Max Payne PlayStation 2
Max Payne Image
Metascore
80 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 46 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Max Payne is a man with nothing to lose in the violent, cold urban night. A fugitive undercover cop framed for murder, and now hunted by cops and the mob. A man with his back against the wall, fighting a battle he cannot hope to win. Prepare for pain with this much-anticipated 3rd-person shooter. [Rockstar Games]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. GameShark
    90
    Yes, this game has the power to rip families apart, it's that cool. With nice graphics, violence, swearing, and Matrix-style camera angles galore, this is a must-have for action game fans.
  2. TotalGames.net
    83
    While it’s tricky to recommend a game that doesn’t run too well on a piece of hardware with static tech-specs, the fact remains that, gawd bless ’im, old Max had us entirely enthralled until the end of his adventure.
  3. Electric Playground
    82
    This excellent, visceral shooter is just the tiniest bit on the short side, but remember what the man said: In a New York Minute, everything can change.
  4. GamerWeb Sony
    73
    Somehow Remedy Entertainment made the PS2 look like an old man when compared to the new console and the tried and true personal computer.

See all 21 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 26
  3. Negative: 4 out of 26
  1. llamayarmybar
    10
    Going back- its still a good premise. Good cop turns bad-cop by way of dead wife and newborn baby by way of drug addicts hosing down said family with bullets. Of course then you get to the end and it really feels like the plot had been reaching for a convenient method of telling you the whole story out of the blue. Gun play is pretty fun even today- although Max Payne 2 feels a little tighter in this regard. It looked really freaking sweet at the time (on PC) and I'm sure most of that got carried over the Playstation 2 with this port. The bullet time effect really didn't quite start with this game (completely) but it popularized it into its deranged cousin that gets thrown into most titles these days...… Expand
  2. ihatecheez
    8
    love this game! the story is engaging and creepy but just the right amount. bought this game for about 3$ just for the fun of it, didn't know what to expect and was blown away! the only things that i don't really like about this game is its frame rate, if you have the choice to play it on the xbox or pc, play it on that. but it doesn't break the game. at the end it gets a bit too hard but, hey! everyone needs a challenge!… Expand
  3. MueedM.
    7
    I haven't played any other version of this game, but I kinda liked it. I got annoyed because I couldn't skip cinematics and once you die, you re load the game. A "7" is a pretty generous rating.… Expand
  4. JoshS.
    3
    I haven't played any other version on any other platform. Just the PS2. I spent a lot of money to be incredibly annoyed. Compared to other games, it takes 'forever' to load each scene. The dual-stick requirement to move and try and lock-on a target while pressing the R2 (and L1 or L2 if you want the much-hyped 'bullet-time' mode which gets old really quickly) makes the game control a great displeasure. The authors spent a lot of time in the manual congratulating themselves but compared to the likes of Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid 2 or Grand Theft Auto III, they're kidding themselves. I can't believe they restart levels when you die by loading the game again (instead of keeping a moderately sized, short sequence in RAM like other games) and THEY DON'T LET YOU SKIP MOST DIALOGUE SCENES. You have to sit and watch them over and over again. I think a "3" is generous.… Expand

See all 26 User Reviews