Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (Rockstar PC, MA, 15+)

By PETER ELEY

(Herald rating: * * * * *)

How long will it be before players become the central characters in movie-like games, able to control their virtual destiny?

The sequel to Rockstar's brooding, dark Max Payne takes us one step closer.

The Fall of Max Payne has it all: cutting-edge graphics, a gripping, if violent, plot and full-on, fast action.

The first game started with the murder of Max's family and dealt with his quest to take vengeance on the killers and clear his name.

He emerged as a flawed hero: a hard-drinking, hard-boiled New York cop who walks a tightrope between right and wrong.

The almost photographic quality of the graphics helped the player to get a fix on Payne as a person, and made it easy to share his pain.

In the sequel Max is still tormented by the events of two years ago, but he finds comfort with Mona Sax, the femme fatale assassin from the first game. Computer games in general handle romantic themes with difficulty, more often than not offering stilted dialogue and stereotypes.

Max Payne does it as well as any game, and manages at times to create real sexual tension. It's not Bogart and Bacall, but it's not too bad, either.

The bottom line is that it's an action game, and players expecting lots of shooting won't be disappointed, especially as it's done in such glorious detail.

The first game offered a Matrix-style slow motion mode when the shooting started.

It didn't work all that well, but has been refined for the sequel to the point where it becomes almost an essential feature.

The Fall of Max Payne is about as cool as a computer game gets and is let down only by being too short. But its sheer quality gives it almost an iconic status.

* Email Peter Eley