MP2 = Max Payne 2, since Denny has a point that we’re a little MASSOLIT about our love of acronyms.
It seemed a little high for such an original sequel.
The writing was a bit more normal this time around (ie, not as entertaining). The game is only about half as long. I don’t like the new physics and lack of bullet trails. The trick is also up - there’s nothing special about the gameplay.
Other than production values, it seems like your typically average game. If this was the movie industry, it’d get 2 stars. Since this is the game industry, I was thinking 70.
Apparently, according to GameRankings, it’s a 90th percentile game.
I should hand in my game critic’s license.
[edit]Retraction: I just remembered Captain Baseball Bat Boy. All is forgiven. Tom’s score wasn’t over-generous.[/edit]
Guy I work with loves this. But he’s more of a casual gamer.
By the way, would it be that hard to type “Max Payne 2?” This board is acronym-happy, and it took me a minute or so to figure what game you were even talking about… Bullet trails clued me in.
Our ratings system over in the UK is a bit less lenient, so 60-70 or so basically translates as “Meh. S’alright.” Which is about what would be looking at if it landed on my pile. The story is pretty damn terrible, once you get past the part where it stops being vague and pseudo-psychological and actually tells you what it is, although there is some excellent stuff early on - the time-jumps and nightmare sequences are especially good. I did prefer the actual game bits though - the sense of humour in all the little conversations and the far more enjoyable level design and set-pieces made it much more fun to play through than the first one’s seemingly endless corridors. This said, the fact that it was all supposed to be a huge narrative led thing really let it down - I’d have been looking in the 70s until the insane twist at the end of Part 2 and the appalling scripting in the final sequences (Mona turning into an unbelievable idiot, and the actual villain being a joke)
Captain Baseball-Bat Boy was a classic though. Hysterical.
