time is improved by allowing the meter to be filled up with each kill instead of having to wait for it recharge. There are now explosive items to shoot that fly around the room and cause chaos thanks to the physics changes. As for the story, it's more of the same except with a different focus. The graphic novel cutscenes make their return and the story has the same presentation. While the foundation of the plot is still a neo-noir crime conspiracy, the main focus of the story is actually the mental anguish of Max and his relationship with Mona Sax. The story will explore how the trauma and ptsd from the death of his family and the events of the first game effect Max. It will also explore his love and falling for Mona. Overall, I thought it was a great continuation of the First game and I'm curious to see what Max Payne 3 has in store. It functioned perfectly fine on my steam deck with no patches or tinkering. Buy on sale.

Love can turn into anger when deep emotional investment leads to disappointment or hurt. When trust is broken, such as through betrayal or dishonesty, it creates pain that, if unaddressed, transforms into anger as a defense mechanism against further hurt. This anger often stems not just from the action itself, but from the fear of being hurt or abandoned again. At its core, the shift from love to anger is driven by emotional imbalance, where one partner feels unheard, unloved, or disrespected. In these cases, anger becomes a way to cope with the pain, though it can often push the individuals further apart rather than healing the relationship.

Good game. Check out PCGamingWiki for some fan patches such as one for widescreen support. Game seems to have (almost) native support for 120+ FPS without any game breaking glitches, besides one, where a character will get stuck while trying to walk out of a room. This can be fixed by quicksaving (F5).

AWESOME! It was the real final max payne game for me. Max Payne 3 is just so different.

A great follow-up to the critically acclaimed prequel, this delivers more on basically every front that the first game had set the standard for; gameplay has been improved in subtle ways that greatly enhance the experience, the graphics have seen a considerable step up and the storyline, despite being a bit confusing to navigate at first (perhaps intentionally so) takes a lot of interesting twists and turns.

Just like the entry before it though, you will have to do a bit of patching to get it running on modern hardware; this time the only thing you'll need is the Startup Hang Patch, though I have heard some people may have audio issues here as well, of which there is also a readily available fix for that, too.

If you wanted more Max Payne, this delivers in spades. I highly recommend!

"This is love. When someone drags you from the wreckage when you have given in, ready to just lie there and die. This is love. When someone, no matter what the cost, shows you there is hope, a choice, that you can put down your gun. This is love. Love hurts." -Max Payne

Good Game only if you play with cheats bots has more power than main character

And we keep driving into the night
It's a late goodbye, such a late goodbye
And we keep driving into the night, it's a late goodbye

pretty good, although it is my least favorite in the trilogy. the game spends a lot of time trying to make you care about max and mona's love story but they have almost no chemistry, thus making their whole love-dovey shit kinda boring.

the story in this game is noticeably worse than the first game, and even the third one. i know people are pretty torn about 3's different direction in story-telling but i'd argue it's a hell of a lot more interesting than listening to max whine about some slag for 6 hours. it doesn't help that this is the shortest game in the series and nearly half of it is spent on some construction site. most of the levels are pretty boring looking and not interesting at all, the funhouse being a notable exception.

despite all of that, i still think it's a fun game on its own, i mean, if you love slow motion diving shooty-shooty gameplay, then this is definitely up your alley. it's definitely a lot more polished than the first game in terms of gameplay.

Like the name implies, it's just Max Payne, but more. The story is furthered and comes to a nice conclusion, there are more guns, better grenade systems, a lot more environmental hazards. It's a great game, just as the first one was, and comes off as more polished without losing the Remedy charm. It even works as is, even if you full-screen it without the fix (which will make the image appear a bit "squashed"). Good game, worth the time and money.

i purchase this kkt game and it doesn t start ...fk it

Unfortunately, I can't even load the store page for Max Payne 1 because it's not available for my region anymore for some reason :/

I first played this because it was backwards compatible on Xbox. As I have now recently found out, that is not the true way to play it. Through my playthrough on PC I have now come to fully appreciate this game as the masterpiece it is. I 100% easily recommend it. The only major problem with it, much like the first, is that you may need to do some troubleshooting to be able to launch it.

My childhood. Great game for the time when it was released and awesome for now.

Doesnt work on modern computers and you need to download an inofficial patch to get it to work.. fuck that. :)

Huge improvement from the first game. The only downside is...no more Sam Lake's face :(

"I had a dream of my wife.
She was dead,
But it was all right."

ive watched gameplay...didnt play it because it doesnt launch,but gameplay i watched you know because i cant play it because it doesnt launch...which reminds me why rockstar games always fail to work for no aparent reason and they dont fix em for 15 years and do terrible remaster of them and charge triple for them and they still dont work? rockstar games should be renamed into rockstar barely games or rockstar you need our buggy unresponsive terrible launcher for no reason to play our games i like max payne but this doesnt launch and theres no patches to fix it and i dont wanna waste time finding and fixing something someone charged me for its 2,5 dollars and i still dont want to buy it again dont get me wrong game worth 2,5 dollars i just dont wanna give them to rockstar its simple really rockstar makes their launcher that wont work i dont buy their games i got maxpayne 3 couldnt play either because of the launcher it didnt open it said its running but its not then i managed to run the launcher it crashed then when i tried to log it didnt so i asked nice people from steam for a refund and now i avoid rockstar almost games

One of the best sequels I have ever played. 10/10. No complaints.

