Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Max Payne 2

Action Adventure by Rockstar Entertainment

A Solution by Lu Richardson

The Product:

As its predecessor, this game has superb graphics and tremendously realistic animations, let alone great sound effects. All this, plus brilliant little touches here and there, save this game from being a mere shoot'em up. Unfortunately, this time around the plot is not as good: it's confusing and hard to swallow, so you just have to suspend disbelief. Nevertheless, there are so many short cut scenes interspersing the action that you almost feel you are watching a movie: and it is precisely because, in between, you have to take action that this product is such fun.

General Tips:

Cheat.

No? OK. Save often, as much as after every successful fight. Always look about you and don't go rushing around corners. If you hear people talking, stop and listen before you move (cautiously). It's a good idea to burst onto them and shoot first. But if people start shooting at you before you can, crouch and take cover - if there is no cover, leap around while shooting in the right direction. Always search the dead bodies for goodies and also try to open cupboards, wardrobes, lockers, vans; look inside red boxes.

If at any time you get lost and don't know which way to go, the chances are that the path you should follow is patrolled by baddies, so listen for conversations or save and go looking for trouble and you will have found the way.

In between bouts of frenzied killing you might like to take time to watch any TV sets you find, particularly the delightfully absurd series "Lords and Ladies": you need all the laughs you can get.

The solution:

I can't imagine how, without a map and without a compass, anyone can follow these instructions - particularly since, after a fight, you might be facing in any old direction. However, I can only hope that you will have had a bash at each chapter and that, if stuck, having once experienced the scenario the solution will make some sense to you.

When I say go "left" or "right" I mean go left or right and through a door. The next "left" or "right" will take you through the next door, and so on.

By the way, when I say "watch" it's because there is a cut scene over which you have no control. I will not repeat the instruction "shoot everyone" because it would be extremely boring, just be ready for mayhem at all times, OK?

Part I: THE DARKNESS INSIDE

Endure the Prologue and as soon as you get control save the game. If you didn't play Max Payne 1, click on "Previously" at the options screen. Perhaps the plot will make more sense to you. I hope.

At the Hospital

Forward, right, left: experience a psychotic episode. When you've done, go through the door. Almost in front you'll see a door marked Exit and in front of it you'll find some painkillers. Go through the door to its right, you'll find a dead body and a gun. At the end of the cut scene, shoot at the guy who'll come from the left, get his stuff. As you go through the doorway where he was you'll have another funny turn. Go out through the other door and turn right to go to Reception. Turn to your right here and enter the lift. Stand by the buttons and press E. When the lift arrives down below, things go slightly wrong, to say the least. Leave the lift and enter the door in front. Watch.

Chapter 1: Elevator Doors

Go around the building to your right, up some stairs at the back, in, go left. You'll come to a booth with a TV on. Pass it and continue left till you come to some baydoors. Watch.

At the end follow the guy but be on your guard. Sure enough, you'll be attacked by him so shoot him and then turn around quickly and shoot the other one. Don't forget to get their stuff. Continue going left around the shelvings and operate the switch to go through the baydoor. Go forward and then left, getting ready to shoot the two guys you'll meet; listen to their conversation before you go round the corner. Left again and through the door, and again, go up the stairs and wait a bit to hear the conversation, then kill the guys.

Keep going left and through doors. In the next interesting room, use the answerphone to get a message. On through the door here, right, right. Watch. At the end you'll have to fight it out. In this place you'll find painkillers, weapons and ammo. As you leave watch out to your left because you'll be attacked. Go through the door and to your right and have yourself another battle. Step onto the catwalk on the left and watch. Enter the lift and go down. All you have to do is search around for the bad guys and kill them, then find the only door which opens and out. Watch some more.

Chapter 2: A Criminal Mastermind

Left, up the stairs, right, right, enter the office and listen to the answerphone, look at the cartoon on the wall. Leave and carry on up the stairs, through the door and watch. At the end talk to Mike. Go up some more stairs and take time to watch the TV. Around to the right, up more stairs - a door will shut in your face - continue up the stairs. After you've shot everyone start going down a set of metallic stairs, and up the next, through two doors and shoot at the guys down in the floor below. Find a wooden ramp going down and go through some double doors. Take whatever cover you can because people will be shooting at you from above and all around. When you have killed everyone and you've watched the cut scene, some more shooting; follow the guys through the door and go down a little ramp in this room. Watch.

