The previews are flowing [Archive]

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jaikrishnan

08-13-2003, 05:50 AM

Just in case you don't know:

1. Gamespy (http://www.gamespy.com/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/)
2. Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/maxpayne2/preview_6073326.html)

Enjoy!!!

Kev_Hectic

08-13-2003, 05:59 AM

I already started a thread about the Gamespot preiview here (http://forums.3drealms.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=004235). But The Gamespy preview is new to me, Thanks for posting it.

maxey

08-13-2003, 06:36 AM

wow, thanks jaikrishnan images/icons/smile.gif

Joe Siegler

08-13-2003, 01:00 PM

We told you before that when the information would start to come, it would come in waves. Last week we reported on magazine coverage of Max Payne 2. Today we bring you the two first (well, first known to us, anyway) Max Payne 2 web previews. They're by Gamespot & Gamespy. We'll get right to the comments in the previews...

Gamespy's article (http://www.gamespy.com/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/) had this to say about Max Payne 2...

 ..fans of the original game can rest assured that Max Payne 2 should easily surpass whatever bars the first game raised. With improved real-time shadows, dynamic lighting and destructive elements, things really are getting pushed to the max (pun intended) Max will once again sport a small NRA arsenal in that fine Italian leather jacket, this time with enough firearms to satisfy any Hong Kong action cinema fan, while bullet time is back big time. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne should have everything fans of the original would want

Gamespy also talks about the look of Max and the other characters, the plot (as much as was given away, which wasn't much), weapons, and much more. Check out Gamespy's preview here (http://www.gamespy.com/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/).

Gamespot's article (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/maxpayne2/preview_6073326.html) had this to say about Max Payne 2...

 .. many aspects of the original game's presentation have been updated and improved for the sequel, including improved character models with facial animation... The sequel will also feature improved particle effects, which will provide more realistic-looking flames and smoke, as well as better-looking weapon effects. The improved graphics engine will allow for extremely detailed scenery textures for colorful graffiti spray-painted on walls as well as for run-down brick buildings papered with old movie posters. From what we've seen of the game, it seems like many, many aspects of the original game's presentation have been updated and improved for the sequel, including improved character models with facial animation, including Max, who went through most of the original game with a single, squint-eyed facial expression. Characters will be able to crease their brows and smile, frown, and speak with animated lips.
Gamespot's article covers most of the same territory as the Gamespy article (or is it the other way around? <g>). Gamespot's has a little more detail on the game's plot, but also talks about some specific weapons and character interactions. Check out Gamespot's preview here (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/maxpayne2/preview_6073326.html).

Both articles/previews are worth checking out, and both have screenshots in them, too, and both have lots of information that any action gaming fan would be interested in. There will be more Max Payne 2 stuff coming soon, and when we hear about it, so will you. images/icons/smile.gif

Kev_Hectic

08-13-2003, 01:44 PM

^ Nice update Joe. I noticed that Gamespy has a couple extra screen shots that Gamespot doesn't.

Gamespy's preview also mentions that the NPC's will be much improved so you don't have to baby-sit them as much. That sounds cool. I hope that means they'll be able to navigate around the environments better. It annoys me when you get an NPC that's suppose to follow you, then it gets stuck in a small area or something and you have to go back and try to get it to follow you again. It would also be nice if NPC's that don't have weapons duck or run out of the way when enemies are shooting at them, instead of standing there and getting shot at.

maxey

08-13-2003, 02:52 PM

@joe

so there will be more online previews by other sites?

FullMetalJacket

08-13-2003, 09:24 PM

Why wouldn't there be? And of course there's always a tremendous surge of previews for a game right before it goes gold. images/icons/smile.gif
We get a PC Gamer preview in the October issue, due out in a coupla weeks...

And Joe, great choices you made to quote from the previews, and I'm not criticizing you or anything, but one of those two previews said the game will have ragdoll physics courtesy of the Havok physics engine. I believe you should have mentioned that, as many people still think MP2 is still using pre-canned death animations. images/icons/smile.gif

Homoludens

08-13-2003, 09:43 PM

http://www.gamespy.com/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/05s.jpg (http://www.gamespy.com/asp/image.asp?platform=PC&genre=ACTION&image=/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/05.jpg) http://www.gamespy.com/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/08s.jpg (http://www.gamespy.com/asp/image.asp?platform=PC&genre=ACTION&image=/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/08.jpg)

I dunno about you guys, but after viewing these and the other in-game screenshots, I actually laughed at the idea of Doom3 being the most realistic looking title soon to be out there. I think Max Payne 2's gameworld makes Doom3's gameworld look like an overwrought sideshow drama queen's chrome and wax museum, but that's just my 2 cents - and my time well spent laughing.

