ESRB Rating - M for Mature (17+) Blood, Intense Violence, Mature Sexual Themes, and Strong Language
My Rating - M for Mature (17+) This game shouldn't be played by children under the age of 17.
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Graphics:

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is the first game to really ?use? the Havoc physics engine. The shimmering graphics and amazingly realistic textures will surely dazzle you from the beginning. The graphics only get better as the story progresses and the enemies flow in more and more. The Havoc physics engine takes ragdoll physics to a new level. If you shoot an explosive container near 2 or 3 enemies, they all get caught on fire and fly through the air like trapeze artists. Max?s jacket will whip in the wind and move from left to right while Max is running. The graphics couldn?t be more spot on and realistic. Artificial rain smacks tin roofs with a thud, and slides off of Max?s jacket with a patter. The first Max Payne had revolutionary graphics, and the same can be said for Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. Max Payne 2 receives an A+ in graphics.

Sound:

Sound plays an integral part in the immersion factor of Max Payne 2. Running alerts guards to your presence, where as the same thing goes for them. If you shoot your weapon, guards are going to hear it and come running. Most of the time this is a good thing, because if you hide, their footsteps ring off and you can hear where they are coming from. Sometimes weather factors play a part in the game?s sound as well. If guards are running in the rain, their footsteps will be hard to hear, therefore making it hard for you to know where they are coming from. The sound effects and their matching textures make playing Max Payne 2 an true gaming experience. The weapons in Max Payne 2 each have their own unique sounds and reloading sound effects. No two guns will ever sound the same either firing or reloading. This really adds a uniqueness to Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne and immerses you even more into the game. Max Payne 2 receives an A+ in sound.

Story:

Max Payne is a free man, with a huge favor brought in by Alfred Woden. Max just can?t seem to stay out of trouble though, because he?s being hunted again for murder, and this time he did it. Mona Sax mysteriously has returned, and with a story to tell as well. Mona Sax is Max?s love interest throughout the game. His life in ruins, Max Payne finds himself back on the NYPD. During a routine murder investigation he runs into Mona Sax, a woman he thought dead, a femme fatale murder suspect. She holds the keys to the questions that haunt him. But nothing is simple in the dark and tragic night of New York City. An army of underworld thugs stands between Max and the answers he seeks. His journey deeper into his own personal hell continues. Max Payne 2 receives an A+ in story.

Gameplay:

The gameplay in Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne can get very repetitive very fast. There are no puzzles to figure out like in the first Max Payne, and this just takes away from the gameplay. This game is simply a power vs. power battle, who has the strongest weapons and best aim. Max Payne 2 is more of a run and gun game than anything else. The gameplay is very easy, and will get boring after 4 or 5 levels of the same thing. Once the Kalashnikov AK-47 is entered into your weapons, the game becomes a blast through boring shooter. Enemies flow into just to be shot down one right after another, and would prefer firepower to cover and strategy. If you can look past the repetitiveness of the gameplay in Max Payne 2 then this game is quite fun. There are a nice selection of weapons that you can choose from to pick off enemies and ammo is never scarce. A few of the weapons would be Ingrams(Uzis), MP5, Desert Eagle, Beretta, Sawn Off Shotgun, and the Dragunov Sniper Rifle. Max Payne 2 receives a C- in gameplay.

Appropriateness:

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is full of blood, gore, intense violence, very mature sexual themes, and VERY bad language. Violence is to be expected in a sequel to Max Payne, but the added sexual themes, and bad language aren?t called for. Mona Sax is seen in the shower, while Max walks in and she asks him to hand her a towel. She covers herself and walks out of the room with the towel around her waist. This scene isn?t really that bad, just a bit of sexual innuendo, but what this scene leads up to is highly inappropriate. Max Payne has nightmares, and about the second or third nightmare, Max finds himself in a bathroom again, Mona?s bathroom. You hear Mona loudly moaning and saying very provocative things. It just wasn?t necessary and a waste of good game space. Mona and Max also have a confrontation against a wall, where Max puts Mona up against the wall and they kiss and moan. Max meets up with a gun toting hooker who is dressed very scantily. The use of alcohol and drugs can be seen within Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne quite a few times. There is also an execution within the game, a woman is tied to a chair and shot in the head. All of this is seen close up, and nothing is held back. This game curses worse than The Sopranos and doesn?t let up on the cursing. The F-word is said in succession 3 times, and then twice more not 1 minute later. I won?t go any further into the cursing because there are too many times to list. This game is flat out sickening in appropriateness. Max Payne 2 receives an F in appropriateness.

Overall:

If you liked the first Max Payne, then chances are you will like the sequel. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne gets very repetitive, and is massively inappropriate. The graphics are intensely realistic, and the sound adds to the immersion. In a whole, Max Payne 2 is an ok game. As with the first game, Max Payne 2 is not long lived as there is no multiplayer and the single player is far too short. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne should not be played by anyone under the age of 17. From a Christian standpoint, this game is a sad waste of a video game, and should never even be installed. Overall, Max Payne 2 receives a C+ or a 77 percent.