Read Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne reviews from parents on. Positive role models. Blood,Gore And Violence is not suitable for kids under 15.

Finnish developer Remedy Entertainment's embittered vigilante cop has put his troubled past behind him and is ready to begin a new chapter in his life with Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. The stylized third-person shooter, which initially turned heads with its combination of gritty environments, film noir style, and use of bullet-time effects for dramatic shootouts, returns with an enhanced graphic engine and completely new storyline. The Fall of Max Payne chronicles the title character's romance with a sultry siren named Mona Sax.

Things are never easy for Payne, however, as Sax just so happens to be a murder suspect who leads him down a dark path from which he may be unable to walk away from. The new graphic engine allows for motion-captured movement, facial animation from a cast of professional actors, lip-synching, new lighting techniques, a rag doll physics model using the licensed Havok development kit, and redesigned 3D characters.

Players will walk through cities as rain splashes down onto the streets with puddles reflecting the glow of neon signs, streetlights, and other details of urban life. The groundbreaking use of bullet time effects for slow-motion combat has been redesigned to incorporate different rates of speed for more theatrical gunplay. Max Payne is now a member of the NYPD, so missions involve interrogating prisoners, speaking with witnesses, and more. There seems to be no end of bad things in Max's life, but we don't mind. Since his explosive debut in 2001's original Max Payne, the title character has had his family murdered, his career shattered, his friends gunned down -- and he's been filled with more bullets than the stockroom of an Appalachian Wal-Mart during hunting season. Through his inner monologue and gravelly voice, we see Max Payne filled with self-doubt and an almost suicidal depression that's more dangerous to his enemies than it is to himself.

Somehow, he perseveres, driven by either his anger or want of justice. The end result?

Bad guys in bodybags and burning buildings up and down Manhattan. As well as some of the greatest action gaming you can find on any system. Max Payne 2 adds a little more to the magic of the first game, although it retains the same core gameplay and storytelling tactics. The graphics engine is more polished, with more special effects for realistic rain, lighting, and explosions. A new underlying physics engine powers everything from falling bodies to flying debris, making the entire experience more lifelike and interactive. And the narrative splits at times, telling the story from multiple angles and allowing you to play as more than one character.

Although it's lacking in length and replayability, Max Payne 2 is one of the most memorable action titles this year (see sidebar on this page). Many gamers will be able to slam through it in a weekend, but it'll be one hell of a roller-coaster, plot-twisting, bullet-dodging couple of days. Max Payne, for those of you new to the series, is an action game built around a solid gimmick: players can press a key to go into 'bullet-time,' where everything moves in super-slow motion. In bullet-time, spent shells seem to hover in mid air and explosions mushroom slowly upwards in striking clarity.

It's not just a gimmick ripped off from the movies; it actually affects gameplay. You're able to aim with precision while in bullet-time.

Often it's the only way out of a tight spot. It also gives you seemingly superhuman powers, which is fun! Building off of bullet-time is a special 'shoot-dodge' key, which (depending on how you're moving when you press it) performs any number of 'leap through the air' stunts. Combining a spectacular leap with bullet-time allows you to -- for example -- jump through a window and blast apart six guys with submachineguns akimbo, the shattering glass hovering around you like twirling jewels.