I look very forward to Max Payne 2.

FullMetalJacket

08-13-2003, 09:52 PM

That second shot's from a cutscene.
I take it Max gets betrayed?! We know he has at least three male allies that he fights alongside ingame -- and all of them visible in that screen. The fat bald guy, the thinner bald guy, and the guy that looks like a cross between Fonzie and Robert de Niro. You've seen all of them with Max in other screenshots.

But it looks like the two bald guys are fighting over something.

images/icons/smile.gif

Kev_Hectic

08-13-2003, 10:09 PM

^ The guy on the far right looks kinda like Alec Baldwin to me.

Kev_Hectic

08-13-2003, 10:14 PM

Oh and IGN has their preview of Max Payne 2 up...

http://pc.ign.com/articles/433/433505p1.html?fromint=1

FullMetalJacket

08-13-2003, 10:52 PM

Thanks for the preview, kev_hectic!!!! Lovely screen here! http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1785797&object_id=482121&channel_id=59&page_title=Max+Payne+2%3A+The+Fall+of+Max+Payne&adtag=network%3Dign%26size%3D468x60%26ch annel%3Dpc%26site%3Dpc_hub%26channel%3Dpreviews%26 type%3Dpartner (http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1785797&object_id=482121&channel_id=59&page_title=Max+Payne+2%3A+The+Fall+of+Max+Payne&adtag=network%3Dign%26size%3D468x60%26channel%3Dpc %26site%3Dpc_hub%26channel%3Dpreviews%26type%3Dpar tner)

And look at Max here! http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1785926&object_id=482121&channel_id=59&page_title=Max+Payne+2%3A+The+Fall+of+Max+Payne&adString=network%3Dign%26site%3Dpchub%26 pagetype%3Dmediaimgthin&return_url=http%3A%2F%2Fpc.ign.com%2Fobjects%2F482 %2F482121.html (http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1785926&object_id=482121&channel_id=59&page_title=Max+Payne+2%3A+The+Fall+of+Max+Payne&adString=network%3Dign%26site%3Dpchub%26pagetype%3 Dmediaimgthin&return_url=http%3A%2F%2Fpc.ign.com%2Fobjects%2F482 %2F482121.html)
Do you think Remedy simply made a new Max model with damage on him? Or do you think they have a "bolt-on" technology like in SOF2?

Bushido

08-14-2003, 02:33 AM

...simply awesome^^^

biXen

08-14-2003, 09:04 AM

Originally posted by Homoludens:
http://www.gamespy.com/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/05s.jpg (http://www.gamespy.com/asp/image.asp?platform=PC&genre=ACTION&image=/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/05.jpg) http://www.gamespy.com/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/08s.jpg (http://www.gamespy.com/asp/image.asp?platform=PC&genre=ACTION&image=/previews/august03/maxpayne2pc/08.jpg)

I dunno about you guys, but after viewing these and the other in-game screenshots, I actually laughed at the idea of Doom3 being the most realistic looking title soon to be out there. I think Max Payne 2's gameworld makes Doom3's gameworld look like an overwrought sideshow drama queen's chrome and wax museum, but that's just my 2 cents - and my time well spent laughing.

I look very forward to Max Payne 2. I've said that since the first Max Payne 2 shots came (and also HL2 shots), and I've never thought Doom 3 looks real (although it may look good, depending on tech/taste preferences)

KillJoy

08-14-2003, 09:21 AM

That's because the textures Doom 3 uses in the game are not detail textures. They may be hi res, but they are mainly solid colors. A lot of repeated patterns of textures. I would say that HL2 and MP2 have done a much better job at making the faces look as realistic as possible. In HL2 they have a solid facial animation system, that breathes life into the characters, while MP2 has more geometry and higher res textures on the faces.

