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Platform:
PC Genre:
Action Publisher:
Rockstar Developer:
Remedy ETA:
Q4 2003
Related Links:
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Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
I
can’t hide my anticipation for this sequel so before I subject you to
my own speculation and possible fanboy-ism check the features: Storyline
- a violent, Film Noir love story between a cop and a femme fatale
murder suspect, between Max Payne and Mona Sax. Dark, tragic and
intense, the story is a thrill-ride of shocking twists and revelations. Max
Payne's signature slow motion gunplay has been improved on every level.
Get ready for Bullet Time 2.0. New
guns and new moves make action more cinematic and intense than ever
before.
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Fully
integrated Havok physics engine allows for interactive environments
creating incredible combat scenes. Ragdoll characters and physics in
slow motion create breath-taking combat scenes. All
new AI - cooperative NPC's fight with Max and more believable enemies
create tension and more interesting and varied challenge. A
stunning level of detail: Extremely detailed environments with
photorealistic textures, highly enhanced radiosity lighting and
extremely lifelike characters (including facial animations & lip
synchronization) provide a visually staggering cinematic experience. |
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Massive
production values - including a motion picture stunt crew, professional
talent for voice acting and graphic novels, motion capture and authentic
digital source material from New York City. The
above features are to be expected from a sequel – better graphics, new
AI, co-op NPC’s, and improved physics.
Not many had complaints about the original’s presentation.
No, the most reviled aspect of the original was the writing.
“Laughable” was the most used description.
I disagree. Whether
it was intended to be funny or not, it alleviated the non-stop violence
of the rest of the game. I
hope Remedy pens the same kind of script and story – a skewed
conglomeration of detective story clichés (dating back to the radio
dramas of the ‘40s and ‘50s) and tough-guy one-liners from more
recent cinema fare. And
with a love interest named Mona Sax, Remedy looks to be well on the way.
Maybe
the biggest difference between the original and the sequel is Max Payne
himself. Max must have
visited a barber because he’s got a new cut and wears a tie.
In fact, he’s hardly recognizable.
However, thanks to the increased hardware power, he’s never
looked so good. In fact the
minimum requirements are roughly double that of the original.
(You’ll need at least a 1Ghz PIII/Athlon or 1.2Ghz Celeron/Duron
processor, 32MB AGP graphics card with hardware transform & lighting
support, and 256MB RAM – no word on the recommended specs yet but you
can be sure it’ll be close to double the minimum.)
If you were thinking of a buying a new PC in the near future, now
is the time. Besides Max
Payne 2 you’ve got Half-Life 2, Doom III, and Painkiller – all
intense action games that will push current hardware, which should be
enough to convince you to buy now (however, your wife may need a bit
more than that to convince them). If
the screenshots (and it’s predecessor) are anything to go by, Max
Payne 2 will definitely focus on action – with a capital “A” –
with more guns, better enemy AI, and improved Bullet Time.
I’m curious about the Bullet Time since I thought the
original’s use of Bullet Time was spot on.
We’ll just have to wait and see. Bring on the Payne! Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne should be on store shelves sometime this Fall. (And if it’s a hit on the PC, expect Max to show up in the console world.)
- Omni (August 31, 2003) |
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