Chapter 3: The Depths of my Brain

Oh, dear, not another nightmare in store! Watch the TV for a bit, go to the door and just go left and down the ramp. You wind up at the morgue, run around to the corpse storage boxes and someone will pop out. Mona appears and you must answer the phone behind her. Watch. At the end, pick up the pistol from the table and shoot at your colleagues to wake up.

Chapter 4: No "Us" in This

Watch. At the end, shut the blinds with the string next to the window. Follow Mona; you will see her just leaving and the door will be locked, the lift next to it will be jammed. If you go to the left of this door you'll meet an irascible lady with a gun. Talk to her (press E in front of her), follow her and she will let you get a shotgun. Go back to the flat and use the phone in the bedroom. Take time to open cupboards for some ammo, look about you.

Go back to the lady's flat and save your game. Try jumping out of the open window in front of her door. If you make it safely to the ledge, save again: face the ledge to the left and using W + Left Shift, leap to it. Crouch immediately and shoot the folk who pour out of the black van. When you cannot see anyone else, save and leap to the ledge in front, take out whoever is left below. Enter the open window from this ledge and go right and out of the next open window.

On the ledge, go through the window along on the right and be prepared for trouble where the corridors meet. Turn left and head for the lady in the red dressing gown - talk to her, follow her into the house and she will invite you to take the painkillers in her bathroom. Find the open window in her flat, out on the ledge, go left and come up close to the railings then just jump over them, up the ramp, jump into the open window. Watch. Search the flat and leave. Go the only way you can and be ready to fight at the stairs. Go on up all the way and you'll find you don't have the code to enter this flat, so use the lift and be prepared to start shooting the moment the doors open. Ignore the wino but find the door to the Basement, where a Janitor will tell you the code.

Use the lift and turn to your left, open the door, in, find the flat with the open door and search it. You'll come to an open window from which you can see your flat burning. Onto the ledge, follow the ledge to your left and at the end, drop to the ledge beneath. When you get to the gap you will be attacked, return fire, drop through the gap onto the ledge below and jump in through the open window. Head for the front door.

Chapter 5: A Sign of Her Passage

Run straight ahead and open the stairs door, shoot it out and go down the stairs. two floors down - you'll hear some banging and you'll see a wooden plank against a door, just walk to it. Inside, you can talk to the wino and have him come with you and cover you. But first go straight ahead and Max will comment on the gas pipe feeding the fire. Go back to the stairs and down till you hear some shouting, go to the door to your right and a girl will volunteer info about open windows. Turn your back on her and run along the corridor, left through the open door and down the stairs, find the utility room, use the valve (wheel) and check out the lockers.

Go back to where the fire was and go left. Search the flat and then find the room with two open windows, go out through the one on the left. Follow the ledge watching out for baddies down below at ground level. At the end of the ledge, jump over the railings and go up the ramp all the way to the top. Save, turn towards the ledge on the left and leap to it, go to the end and drop to the catwalk below, which will collapse. You can now go all the way down to the streets.

Chapter 6: A Linear Sequence of Scares

Enter the door to your right and slightly behind you to get some painkillers. Just keep going left through this weird maze. Down the ramp, answer the phone in the booth. Enter the trap/lift here, turn around to get out and keep hugging the left wall. One of the props will cut your path, wait and it will go away. Go the only way you can and you'll be at the next lift. Watch. Leave the lift and go through the double doors on the right. When you come to the "mouth", go in and keep left. At the "Schizo Street" sign you need to go left, enter the phone booth and use the phone when it rings, go in and through the strange tunnel, go right and follow the corridor to the broken door, go through. If you go through the door to the left of it you can have some fun with the red balls. Also note that pulling a lever in the back of the room has an effect on the props - this knowledge comes in handy later. Leave the room and turn to your right, go on up the stairs and at the top turn to your left and go to the door. Go back to the catwalk and follow it right to the end, through the door, turn right and jump onto the roof, jump in through the open window and search the place. Finally go through the only door which opens and watch.