Doom 3 has ... big ugly guys.

DET

08-14-2003, 11:27 AM

Am I the only one that ever takes the "Fall of Max Payne" as instantly meaning more of a reign of terror, rather than the falling in love or falling from grace meaning?

Edit: And that shot of Max with all the cuts and everything is amazing! images/icons/shocked.gif

Joe Siegler

08-14-2003, 03:22 PM

Yesterday we brought you two Max Payne 2 previews, today we have another, this time from IGN. Let's get right to what they had to say.

 ...the sequel maintains much of what we loved about the first title while still taking enough risks to offer some surprises as well. But though these comic book sequences are still an important part of the presentation, Remedy is making an effort to tell more of the story through in-game sequences. The success of the first game and the involvement of Rockstar mean we can expect much higher production values this time around. Now making use of the Havoc physics engine, Max Payne 2 allows for some very realistic ragdoll effects.

IGN's got a two page preview of the game, as well as several screenshots - make sure and give it a read (http://pc.ign.com/articles/433/433505p1.html)!

Co11

08-14-2003, 07:40 PM

/me hears the hype machine starting to crank up...

Crashnet

08-14-2003, 09:14 PM

Who's up for just skipping September this year so October will get here faster. Anyone?

KillJoy

08-14-2003, 09:25 PM

Who likes Labor Day anyway?

Homoludens

08-14-2003, 09:37 PM

Um, NOOOO!!! I will NOT skip over September just for Max Payne 2. What, do you really think I'd be stupid enough to jump over Half-Life 2 if it actually is released on 9/30? I look forward to MP2, but I'll be damned if I miss HL2 because of it. images/icons/frown.gif

KillJoy

08-14-2003, 10:11 PM

2 days wait "if" HL2 comes out on schedule.

mysteryperfecta

08-15-2003, 12:35 AM

The only previews that mean squat to me are hands-on gameplay previews, not descriptions of controlled-environment demo movies (and hands-on previews don't mean much more).

Advances in graphics are nice, but I want to know if the gameplay has been taken into newer and better places (although I enjoyed the original's gameplay).

Mongorian

08-15-2003, 12:59 AM

I can't WAIT to see Max Payne 2 in motion...When I saw the Max Payne 1 video that took place in the parking garage, thats what made me buy the game. graemlins/love.gif images/icons/grin.gif

Jade

08-15-2003, 04:07 AM

Wow...the screen showing Max injured is only a cutscene or we will see something like in game? It looks great. images/icons/smile.gif

scorpion

08-15-2003, 09:41 AM

it looks like it could be a cutscene becase he's leaning on a shelf, i doubt he'll do that in game. Although u never know with the technology they use, but it still is a great screen.

Presto

08-15-2003, 01:00 PM

I'm really starting to get impressed. remedy may have started out as an underdog development team, but look where they're going!

Joe Siegler

08-15-2003, 05:37 PM

The Max Payne 2 reviews are flowing.. Here's another one from Total Videogames. Let's get right to their quotes...

 'The Fall of Max Payne' will feature even more, bigger and better textures throughout. Remedy have gone out in New York getting source material to make their digital representation of the rotten core of the Big Apple even more accurate. Max will not be fighting on his own the whole time, at certain points he will have comrades fighting alongside him, although this may not be because they're Max's bestest buddy, it's probably necessity rather than choice. Characters faces are the most immediately obvious improvement... Remedy wants there to be a lot more action and no down time when actually playing the game
Make sure and check out TVG's Max Payne 2 review right here..

http://forums.3drealms.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=004236#000027

Mongorian

08-15-2003, 05:42 PM

AWESOME LINK JOE!

[ 08-15-2003, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: Mongorian ]

Komb.at

08-15-2003, 05:44 PM

Joe your TVG review link leads to this thread images/icons/smile.gif

[edit]here it is: http://www.totalvideogames.com/?section=Read%20Previews&id=575&gameid=3203&format=000007

IgWannA

08-15-2003, 06:01 PM

right, wtf is that writer talking about? that "review" is the most bullshit thing i have ever read! how can you give a game a score of 9 out of 10 if he hasn't even played it! he hasn't even seen any GAMEPLAY or footage from it! all he's seen is a couple of screenshots - he just makes up the rest.

