Max Payne

Just like I started playing Legacy of Kain from the last game of the series, I started Max Payne with the second part. I eventually found and played its predecessor as well. After the second part, Remedy went on developing Alan Wake instead. Thus, Alan Wake is sort of a spiritual successor of Max Payne 1 and 2.

Later Max Payne got the 3rd part. Max Payne 3 was made by a GTA developers and turned out more like GTA without cars than a true sequel. They got the action right, but they could not get the psychology at all.

I did not play Alan Wake; wilderness setting, or plain horror is not that appealing to me. I do enjoy however many less straightforward shows with horror elements, such as Jigoku Shoujo for example.

Most people like the first game more than the second. It pioneered the Matrix style slo-mo action in shooters. Because of that many played it. First Max Payne also had more accessible plot of taking revenge for the family.

That was only on the surface, however. Even first Max Payne was very phycological and introspective game and the second game was even more psychological than the first. By the time Remedy released the second part, there were many other shooters that copied slo-mo from Max Payne and the sequel underperformed commercially. However, it has its dedicated fan base, that is because it has story like no other. I personally think that second Max Payne actually perfected the formula, there are many games with mafia, but there are few with psychological introspection.

Unlike more mafia and drugs related first game, second game had this much more toned down. Max finished his revenge against the Valcyr drug, that 'killed his wife and daughter' and tried to move on with his life. 

"They all were dead; I was still alive."

The second part takes the story of revenge and turns it into a reflection on itself. After killing all those, who were responsible for killing everyone Max cared for, Max had an existential crisis of sorts. He had no one to kill or to love and struggled to find new place in the world.

Second game particularly perfected this lonely Max image. Here he still fought gangsters and narrated what his saw with a cynical, but analytical commentary. This commentary helped to flesh out the world and characters a lot better than what many other games could. 

However, in second game a lot of this narration was now about Max own life and experiences. He reflected on his past, present, speculated over various things, wondered if things could have turned out differently and so on. 

Game even created surreal experiences, so called dreams or nightmares of Max Payne, that you play through when Max sleeps in in game world. They showcase Max's struggles with reality and his life in metaphoric kind of way. I too like metaphors and allegory and often describe my experiences in the same way.

Max is a lonely character, but he is not the same kind of lonely as Naruto or even Garra. Naruto wanted everyone to acknowledge him and did things to win peers approval. Garra just hated everyone and killed to dull his emotional pain.

Max is neither of these, He wants no approval from anyone. By second game he does not particularly hate anyone anymore. 

In the first game he passionately hated and killed everyone connected with Valcyr drug and even took on respected Aesir corporation, because they were involved in manufacturing of the drug.

In the second he partly tries to find new meaning in life, partly just responds to events that happen around him. Not the kind of meaning such as religion, but rather something he actually can relate to enough to like.

In the end Max grows attached to Mona enough to kill a fellow officer Winterson to save Mona from prison. In her part Mona did put a lot of effort into saving Max's life from gangsters and all sorts of trouble. Even my rational logic can find a girlfriend like that desirable.

Max is a Police officer and Mona is a wanted criminal for all the assassinations she did working for Vlad. However, their personal ties to each other were stronger than to duty. Max betrayed the police and Mona betrayed her employer Vlad.

Later Max gets nearly killed by Vlad, for killing Winterson as two of them also had a secret romance that went against their duty.

Max kills Vlad in the end. Mona dies in normal ending, concluding it as a sad and tragic story. Max somewhat moves on from the whole thing, but it is not clear to what sort of future. He sees his dead wife in his dream but feels that everything is alright.

However, there is a secret ending where Mona survives, and police finds them holding each other.

I can relate to a love story like that. I am not sure what happened to TrueHellDei, I do not think it is police related in any way. However, it is because of psychological compatibility that I was able to enjoy her company so. Because of that I miss her still.