the fall of max payne

li vern and i [this is a gaming parternership that has spanned almost a decade] finished max payne 2 about a week ago. he decided to take it a notch further by trying to complete hard-boiled mode, which we're sort of in the process of doing...slowly. i remember the first max payne...it was awesome. straight on the heels of the matrix, it had bullet time...what was more interesting to note was that they came up with it around the same time that the movie was in production...so, folks, if the movie wasn't around, we'd really consider it to be an original idea...which it really was. anyway, here's a recap of the first max payne:

wife and daughter murdered after wife is caught catching a glimpse of some incriminating data while working with the DA, in connection with the street drug "V";

max goes on rampage throught new york city, followed by deputy chief of police jim bravura by the trail of used bullet shells;

meets up with "allies" mona sax [subsequently gets a shot in the head and dies behind elevator doors] and vladmir lem [subsequently survives to open a swanky restaurant in the new game];

max is freed of all charges by mudering a member of the secret society, the inner circle --- his patron, alfred woden, has connections, and max's slaying of nicole horne garners attention. he becomes a hero cop, ironically, and gets reassigned.

enough about the gameplay ---> shoot, shoot, bullet time. easy. fun. cool. it's just that the ps2 isn't good enough for the graphics [shock! horror!], though i'm not sure about the xbox [keong, if you're reading this, get the bloody game...not sure if its for the sexbox, though, but i think it is].

the story's told in the expected graphic novel format...awesome art, and some good voice acting. a direct continuation from where the first game left off, this game highlights max's relationship with mona [no big deal to mention that she somehow overcame a gunshot to the head and is up and running again], and how things aren't exactly as they appear. max stumbles onto a crime that basically gets the ball rolling. and the ball does indeed roll [oops].

it's...well, gritty, and since rockstar's distributing it, you know that it's special in its own sense. and there's a track by poets of the fall called late goodbye at the end credits...yes, even the credits are cool. reportedly, they're coming out with a max payne 3, but (spoiler ahead), is there anyone left to kill? really? we'd just have to wait and see.