We're hoping for some adrenaline filled real-time cutscenes to cut in during gameplay, perhaps the two of them back to back, fighting off enemies in a subway, before an explosion rips through the place, they throw themselves into a gap, pushed together, explosion going behind them, looking stunning, and just as they're about to get some intimacy, a bullet whizzes by their head and they're back into action. yeah, WE'RE HOPING FOR... being the operative phrase there. that can't be a serious review by a proper writer.

biXen

08-16-2003, 03:12 AM

I thought the same thing when I read that, I could have written the preview myself, I seem to have seen just as much as that guy... if not more images/icons/tongue.gif

KillJoy

08-16-2003, 11:45 AM

Oh and whilst it's not confirmed, we have some pretty big suspicions that you will, at some point, get to control Mona herself... Do they know something I don't. The article just talks about nothing and then BAM!!! You get to play mona. Where are they getting these ideas?!? It looks like they read one of the articles already out, and then wrote their own.

Also, this is in the ActionTrip article:

...as I recall a lot of people complained that the plot in Max Payne was overburdened with overly elaborate English phrases, which certainly didn't add any literary panache to the story. That was one of the best parts!!!The "elaborate English phrases" made the Max Payne style. I hope you guys didn't get rid of that.

[ 08-16-2003, 12:01 PM: Message edited by: KillJoy ]

aavenr

08-16-2003, 02:28 PM

Originally posted by IgWannA:
right, wtf is that writer talking about? that "review" is the most bullshit thing i have ever read! how can you give a game a score of 9 out of 10 if he hasn't even played it! he hasn't even seen any GAMEPLAY or footage from it! all he's seen is a couple of screenshots - he just makes up the rest.

yeah, WE'RE HOPING FOR... being the operative phrase there. that can't be a serious review by a proper writer. That's because it is a PREVIEW, NOT A REVIEW! And I am pretty sure that 9/10 rating you refer to is not a review score, it's the anticipation rating!

I have written previews before and I can tell you, they are not an easy assignment. The writer must avoid to make too many assumptions and still give a positive and optimistic tone to the game. Don't take these articles literally.

Also guys, just in case you haven't checked up on Deep Six today:

Blue's News reports Computer And Video Games has a Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne preview available here. The article comes directly from the PC Zone UK preview published early last month and yet still it is quite a read. Plus, you have got to love the subtitle: "Max Payne, a cop with nothing to lose. Dave Woods [scoop's writer], a man who never had anything in the first place. It's perfect symmetry". As usual, here's an extract:

"Trying to get the changes across in words is almost impossible, but seeing as looking at the screenshots is even more futile I'll give it a bash. Think smooth. Think as smooth as The Matrix. Think bullet traces brushing past your face, empty shells flying over your shoulder, sound effects that have been stretched to perfection, amazing ragdoll effects courtesy of the latest Havok 2 physics engine and a 'time-twist' at the end when you pull out of Bullet-Time and back into the land of the normal. Think the Bullet-Time in Max Payne but honed and chiselled to perfection and you're some way towards the truth. (See, I told you it was going to be impossible.) Maybe Petri Jarvilehto, lead game designer from Remedy, can help. Petri, what's the deal with your new, improved Bullet-Time. "We've improved the concept of Bullet-Time immeasurably. The gunfights are more intense this time around and much more epic in scale. We've made a lot of changes to the gunplay animations - polishing, tweaking and adding new features. It's too early to go into much detail but, for example, if you do a shoot-dodge dive you can stay on the ground and keep shooting..." Saying this, he dived into a room and demonstrated said move, discharging weapons from both hands, and taking out about six people simultaneously".

So stop messing around and go read it aloud to your pals. You may have to register to read after the first page but still, even registration is free and quite hassle-free (no confirmation email for instance). Oh and "are there any new screens" you ask? Well, yeah. First screen to the left is technically brand new (other versions have a muzzle flash going on) and I can't confirm this for sure but it is very apparent that the rest of the shots (from 2nd to 6th) are true digital versions of their magazine scan counterparts. Those scenes definitively look better and more detailed than the last time I saw them (in the form of magazine scans that is) and so I advise you to check them out again as well.