Chapter 7: The Million Dollar Question

Follow instructions. At the balcony, go left and enter the flat, search it and go up the stairs... carefully. Search the place. Find the door out to the lobby. Once you've eliminated the opposition, you'll be attacked from another quarter, enter that flat and search it, take the stairs down, go left. You'll get more instructions. Go out on the balcony, go to the left, listen to the conversation, jump to the ledge, shoot the guys below, jump onto the canopy and onto the balcony, preferably on the chair. Find the door which opens, in, search the flat, go downstairs. Find the door to the lobby, go to your right and into the flat. Go to the window, jump into the lift and use the buttons to go down. You won't get very far. Jump to the catwalk, turn right and drop to the catwalk below, do so again and walk to the wall; drop to the ledge below and go in through the open window. Find the door to the lobby. Go all around shooting people and, as you pass the lifts, you get another cut scene. Another ding-dong battle, get in the lift, use the buttons and watch.

Part II: A BINARY CHOICE

Prologue

Watch and listen till you are in control. Go forward to the end, turn right, press E at the second desk (read the plaques on the desks). Watch. Turn left and go into the Interrogation Room. Watch. When Winterson leaves, go into the room and talk to the guy, next go to Winterson. Watch.

Find the double doors and go down the stairs, at the bottom turn left and go into the Lockup. Down the stairs, press the buttons to open the doors. The guard sends you to the last cell to the left but it's the one to the right. Talk to Mona. Go back to the guard and ask to use the phone, he'll send you to the room behind you, use the phone and watch. Pick up the gun and ammo from the cupboard in front of you and go back to the holding cells, go all the way to the other end and into the garage. Go up the ramp - watch.

Chapter 1: The Things That I Want

Go up the stairs and enter the room at the first landing, throw the lever just for luck and collect the painkillers, up, collect the Molotov cocktails. Take out the guys below, turn right following the ledge, jump up to another one and at the other end and around get into the room with a lever, pull it and look through the slit. Fun, wot?

Go out through the other door here, cross the plank and go downstairs. Turn right and go all the way to the door. Out: watch. Go the only way you can and at the catwalk join in the fight, go down the stairs and you will be attacked from one of the sidebooths, go in shooting and find the door out. Watch.

Chapter 2: In the Middle of Something

Go right, through the door, up the stairs. Take the only door out, up the stairs, open the double doors, get yourself as far away and as safe as you can and fire at the red boxes in front of the lift doors. Drop into the lift, go out and out of the door to the right. You will wind up outside, go right. Some guys will shoot at you from a door, follow them in and clear the area. (Before you go in you might like to go to the back of the shack marked NO PARKING, up some stairs and get a nice cache.)

When you have explored around inside, find the stairs up and keep going up. You'll find a gap and a lot of grief - when you can, leap across. Search this area and you will eventually come to a gap with two slabs across from you and a door on your right. Get gingerly on the beam, leap to the slabs and walk along the left crumbly edge and into the door. Open the first door to your left and watch. In, first door left, keep trying to go up. At a room with an open lift, climb the crates inside it to the floor above. Keep going generally left and up and you will eventually reach the end of the chapter.

Chapter 3: Blowing Up

This time you have to get downstairs to ground level. Go through the open door and follow the only way you can. A shootout with a guy will open a wall. In a room with no way out but a crack in the wall and explosives underneath, shoot them from a safe distance to widen the crack. Leap to the exposed beam, walk around to the wall and leap your way to the other opening. Go along here very carefully, going downwards whenever you can. When safe to do so (save and try first), drop down to the next floor. You'll be hassled all the way. When you finally run out of places to go leap through a curtain of fire: end of chapter.

Chapter 4: Routing Her Synapses

Listen to the conversation before you move. Remember that with the gun you are carrying you can press E to zoom and aim better. Go left and up until you get to the yellow lift, enter it and go down to the other half of the building. Go to the door then find the stairs up at the top of a ramp. Keep left and go where you can. Behind a door you'll find three guys fooling around, watch for a bit then shoot them. When you run out of places to go look for a pit with a beam across and a crate below and leap into it. Watch.

Chapter 5: Out of the Window

Again, follow your nose and try all the doors. At the top you'll come to a ramp going up to a catwalk from which you will be attacked. If you were to go up there you would see that there is no way out.