Just make sure to install the patches needed to run it on modern hardware. They are, as per the norm, linked with installation guides in the community discussions threads.

The city's still a graveyard, and I'm still digging. The gameplay's sharper, the bullet time smoother, but the raw, personal noir is missing. Mona Sax keeps things interesting, a ghost I can't shake. It's short... too short... but still a damn good ride. Back in the saddle, even if the fall is inevitable.

Short story with chaotic combat mechanics. The bullet time for instance is fun to use it feels like I am Neo from The Matrix it feels pretty badass. The thing is the boss fight feels a little underwhelming as it is just a "shoot this make this thing fall" type of boss fight which is kind of bland in my opinion. The amount of health supplies in this game is pretty generous tho, I would imagine that it will be more uncommon in the rise of difficulty. Storywise i think it is decent but the emotional value is not really there as i dont have enough time to invest in each character for example Mona. Still there is a lot of replayability with the various difficulty and game modes which is nice. Overall a very fun shooter game for people that like to feel badass.

undisputed CLASSIC of PC gaming. Truly ahead of it's time in every sense of the phrase. From the unbelievable writing, innovative cut-scenes, and unrivaled gameplay that you could play and replay for hours and hours. And with mods, it makes the capabilities and longevity of this game unmatched. Rockstar is supposedly remaking the Max Payne franchise in collaboration with Remedy so I'm hope full that when those games come out, they're going to smash it out of the park like they always do.

Quick info: Works without problems on Ubuntu, with Proton 9.0 enabled, nothing else needed after installation.

Max Payne, both 1 and 2 still holds up, the story is entertaining, and for fans of newer Remedy games - it's very interesting to learn the story of Max/Alex Casey and see what references were made in AW and Control. Looking forward to the remaster in the future, but I also recommend playing this one, as It's an interesting piece of gaming history and genuinely fun game

Great game, worth getting. If you liked first one, you will love this one.

Going from Max Payne 1 to 2 is like night and day. They made so many great improvements and its still super fun.

I first found out about this game when I was in probably first grade when I would watch my older brother play it. Once he was done playing he would let me try it out ( mind you this is on a PS2) and I would never make it out of the first mission. I am now 22 and got to relive me childhood and finally beat the game. Even though the game is super simple it is definitely one of my favorite games of all time!

This game is a really solid improvement from the first one. While the story isn't as interesting as the game that came before it, it's still pretty solid, albeit short. It's less of a revenge story and more of a "forbidden love" story. The game-play is a huge improvement. Bullet time feels smooth and much more fun to use. Movement is greatly improved in which you can dodge bullets and enemy fire more easily. Level design was very well done as well, with many places to take cover in and good areas to lead enemies into your cross-hair. Overall, Max Payne 2 is a great sequel that improves from the first.

Great sequel to the first game, the ending was very fitting. The neo noir story with the comics was great. You also get to play as Mona Sax for some segments of the game which switches things up a bit. Some of the game mechanics are different to make the game easier than the first, like when you go into bullet time your character is able to move at a normal speed compared to everyone else. Overall though I felt the game was more polished than the first and is definitely on par with the first game. The story is much shorter than the first one on normal difficulty.

There is a part of the game where Vinnie gets stuck, but I believe it is due to the framerate running too high for such an old game. If you use software to limit your fps to 60 it fixes these issues.

it had a decent story but half of the time it made sense i'm just glad it wasn't a complete nostalgia throwback like most sequels i've played

it was decent but not as good as the first one. Its not bad but it was a good enjoyable game

The game is unplayable on modern PCs without a fan made patch/fix, so installing that is the first step in making Max Payne 2 work. Other than that, it's still a good experience, and even though outdated, slow time mechanics still work and offer a lot of fun. And the story and the writing are as great as they have always been.

However, the game is not without its drawbacks. It has arguably the worst NPC escort mission in the history of videogames, and dream scenes have so much blur you'd want to puke. Moreover, level design seems like a step back compared to the first Max Payne: there's too much backtracking and many locations are reused later in the game. And even though MP2 is rather short, you will definitely notice that. Thankfully, its length is actually a plus: just as you get tired of the gameplay, the story comes to an end. And if you want more, there are higher difficulties and an arcade game mode where you have to kill endles waves of spawning enemies.

This follow-up game holds its own and delivers solid visuals and a well-crafted film noir-like story. It's worth checking out if you're a fan of the first game. Highly recommended. "Hurt my ass, Payne was his name, Payne!"

Continuation of the first, more guns to play with and some quality of life changes.