More info and the actual new screens can be found at www.planetmaxpayne.com (http://www.planetmaxpayne.com) or if you want to go straight to the article, click here (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/r/?page=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/previews/previews_story.php?id=95239)

[ 08-16-2003, 02:34 PM: Message edited by: aavenr ]

maxey

08-16-2003, 02:45 PM

wow, thanks aavenr.
so the shots are fully representative of how the current build of mp2 looks?

TBZ

08-16-2003, 04:56 PM

aavenr: Thank's for the tip, it was a good read images/icons/smile.gif . And the first screen of the game in the screenshot section was completely breath-taking! I mean, I had to pick up the good old jaw from the floor after that one, absolutely beautiful!

08-16-2003, 07:25 PM

Originally posted by maxey:
wow, thanks aavenr.
so the shots are fully representative of how the current build of mp2 looks? Hardly. They might be fully representative of how MP2 looked like back when the shots were taken (around E3), but I'm sure a lot of the clipping and such has already been fixed.

scorpion

08-16-2003, 07:47 PM

^^ i hope your right.

Claws

08-16-2003, 08:35 PM

So do any of the previews mention anything about gameplay? What's so special about this sequel? Is Remedy introducing anything new? Or am I supposed to be happy about the improved graphics with rehashed gameplay?

FullMetalJacket

08-16-2003, 09:51 PM

Jesus, maybe you could read the previews instead of demanding that we spoon-feed all the juice to you. images/icons/tongue.gif images/icons/smile.gif

Specialist

08-16-2003, 11:16 PM

^^^^
I don't care if he's jesus or god himself.

Your assumptions are totally off.
Remedy's number 1 goal is to improve on EVERYTHING in Maxpayne, graphics included.
Read the previews if your're that interested.

Coming up in here and making demands...

SkavenRMD

08-17-2003, 03:24 AM

Remedy's number 1 goal is to improve on EVERYTHING in Maxpayne, graphics included.While, on the other hand, not to make it too different as to alienate the people who liked the previous game and want more of the same (just improved). It's a balancing act.

LeadBullet

08-17-2003, 05:27 AM

The main 3DR page has a story calling a link a "review", and the link gives the game a rating. Does that mean the game is finished and they are playing a prerelease copy of it?

ADM

08-17-2003, 05:37 AM

A little bit from column A and a little bit from Column B hey Skaven?

X-Vector

08-17-2003, 05:44 AM

Originally posted by LeadBullet:
The main 3DR page has a story calling a link a "review", and the link gives the game a rating. Does that mean the game is finished and they are playing a prerelease copy of it? The "review" phrase is just a slip on Joe's part, none of the four articles linked to on the page pretend to be anything more than previews.

For some reason, TVG has thought it a good idea to rate the game before having actually sampled the finished product, best case scenario it's supposed to be just an "interest gauge".

Jokke_r

08-17-2003, 07:45 AM

so... this place looks exactly like ragna rock

http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~maxpayne/oldsite/images/mp2/ign1.jpg

Doppelgofer

08-17-2003, 10:21 AM

this looks friggin ace......i can't wait for it

Doppelgofer

08-17-2003, 10:25 AM

Originally posted by Jokke_r:
so... this place looks exactly like ragna rocki was just about to post that

Jokke_r

08-17-2003, 02:08 PM

like a movie. sound is 50% of the movie. you can't judge a movie without sound

and in video games there's gameplay, sound, graphics and so on. so a screenshot only actually displays a very small bit of the graphical part of a video game. so you can't judge or say anything about a game from viewing a screenshot. for example if you saw a screenshot of Counter Strike you would say man this game looks shit. ofcourse the graphics are shit but the gameplay is very well done (i know this is a bad example since there is alot of people who have played CS and still think it stinks)...

Wrathstalker

08-17-2003, 04:08 PM

You got that right!! I mean the part about counterstrike sucking... images/icons/smile.gif

LeadBullet

08-17-2003, 06:58 PM

They might be using areas that are similar to, or are Max Payne1 levels just for preview purposes.

jimbob

08-17-2003, 08:56 PM

maybe, bit i think there is a big chance you wil go back to ragnarock.

