A new physics engine has been employed, giving “rag doll” characteristics to animation (think flailing corpses), and the entire game is filled with destructible objects that explode and generally add to the atmosphere of carnage during the frequent shootouts. Graphically Max Payne 2 looks stunning, with top animation, great character modelling and some gorgeous settings - dark and gloomy New York City settings, but gorgeous nonetheless. This is great news for poor players, as it makes Max all but invincible - for a few minutes at least.

A slight tweak to bullet time sees Max being able to move about quickly instead of slowing down along with his enemies. Yes, that’s right - just like in The Matrix. For those not familiar with the first game, this is where Max can effectively slow down time for short periods yet still aim and fire his weapon in real time. This is where “bullet time” makes a welcome return. Of course, frantic action is all well and good but it has been done before. It makes for some frantic game play with more than a few … erm, gunfire hails. It’s more than just a narrative homage to old crime flicks, too - the whole game plays out in cinematic fashion, complete with cut scenes and the odd slow-motion shot of a bad guy’s corpse being flung backward under a hail of gunfire. Throw in a blatantly obvious plot twist, some in-jokes and an endless supply of gun-toting thugs, and that’s the basis of the story. Naturally, things get a bit hot and heavy in a melodramatic, 1930s-detective-movie kind of way. During the course of a routine investigation, he comes across Mona Sax, a woman he thought was long dead.

The story picks up almost immediately after the events of the first game and we find our hero back at work for the New York police department - homicide division of course. The fans wanted more Payne, and more Payne is what they got. There’s no point making changes simply for the sake of making changes. This is probably why Remedy, the game's creator, decided to play it safe and stick with pretty much the same underlying game structure for the sequel Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, opting to merely tweak the odd thing here and there. The original Max Payne was always going to be a tough act to follow - after all, it introduced PC gamers to a gritty, film noir-themed shoot-'em-up that oozed as much style as it did blood.

Max payne 2 blood modeling