Find instead a door near here and save before you go through. In what follows you have to be very quick indeed and you'll probably have to have several goes till you get it right - well, at least I did.

Through this door you should find yourself outdoors, grab the loot to the right and witness Max's original way of exiting a building. Turn right and fix the guy who'll break the door down, go to the edge and look below you for the shooters and take them one at a time, the foremost first, using the E function. When you've done that, grab more ammo, through the broken door and shoot the other fellow. Get on the catwalk behind him and start shooting folks, first the lot at the cabins on your left, then the ones in front. If you've done that successfully and Max tried the door which wouldn't open and is now safely out of sight, he will give you some instructions.

Go back into the building the way you came, fight through 4 doors and look to your left for some scaffolding, go onto that and mop up the last of the resistance out there. Up the stairs, enter the building through here, go left and you will see a pit with a concrete beam across, jump in.

Chapter 6: The Genius of the Hole

Shoot the fellow in front of you, go onto the scaffolding and look to your left - try and hit the cylinders for a bit of extra damage. Keep your eye on the cabin to the left until Max is out of sight. Guess what, the door is shut so go back in and keep left till you get to the next bit of scaffolding, this time keep your eye on the right. When you've killed everyone go up the ramp and into the building, keep left and find the next bit of scaffolding, shoot the guy on your right, back in and defend yourself. Keep left and go through the door, drop down to the floor below and basically now you have to keep going left and downwards (do pop out if you see a bit of scaffolding, just to see if anybody outside is being a bore) and eventually you will come to a room with a sign by it saying HARD HAT AREA: in there, go forward and left and find a red cage lift, get in it, go up and watch.

Part III: WAKING UP FROM THE AMERICAN DREAM

Prologue

Oh, not, not again! Go out the door and follow the figure ahead, keep going along the corridors, then up the stairs till you talk to a dying Bravura, keep going, up the stairs and to Winterson's desk. Watch.

Chapter 1: Too Stubborn to Die

What we are doing here, I don't know. If you run around searching for a weapon Max will confirm there are none. Save. Open the door and you'll knock the guy down, run to the red double doors and up the stairs, hoping he won't hit you.

At the top go through the double doors, run left to Surgery, through Recovery and into a room full of panels around desks. Right at the back you'll find some painkillers. Dodge about here till a Security man comes in through the other door and gets killed. Now you have to pick up the gun he dropped and shoot the two characters who were chasing you, and when you collect their stuff you'll be slightly better off. Go through the door and along the corridor, keep going left through various doors till you reach a hall with a TV and a door marked EXIT. Save. Go down the stairs and into the garage, clear it, look into the van and go up the ramp.

Chapter 2: On a Crash Course

What can I tell you? This is more of the same. In, go right (painkillers in the next room) and keep going right, through doors and up and down stairs. An explosion will open the way to some more stairs. You are aiming to get, through some green corridors, to the office. Once you do, the chapter is over.

Chapter 3: A Mob-War

This is going to be slightly more complicated. Go forward, through the green door to the left, clear the courtyard. Back in, up the stairs. On the second floor, a discoloured wall can be walked through. Keep left and you will come to a room with a single enemy in it. You will see ahead of you some planks you must cross to get to the opening to the other side. Save. Step on the first plank, advance and crouch to deal with the people shooting at you, then leap for the opening... or don't bother to shoot it out, just leap out of the way.

Look for another set of planks outside a wrecked window and get onto them. As you walk through the opening, watch. For once, you've got help if only by mistake, so enjoy it while you can. Let the three guys go ahead of you and shoot at whoever shoots at them but being careful not to hurt them. Alas, their support won't last long because you will soon be discovered. When you've killed everyone, walk along the street and go through the first green door to your right, go to the end of the alley and go across the road.

Chapter 4: Dearest of All My Friends

Save as soon as the intro is over, this is going to be tricky: save every time Vinnie starts to move. Although he will direct you to the place he wants you to clear, watch any door near him as soon as you've done what he asked.