KillJoy

08-17-2003, 11:31 PM

I'm willing to bet that too.

btw:
I'm Merc #3 hahahahahaha

RedSplat

08-18-2003, 12:04 AM

Great screenshots/previews, but some screenshots (like the one last posted) look like they could've been made in MaxPayne1 also.
Not that big a difference in detail/lightning/models/textures etc.
But i bet it looks way better in motion. images/icons/wink.gif

I'm not that impressed..and that's only because i've seen it all before. :/ images/icons/frown.gif

Jade

08-18-2003, 05:05 AM

Originally posted by Jokke_r:
so... this place looks exactly like ragna rockMy words exactly!
Max will visit again some old locations?...dont know... images/icons/confused.gif

scorpion

08-18-2003, 06:27 AM

who knows, maybe lapino survived all 100 bullets to the head images/icons/grin.gif

Komb.at

08-18-2003, 08:30 AM

Max looks a little younger on the supposed Ragnarock shot. Maybe we'll get to play some flashbacks.

Joe Siegler

08-18-2003, 02:08 PM

I just got handed the October 2003 issue of (US) PC Gamer - has some Max 2 stuff on it. When I'm done reading the forums, I'll put up something on it.

biXen

08-18-2003, 05:32 PM

Instead of releasing the October issue in August... why don't they release the *GASP* August issue... in August...? I guess that would be propostrous... images/icons/smile.gif

Anyways, all the info has been the same. I've basically read nothing new since the first grabs of magazines came a month ago. I think I'll just wait for the game instead images/icons/smile.gif

KillJoy

08-18-2003, 09:38 PM

YOU HAVE PCGAMER already!?!?!?!?

**sighs.... sets up a tent near the mailbox. Waits...**

Specialist

08-18-2003, 11:47 PM

*Al Pacino Accent*
"In Amerika first you get the money then you get the power then you get the pcgamer"

Gamer56

08-19-2003, 07:55 AM

As far as Gaming Site reviews I wouldn't give them any credence at all. Most are bias beyond belief, and the rest wouldn't know a good or bad game if it bit them in the rear end. I'm holding out until the game is released and I can play it myself personally, and know wheither its good or it stinks. The only things I'm going to agree on at this time is the improved graphics. Max no longer looks like he needs to take a crap, and actually looks like a real person you'd see on the street. The added realisim also applies to other players as shown in the screen shots. Mona Sax, however, looks like a Frankenstein model with a nice big visible seam on her neck. You have to view a full screen shot to see it, its just cut of in the smaller ones. Whats up with that?? So the reviews can flow, but they mean nothing given the sources.

Joe Siegler

08-19-2003, 02:36 PM

The October issue of the US version of PC Gamer has started hitting subscribers' mailboxes. It has a preview of Max Payne 2 in it. Here's some of what they had to say...

 Bullet Time has been tweaked to allow you a few more slo-mo actions (including firing from the ground). While Max Payne 2 may be pitched as a love story, its focus is still on spectacular gunfights. What's new is the Havok physics engine, making enemy reactions to your shots all the more balletic (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=balletic). So how far does the poor bastard [Max Payne] have to fall?

Make sure and check the newsstands for the October issue of PC Gamer to read the full text of their preview.

KillJoy

08-19-2003, 03:52 PM

The PCGamer preview of Max Payne 2 is half-a-page long, and contains NO NEW INFO at all.

Not worth the wait in my opinion.

The Baskinator

08-20-2003, 12:10 AM

Originally posted by KillJoy:
The PCGamer preview of Max Payne 2 is half-a-page long, and contains NO NEW INFO at all.

Not worth the wait in my opinion. I'll still get it. images/icons/grin.gif

MikaRMD

08-20-2003, 10:13 AM

By the way, I haven't seen this mentioned so if it has, forgive me.

A US magazine called GameInformer has a great story on Max Payne 2 in its' September issue (I think also available in Canada and UK).

Great layout, nice pics. The works... images/icons/smile.gif

heavenlyone

08-20-2003, 11:01 AM

aavenr

08-20-2003, 11:02 AM

No it hasn't Mika, thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure everybody knows about it. images/icons/wink.gif

heavenlyone

08-20-2003, 11:05 AM

Originally posted by MikaRMD:
By the way, I haven't seen this mentioned so if it has, forgive me.

A US magazine called GameInformer has a great story on Max Payne 2 in its' September issue (I think also available in Canada and UK).

