Emotional, disturbing, exciting. It's Max Payne 2.
Max sounds as good as ever, the theme tune over the menu causing the hairs to stick all over, the score is outstanding and really adds to the emotions you experience while playing as Max (or indeed Mona at some point), and gunning down baddies. Max's past life still haunts him, but the discovery of Mona's survival offers him some hope. He loves Mona Sax, no doubt about it, and after both he and she are marked for death, he'll do anything to save her and unravel the mystery.
Graphically, the game still holds up against all the new fangled textures we see today, graphics are crisp and frame rate very stable. Bullet time still looks great, the screen going delibrately grainy and the bullets you see flying through the air are even more visible this time. Shootdodges are as John Woo esque as ever, this time allowing you to stay on the floor shooting until you've emptied your magazine into some poor soul. Enemies also dive out of the way of Max's homicidal rampage, allowing for some more realism. NPCs occasionally join you for some funny moments, albeit with dodgy AI, but these sequences are rare so never a problem.
The only criticism I have of the game is its length. Its over far too quickly. However, the many modes of difficulty, and later the arena type mode ensures there's just enough to do, especially with a secret ending which, I beleive, is more satisfying than the original ending which I found a little too dark for my tastes.
Make no mistake, buying Max Payne 2 is a ticket on an emotional roller coaster; you'll see a man with nothing left to give and everything to gain, and love every minute of it.