Go after Vinnie, stand in front of the door to the room in which he is hiding and repel all comers. When things are safe, Vinnie will move on, follow him. Here you will need to go left to the window and out of it and stay there, taking on the two waves of killers who come over the wall, but then go in and make sure the guys who got in somehow through the door don't kill Vinnie. Follow Vinnie to another door. Go outside and turn left killing everybody and then go through the door again and make sure nobody else has crept up to him. Follow him once more and when he stops in front of a double door go out front and deal with the opposition.

When you get back in he will have disappeared but run upstairs and you will see him going through a door, follow him and defend him once more. He'll start talking, follow him again and while he's watching TV go into the other room and listen to the phone messages.

When you get back to him he tells you to check out the balcony, go through the glass doors, shoot down the corrugated wall in front of you and shoot the three guys down there, jump down and be prepared for a van backing into the gates, crowd and kill the guys quickly, turn around and follow Vinnie, get in front of him and deal with another vanful of killers ahead - don't let them anywhere near him. When you turn around you will see him vanish through the double doors, go in through the single door and up the stairs.

Use the lift buttons and while Vinnie makes his getaway, be ready to shoot it out with the contents of the van which crashes in. Once they are all dead, follow Vinnie into the garage, but turn your back on him and shoot the persistent fellows who will come in after him through the door. Watch.

Chapter 5: A Loosing Game

I don't know about you but I have no idea what's going on, nor why Max didn't die at least twice several chapters back. Still.

Turn left and go down the stairs; don't go all the way down but jump to the wooden cubicle on your left and down the hole. Go up the ramp and down the other side and wait a bit avoiding the flames and ducking around till a hole appears in one wall and you can step into the bathroom. Into the next room, jump onto a beam, down to the top of a cubicle and down to the other side. Through a hole to your left, go through the opening with the red tiles, find the painkillers. Face the wall of fire and leap through. Go through three doors and pull the lever to cut the electricity then go back to the room were the electrical thingies were sparking and walk behind them. Up the stairs and straight ahead to find Vinnie's remains. Continue forward and jump to the stairs, up and to your left through the open door.

Chapter 6: There Are No Happy Endings

Here we go again. If you look about you you'll recognize where you are. Go to the Interrogation room and out through the other door, just keep going along corridors and opening what doors you can till the dream is over.

Chapter 7: Love Hurts

Open the door of the van and stay put while Mona gets rid of everyone from up above you. You will have to move forward and shoot two guys on the roof, to your right. Go to the front door and shoot it out, go in to the inner door - you'll hear a ticking, so run back to the front door which will be locked. Stay here while the roof collapses. Now you can go in and do the usual: go through the only doors that can be open and be on the lookout for bombs. Some doors won't open until the baddies go through them. Mona will usually be on the floor above so don't shoot her by mistake. Go down to courtyards to clear them and find items.

When you reach the Security room look at the video (i.e., press E in front of the screen). At the last courtyard you are joined by Mona. Watch.

Chapter 8: That Old Familiar Feeling

Go through the door and shoot the first guy: when a cabin falls behind you get in it and press the button to shut the door. Wait till the explosion is over and get out. Look around and you'll find the only way is jumping down a hole - kill the bloke first, jump in, turn to the wall with the large gap, run forward and through the door on the right. You'll have to be very quick because the bombs start falling. Go through the other door and up the stairs, follow the ledge - you'll probably have to leap to the next bit - and through the door. Get through the other door and up the stairs. Don't open the brown door till you hear the explosion, in, up the stairs and wait in front of the glass curtain, but turn around because someone will come at you from behind.

When it opens go through the other door, kill the guys, help yourself to anything laying about, listen to the answerphone, use the TV to hear the news and use the lift to go up. Kill the two guys and the one upstairs, try to kill Vlad.

Save. Through the door and you will see the stairs collapsing. Press the wheelchair lift button. Lem plays a peekaboo game with you and though I shot and hit him dozens of times I could not kill him.

Press the switch on the wall again to bring down the wheelchair lift and get on it, use the switch to go up and keep on shooting in front of you. Save. Through the door: watch.

You really have to be quick now and keep moving around. You have to shoot out the wooden dowels (4 of them, 2 at a time from either side) which hold the square structure in which Vlad is hiding. Once you've done that, you have to shoot at the other four dowels which hold the central metal piece. This will drop on Vlad and he will be visible for you to shoot at. When you get him just watch.

The End