Great layout, nice pics. The works... images/icons/smile.gif Are there any new shots we have yet to see and images/icons/tongue.gif When can we expect more delicious shots?? images/icons/shocked.gif images/icons/shocked.gif images/icons/shocked.gif images/icons/grin.gif

[ 08-20-2003, 11:16 AM: Message edited by: heavenlyone ]

MarkusRMD

08-20-2003, 11:19 AM

I think there's a new shot in GameInformer.

heavenlyone

08-20-2003, 11:23 AM

Originally posted by MarkusRMD:
I think there's a new shot in GameInformer. Thanks for the heads up! I guess this must be crunch time for you guys, good luck working away;)

heavenlyone

08-20-2003, 02:20 PM

Originally posted by biXen:
I heard 4 new shots in GameInformer or so... I can't really get any of these mags, so sucky. Been a while since I read mags anyway images/icons/smile.gif Thanks! images/icons/grin.gif

biXen

08-21-2003, 12:13 AM

I heard 4 new shots in GameInformer or so... I can't really get any of these mags, so sucky. Been a while since I read mags anyway images/icons/smile.gif

heavenlyone

08-22-2003, 08:06 AM

Just caught it this morning I don't know if it has already been posted but this is by far one of the best previews courtesy of the staff at C&V in the UK. Enjoy! images/icons/wink.gif I'm still drooling.

MAX PAYNE 2: THE FALL OF MAX PAYNE

PC

Remedy Entertainment

Take-Two Interactive

1

Action

Max Payne, a cop with nothing to lose. Dave Woods, a man who never had anything in the first place. It's perfect symmetry

15 Aug 03 From all the talk post-E3 you might be forgiven for thinking that there's only one game worth talking about. In fact, one magazine went as far as to wipe out the entire catalogue of PC games past and future with the brilliantly misinformed tagline "Half-Life 2 - The Only Game That Matters..." We weren't prepared to accept that and searched high and low for another PC gem, even delving into the lower depths of Kentia Hall to brave the portaloo stands staffed by troubled individuals who hadn't seen another human since the show had begun. It took us until the last day though to see a game that could quite happily hang out and drink with Gordon Freeman and it took lengthy negotiations before we were allowed past the security cordon that had been set-up to protect Rockstar's latest release, the sequel to one of the coolest games of all time, Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne.
Led away from the main show, privileged with the knowledge that I was the only journo from the UK to get to see the game, I was dragged through a labyrinth of corridors, stairs and escalators, to end up blinking in a huge room draped with white sheets, facing the sort of air conditioning that would keep milk fresh for a week, and a panel of top-end representatives from Remedy and Rockstar. As I started to open my mouth, I was shushed, the lights dimmed, a huge cinema screen dropped into place and the sequel was unveiled.

WOO!
And what a demonstration. The new engine is staggering, bursting with detail and a sense of realism that borders on the photo-realistic. When the original Max Payne was released the visuals were a cut above everything else but they look horribly ragged now compared to the sequel. Forget the look of a man who hasn't eaten a piece of fresh fruit in weeks, the new Max can blink, is lip-synched and can express emotions by altering his expression. Likewise, the rest of the characters you brush up against look totally realistic and behave in a more lifelike way, with totally rewritten AI routines in place. Just look at the screenshots. These aren't doctored images, but actual shots from the game, but before I got a chance to say "look at the whiskers on that" Max was fighting for his life in a ballet of slow-motion bullets.

Bullet-Time is the innovation that Max Payne hung his coat on and despite being so obvious you wonder why no one thought of it before, it worked like a dream. Most of you would agree that without it Max Payne would have been just another bog-standard third-person action game, albeit an extremely good-looking one. Bullet-Time transformed it into a massive hit, introducing a piece of gaming vocabulary that has been copied many times but never equalled and creating a unique experience that, for most people, turned the game into one of the most enjoyable games ever. And, before any of you write in, I know that Bullet-Time wasn't for everyone. For every ten people that wanted carnal relations with the game there was one naysayer that was left cold. Take the ZONE office. Payne fans down to a man, apart from our very own man-mountain, Martin Korda, who was just nonplussed by the whole thing - strange seeing as he rates The Matrix as one of his favourite films of all time, but there you go.

