Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

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!

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.

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.

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.

Great story, gameplays familiar to the first but refined and the graphics are great for the time

I remember playing this in 04 the physics were a new thing in video games and the game dont look to bad for 21 years old! as with all max paynes games they are great games

I didn't really like the story much of the sequel, but it is still worth a try. This one is my siblings' favorite out of the whole franchise. The movement and combat mechanics are so smooth and nice. I just wish it had gotten a better story.

The game works as is for me (win 10 machine). That's a strong point.

As a standalone experience, it's pretty good. Very diverse level settings, interesting but not over complicated investigation story and characters, good music and overall sound design.
The game will get you about 7h of story mode and much more if you go through the many, many mods still available.
As of now, nobody has released a HD texture mod but it's still decent as is (the textures are available out there, if someone wants to do something with it).
There is a quick recap in fully voiced comics style intro to explain the story of the first game. However, albeit not mandatory the first game is still very much a must for the experience.

As a folow up from the first game, it's very decent. It feels like a "requel" (a reboot sequel) so the main character is portrayed by another actor and the story follows the first opus.
This said, the story could also be self contained as they made it so that Max Payne is basically back to its regular job and the family isn't the main focus but rather getting the bad guys because its his cop duty. And then he gets involved with another girl as well. This was hinted in the first game but they go all in with this one and she's the focus of Payne's wrath.
All the other actors are different as well as far as I can tell, both in character design and personality. They are much more in tune with the new story and very serious.
They should have called the game "Max Serious Payne". That would have packed much more punch.

But it's not bad at all. The story is better crafted, so are the characters. The level design has improved and feel much less linear than in the first one, after a while. There are plenty of small details that show how carefully this was made and it's a very pleasant experience.
The comics interludes are still there and voiced very professionally. However, they got rid of one of the best part, at least for me, which is the goofiness.
That's probably why they switched actors, as the new one is very much the macho trench noir cop expected in this genre of story. No nonsense kiss the girl and shoot the bad guys. The previous actor is still there and he's acting in the in game fake TV content. That part is still pretty whacky, though. I enjoyed very much the contrast between the very, very dark story in the first game and the kind of comics goofy stereotypes.

On a technical side, the game has no issues on my recent machine and loads fast. The mechanics are solid, there's no issue with saving, jumping, climbing or bullet time. Even though to my taste, it's a bit useless but that's probably because of decades playing games with this type of mechanics that have been refined over time. I remember back then, it didn't feel like that.

Something to be noted is that the game is massively less difficult. The first one was quite a challenge at times, this one can be enjoyed on hard mode or more straight forward for the story and experience.
Some of the levels are very much at the top regarding creativity. Not as much as the dream sequences of the first one but still really high up. It's pretty amazing to go through very unique levels, which has become a rarity.


All in all, it's very much one of the best game in the genre and of that time. It's a must with the first one and they are often on sale.

Cool game for 2003 year of release and story is attracting. 10/10

Same as MP1 - it’s really impressive how well the 2003 game holds up in 2025.

I prefer MP1 slightly > 2 in terms of gameplay but there are some really creative set pieces in this game, and the storytelling is top notch. With that said, Max is clearly not a good dude. The story does a better job showing that he’s not making the best choices than MP1.

While they keep the sexual content unseen visually for the most part, there is a lot of verbal stuff. Not appropriate for kids whatsoever.

Really impressive but be advised if you play it.

not as good as the original but This is still a great game if you want to catch up on the lore of Max Payne
the combat still carries on from the original in a faithful way and is charming, but from my experience, this and a few (minor) new mechanics made it a bit Easy at certain points

careful for that One Mission though, where you have to escort a certain somebody.. that's the only thing i hate about this game... darn Escort missions...

An overall improvement on the original. It's much more fair than the first and way more polished, although some of the charm was lost. Before playing get the fixes pack from pcgamingwiki in order for it to run properly.

Great game, but not quite as good as the first in my opinion. Could have used more horror-ish segments like the baby crying chapters from the original.

