More Max 2 from C&VG.com

Finally this afternoon, we bring you this short update from Computer and Videogames.com. In it they talk generally about Max Payne 2. It's not an interview, but does have some cool things to read; here's a sampler..

Attention to detail here is impressive, with everything from barrels, boxes and bottles right down to pool balls all behaving in the correct physical manner.

Slow-motion enhanced the action sequences in the original game, but the bullet-time feature combined with soft-body or rag-doll physics means that combat in the sequel is going to look far, far superior.

Naturally, thanks to object physics, explosions in Max Payne 2 are going to be something to behold, with all manner of debris flying hither and thither following detonations.

Check it all out over at Check it all out over at Computerandvideogames.com today!

Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:00 PM

Homelan Petri Max 2 Interview

Also up is a second Petri Jarvilehto interview today talking about Max Payne 2. Homelan's interview talks a bit about Max Payne 1, as well as Max Payne 2, the console ports, and.. aw hell, just read it. Here's some samples..

HomeLAN - When the time came to develop the sequel what were the team's main goals?

Petri Jarvilehto - We wanted to create something new and exciting as a team, and we obviously wanted the sequel to be better than the first one in every respect. With a sequel, it would be easy to just repeat the formula of the original title again, but that way, even at best, the sequel could only ever be a watered down version of the first game.

HomeLAN - What locations will Max Payne find himself in the sequel?

Petri Jarvilehto - We�re using various locations from run down buildings to luxurious manor houses, wide-open spaces to claustrophobic death traps. We�ve done extensive research and gathered tons of real world source material. Once again our guys got to visit some seriously run-down locations. Equally, Rockstar was able to get our guys into mansions, hospitals, Upper East Side New York apartments etc.

Check out the full interview (with two more screenshots) here.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:00 PM

Sam Lake Max Payne 2 Interview

Second is an interview with Sam Lake over at IGN.com entitled "Max's Pain", in which they talk to Sam about the story of Max Payne 2. Here's a bit from Sam's interview:

IGN: How was writing the script for Max Payne 2 different than for the original Max Payne?

Sam Lake: Writing a sequel is certainly an art of it's own. The setting and the characters have already been established. On one hand you have to stay faithful to that, on the other you need to shake things up and take the story to surprising directions, to keep what's good and fix what was not so good. The goal is naturally to top the original in every area possible.

IGN also asks Sam about why a love story, the film noir references, and briefly touching on specifics of the plot. Check it out over at IGN.com today!

Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:00 PM

Another Max Payne 2 Video

The updates keep coming today, with news of several more Max Payne 2 items for you to check out.

First is another game play video, this time exclusive to FileShack (Shacknews). You can check out their story on the video here, as well as download the 31 second video (in Windows Media Player 9 format).

Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:00 PM

New Forum Software Available

Since 1998, we've been running the same forum software - "The Ultimate Bulletin Board" (later renamed UBB.Classic). For the longest time this software has served us pretty well. However, with the pending release of Max Payne 2, a project that had been on the back burner for some time now has been implemented. We've changed forum software. The UBB.Classic has been retired on our servers, and we've switched to UBB.Threads.

Threads is a MySQL/PHP based forum software package from the same folks who put out Classic - Infopop. The primary reason this software change was made was due to the increased traffic load expected when Max 2 hits the streets. We didn't want any problems with the server dying, crashing, or things of that nature, so the forum software needed to be upgraded. Why? Because classic is a forum software that uses flat files on the server - everything is a text file somewhere that has to be opened/closed/written to. All that traffic generates a large load on the server, and "classic" would not be able to handle the stress. So we switched to "UBB.Threads".

Threads has a ton of new features that we didn't have available to us with the old format. Here's just a sample of some of the cooler new features:

* Avatar uploads - no more worrying about your server going down and your avatar not being displayed.
* Favorite Threads / Post Reminders - In your "My Home" area on the forums, you can track your favorite threads on all of our forums in one place.
* Ignore User - Someone on the forums bothering you? Ignore 'em - you won't see their posts anymore.
* Better thread control - You can display how many, and in what order you want a forum's threads displayed as.

There's a ton more, check out the "UBB.Threads Info & Assistance Forum" for all the details, and to discuss the software change.

A big thanks goes out to J.C. over at ubbdesign.com for his help in getting the new look of the forum down. Check out ubbdesign.com for your custom forum design needs. Also, a shout out goes to Dave & Rick over at Infopop for helping out with my problems in getting things going.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM

Max Payne 2 Q&A Plus Video

As Max Payne 2's release gets closer, more coverage has appeared online. Over the weekend, Gamespot has a Q&A session up with Petri Jarvilehto (Remedy's lead designer) about Max Payne 2 about the physics of the game and the Havok ragdoll stuff in there.

Also available are some new exclusive videos over at Gamespot. These include gameplay videos, so if you can't wait to play the game next month, you can check out some gameplay videos right now!

Visit all this over at Gamespot here: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/maxpayne2/news_6075506.html

Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM

Max Payne 2 Trailer Available!

The official Max Payne 2 website over at http://www.maxpayne2.com has been updated with a game trailer for you to download and check out. Go head over there, and visit their gallery section to check it out!

Posted by Joe Siegler at 11:30 PM

Max Payne 2 Has a Release Date!

The official Max Payne 2 website over at http://www.maxpayne2.com has been updated with some new information, but the greatest is the posting of a release date for Max Payne 2 of October 15th, 2003. This is for the PC version, the Xbox & PS2 ports will come on December 3, 2003.

In addition to the release date are a couple of more screenshots in the screenshot area - so head on over to the site and take a look!

Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:25 PM