Even after his murderous spree, he came out a hero in the public due to the influence of Inner Circle member Alfred Woden, who basically forces Payne to kill Horne. Max, in the end, becomes as horrific as the people he destroys. These lowlifes he kills “deserve it” in a sense after all, they’re criminals and cheats, lawbreakers and reprehensible human beings. No second chances, just cold hard revenge on anything and anyone standing between Max and his answers. She became a little too inquisitive, and Horne sent some V addicts to the Payne residence. Payne’s wife, an employee of Aesir, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Horne, refusing to listen, doubled the dosage on “test subjects” and continued research in an “urban” environment even after it was discontinued. Project Valkyrie was a government project responsible for the creation of the drug it was discontinued after seeing its effects by the Inner Circle, a secretive cabal who controlled the incognito. The drug called “V” turned its subjects into psychotic, belligerent, and crazed people. It was over, indeed Max Payne had killed Nicole Horne, CEO of the Aesir Corporation and the woman responsible for his family’s death through a secret government project. To make any kind of sense of it, I need to go back three years. The final gunshot was an exclamation mark to everything that had led to this point. When the spree finally ends, even a retrospective look doesn’t make sense of it. Is he really seeking justice, or answers, or anything akin to a rational conclusion? No it’s just an expression of his pain – hence the last name. He’s playing it Bogart, as a million movie heros and video game ones alike have done a million times before, but something’s different here. The best way to deal with the death of loved ones, especially in a way that seems “wrong”, is to push those feelings down deep where they can’t be found. Or is he? There’s a certain psychological bravado to Max, just brimming underneath the surface. Still, he’s a bit of a cardboard cutout, an invincible video game hero who, though tainted with a cynical edge, isn’t anything more than a caricature. Is this because he’s an invincible anti-hero? Not at all! Due to the fantastic writing of Sam Lake, we’re giving a glimpse at what could drive a man to the heights of vigilante justice in part a host of witty one-liners and creative insults from Payne himself don’t hurt. Told primarily in graphical novel and in-game voiceover, Max Payne became an endearing personality even under the utter horror of having his wife and daughter killed by drug addicts. Knowledge of the first game is pretty much required. There’s no padding it’s taut, focused, and does exactly what Remedy wants it to do. Furthermore, it’s such an improvement over the first game’s innovative bullet-time concept, taking it to the next level in both graphical capabilities and in stylishness. It concludes it in an extremely satisfying way, equal parts closure and redemption, fall and rebirth (making me suspect of Max Payne 3, but we’ll see). Remedy’s masterpiece not only plays noir conventions, but also takes advantage of its sequential status to drop references to the first game’s story and complicate a rather simple narrative. Remedy has a stunning game on its hands. Max Payne 2 simply exceeds the first in every way and really defines what a sequel should do, enhancing both the game mechanics themselves and the story attached. From the opening notes, Max Payne 2’s music embodies all of these elements in equal measure. Max Payne was always about mood, style, and tone – any one with knowledge of American pop culture has to know the film noir style, which drips with cynicism and drama. You wouldn’t think such a minor thing would vault one game over the other. Max Payne 2 uses a much more affecting, emotional, and sad funeral dirge: Whereas the first game gives a lowbeat techno main theme: Max Payne 2 establishes its tone from the very title screen. NOTE: Obviously plot spoilers for both games up ahead.
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