My main criticism is the awful checkpoint system, if you forget to save after a while, say goodbye to a half hour or more of gameplay. I also wasn't a fan of the defend-area/person based chapters. Both of these gripes are fairly common symptoms of a lot of games of its era, however, so I let them slide.

So, if you liked the first, you definitely shouldn't skip this one as its still a great experience.

Awesome sequel to the first game. Same fast gunplay, but a little bit more refined.

Not quite my cup of tea with the romance, but it's a good direction for Max's character after he moves on from the last game.

It gets a bit repetitive towards the end, BUT the game is like six hours. It doesn't have the gritty winter atmosphere of the first game, although the constant rain adds its own dreariness. Definitely worth playing.

It's kinda funny that most of the game is super serious, but then there's an escort mission where we have to protect some Italian guy in a Captain Baseball Bat Boy suit

Just thought I should say this to anyone who is struggling to play the game on Windows 11. I spent 2 days trying to get the game to work, however it kept randomly crashing, sometimes after 10 minutes and other times as soon as I booted up the game. I followed every guide, downloaded every fix, but nothing seemed to work. Until some random comment on reddit from awhile ago suggested to change steam.exe affinity to 1 cpu in task manager. As soon as made this change the game worked. I've so far been able to play the game over the past day and with no crashes. I hope this helps anyone who is thinking of getting the game or is struggling to run it.

This has been my favorite game of all-time for about 20 years now, and I have played it across all platforms that it has been released for. Obviously, this is the best way to play it, the way it was made to be played. For all of the aging it has done since 2003, it still holds up just as well as day one in my heart. Nothing really ever needs to change about this game. Well, the widescreen fix (shouts out ThirteenAG) is pretty nice to prevent some stretching at modern resolutions. But nothing on the actual gameplay side. I love this game. Shooting in regular speed, shooting in slow motion, diving in slow motion, its all great. Story and characters are memorable, the voice acting is great (RIP James McCaffrey). Go play this game.

Gameplay wise, an improved iteration in comparison to the first entry. Nevertheless, I feel like there are too many enemies in lots of awkward locations. Regarding the plot, it stands really decent, nothing exceptional in particular. But what I really liked was the locations and how detailed they were. The corny theme park, ridiculous tv shows playing in some rooms through the game - I really liked those aspects

Great gameplay and design just like the first game with a few improvements on bullet time. Only downfall was the weird story change to being mostly about Mona.

A short but equally enchanting continuation of a dark, action packed one of a kind crime drama.

The thrills are kicked up a few gears and so are the amounts of painkillers. This one is for the story embracing romantics with a trigger finger.

Great sequel to the original Max Payne. Not a lot of new mechanics, but it is still the good old Max Payne. I liked the way the story is told from different perspectives of Max and Mona. The length of the game is similar to the previous one— not too long, not too short, but just perfect. I really like that the game doesn't waste your time. Also, this game has aged better than the original since you can buy it easily and don't need many mods to play it.

It's a classic. It runs on a potato. This is just an arbitrary good review. Never actually played this all the way through (wasn't allowed as a kid, though I snuck the first Max Payne on my mobile phone and played it that way). This is just a solid time playing a linear single player game with slow-mo John Woo type-a action. If you just watched The Matrix and you're like "I need something like that but in a video game", look no further.

A game about a crazy cop with PTSD and a Vicodin addiction. Complete with hallucinations and revenge. So good game, good game....

Play this game the story is freaking awesome! sam your a genius!
dude the ending was just 😭😭
The gameplay is good by the way. 8/10

Well I finished the game in just 4 hours, I would only recommend this game if you are a max payne fan, soon the game might get delisted from steam since its an old game and R☆ might bring the remastered version so buy the game and add this to the collection

This game does not work on modern PC platforms. And the first game. It's literally a scam. This is an amazing game I grew up playing and I can't get it to run? I tried everything to get this game to work and nothing. Do not buy! And Steam take this game off the store now!