MC HAMMER
In The Fall Of Max Payne Bullet-Time is back, something which has just been made explicit on the screen before me. A second ago Max was running along a New York street minding his own business, now he's dodging bullets like raindrops. I'd been expecting it but the subtle, almost imperceptible changes, caught me completely off guard. Even more cinematic than before, Bullet-Time in The Fall Of Max Payne is a thing of beauty, the gaming equivalent of Kelly Hu.

Trying to get the changes across in words is almost impossible, but seeing as looking at the screenshots is even more futile I'll give it a bash. Think smooth. Think as smooth as The Matrix. Think bullet traces brushing past your face, empty shells flying over your shoulder, sound effects that have been stretched to perfection, amazing ragdoll effects courtesy of the latest Havok 2 physics engine and a 'time-twist' at the end when you pull out of Bullet-Time and back into the land of the normal. Think the Bullet-Time in Max Payne but honed and chiselled to perfection and you're some way towards the truth. (See, I told you it was going to be impossible.) Maybe Petri Jarvilehto, lead game designer from Remedy, can help. Petri, what's the deal with your new, improved Bullet-Time. "We've improved the concept of Bullet-Time immeasurably. The gunfights are more intense this time around and much more epic in scale. We've made a lot of changes to the gunplay animations - polishing, tweaking and adding new features. It's too early to go into much detail but, for example, if you do a shoot-dodge dive you can stay on the ground and keep shooting..." Saying this, he dived into a room and demonstrated said move, discharging weapons from both hands, and taking out about six people simultaneously.

KillJoy

08-22-2003, 05:51 PM

for christ's sake!?!?!?!?!??!

aRE yOU tRYING tO kILL mE??!?!

Next time, just link it.

hemlock_0

08-23-2003, 05:09 PM

Ha!

Synti

08-24-2003, 04:36 AM

heavenlyone, damn that sounds cool. I just can't wait until they release the hidden E3 trailer to public.

asker

08-24-2003, 08:59 PM

Woot. Sounds like a li'l bit of Max Payne-style slomo buttwhooping, a li'l bit of Raven Shield-style physics and realism, and a li'l bit of Doom 3-style uber-visuals.

This will be cool.

scorpion

08-25-2003, 11:29 AM

it will have better physics then ravenshield.

FullMetalJacket

08-25-2003, 01:41 PM

Raven Shield used Karma. MP2 uses Havok2.0, which is effectively Karma 3.0 IIRC. images/icons/smile.gif

Raven

08-29-2003, 05:04 AM

http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1785797&object_id=482121&channel_id=59&page_title=Max+Payne+2%3A+The+Fall+of+Max+Payne&adtag=network%3Dign%26size%3D468x60%26ch (http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1785797&object_id=482121&channel_id=59&page_title=Max+Payne+2%3A+The+Fall+of+Max+Payne&adtag=network%3Dign%26size%3D468x60%26ch) annel%3Dpc%26site%3Dpc_hub%26channel%3Dpreviews%26 type%3Dpartner

It looks like Ragnarock

Raven

08-29-2003, 05:06 AM

posted 08-29-2003 05:04 AM

http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1785797&object_id=482121&channel_id=59&page_title=Max+Payne+2%3A+The+Fall+of+Max+Payne&adtag=network%3Dign%26size%3D468x60%26ch (http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=1785797&object_id=482121&channel_id=59&page_title=Max+Payne+2%3A+The+Fall+of+Max+Payne&adtag=network%3Dign%26size%3D468x60%26ch) annel%3Dpc%26site%3Dpc_hub%26channel%3Dpreviews%26 type%3Dpartner

It looks like Ragnarock

08-29-2003, 06:36 AM

Yes, Raven. That's already been pointed out.

KillJoy

08-29-2003, 07:16 PM

graemlins/brickwall.gif graemlins/doh.gif graemlins/brickwall.gif graemlins/doh.gif

**sighs** A double post and old news! Cant... take...any more...of it.

FullMetalJacket

08-29-2003, 07:36 PM

Originally posted by KillJoy:
graemlins/brickwall.gif graemlins/doh.gif graemlins/brickwall.gif graemlins/doh.gif

**sighs** A double post and old news! Cant... take...any more...of it. Agreed! images/icons/grin.gif