• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Digital Foundry: Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne - Retro PC Time Capsule vs PS2 - Can Consoles Cope?

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?



The Retro PC Time Capsule is back - this time taking us all the way back to 2003, the year of the Radeon 9800 Pro... and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne! In this video, Alex plays the Remedy classic on period appropriate PC hardware, while John attempts to keep up on the PlayStation 2 rendition of the game. The PC's inordinately more powerful, so can the console keep up?
 
Last edited:

intbal

Member
John: "I couldn't easily acquire the Xbox version."

I guess Rich doesn't pay him enough to afford the digital version ($15) which you can still buy on a 360.
The 360 doesn't apply enhancements so it still would have been the original Xbox version.
 

squidilix

Member
John: "I couldn't easily acquire the Xbox version."

I guess Rich doesn't pay him enough to afford the digital version ($15) which you can still buy on a 360.
The 360 doesn't apply enhancements so it still would have been the original Xbox version.
Just check on ebay.com, the game is at 10 / 15€ on Xbox version..

A bit shame, I would lovit see PS2 / Xbox vs PC
 

intbal

Member
Just check on ebay.com, the game is at 10 / 15€ on Xbox version..

A bit shame, I would lovit see PS2 / Xbox vs PC
Already finished watching it, but I think he said "in time". So I suspect he couldn't wait for it to be shipped to him.
But the digital purchase would have been instant.
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that perhaps it can't be purchased digitally on the Xbox 360 store in Germany.
 

fatmarco

Member
Just check on ebay.com, the game is at 10 / 15€ on Xbox version..

A bit shame, I would lovit see PS2 / Xbox vs PC
It would be a more legitimate discussion.

For whatever reason I'm reminded of the Ace Combat 7 tech discussion, where he only compared Ace Combat 7 to the every Ace Combat game from 1-5, completely ignoring both Ace Combat 6 and Assault Horizon on the Xbox 360, the problem being that Ace Combat 7 was only impressive (imo) when not compared to its actual direct technological predecessors in Ace Combat 6 and AC (This is further exacerbated by the fact they literally gave away free digital copies of Ace Combat 6 with pre-orders of the Xbox version of 7, so the idea they might not have had access to it is nonsense).

Having said that, the PC version of Max Payne 2 has always totally smoked the console versions. Even the Xbox version isn't anywhere near it (maybe more due to the fact it was a barebones port).
 

Onironauta

Member
Already finished watching it, but I think he said "in time". So I suspect he couldn't wait for it to be shipped to him.
But the digital purchase would have been instant.
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that perhaps it can't be purchased digitally on the Xbox 360 store in Germany.
Or maybe he wanted to avoid emulation at all costs
 
Max Payne 2 was a graphical showcase for the classic Xbox. I also grabbed a digital copy on Series S. It seems really dumb to compare a downgraded console copy to an enhanced PC port.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Max Payne 2 was a graphical showcase for the classic Xbox. I also grabbed a digital copy on Series S. It seems really dumb to compare a downgraded console copy to an enhanced PC port.

All OG BC Xbox games being BC enhanced is a fantastic way to replay. I have Jade Empire's BC version and the only thing I wish it had was a 16 : 9 wide-screen mode. It's 4 : 3 and equivalent of 4K at 60 FPS.
 

Danknugz

Member
i rmemebr playing max payne on PC when it released and I believe it was PC only for a while? i don't remember it on ps2.

for what it's worth, around that time I do recall most games that were ported either way, be it pc to console or console to pc, always were not nearly as good as their native platform. console games suffered on PC due to windows 2000/xp poor drivers and lack of low level hardware access and PC games suffered on console due to low effort ports.
 

Chuck Berry

Gold Member
The PS2 version of Payne 2 is awful, especially compared to the original Xbox version. Still have mine. The fact John said he couldn’t easily get a copy is horseshit. They’re out there still for cheap and you can grab it digitally on the XB BC library.
 
Last edited:

diffusionx

Gold Member
I played MP1 on Xbox, it was a good port but IIRC the PS2 version of MP2 was notoriously bad. I ended up playing the 2nd game on PC in a pirated copy (sorry Remedy lol).
 
Last edited:

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Nope they couldn't and the PS2 version was big pile of steaming shit even compared to PS2 games.
I even saw PSX textures
Best thing about PC gaming, my copy of Max Payne 2 becomes a new remake every time I upgrade my parts.
That's why we're gonna do a comparison of your Copy of Max Payne 2 Vs Max Payne 2 Remake on consoles.
So it'll be PC Vs Consoles
The loser will shut up and stop making stupid comments.
Cracking Up Lol GIF

Nah seriously Max Payne 2 on PC was on another level, but that PS2 version could of been better.
It was terrible.
 
Last edited:

intbal

Member
Dug out my Xbox copy of Max Payne 2 (that's a lie, it was on the shelf beside me).
Haven't played it in about twenty years.
Tried it in both my Xbox and 360.
Visually there's no difference, so the 360 emulation is a perfect match (360 emu is supposed to add MSAA to OG Xbox games, but it doesn't do it with all titles. And I couldn't tell in this case). Performance seemed more erratic on 360.
Compared to what John showed on the PS2, the Xbox version has significantly more detailed textures, lighting, and geometry. It has cutbacks to scene complexity, however, just like the PS2. Fewer objects, no mirrors, etc. The aiming on the Xbox version seems rather poorly-tuned (I remember that aspect pretty well). I don't like the "Fast Aim" button click instead of just giving Max a faster camera speed all the time. It's pretty clunky and hard to control.

Ultimately, there's no real reason to ever play Max Payne 2 on Xbox or 360 if you have an Xbox One or higher, since it's backwards compatible and much better on the new systems.
(the one expection being CRT support on Xbox/360)
 

Skifi28

Member
It's insane to think how compromised console ports were back then, the games felt like two generations apart. We like to make a big fuss these days, but the differences are now negligible in comparison.
 
Last edited:

Tarnpanzer

Member
The 360 doesn't apply enhancements so it still would have been the original Xbox version.

Thats not true.

I played both games in 4K/60 on Series X.

So John is actually right, because he would need a physical Xbox Copy on original hardware.

edit: Read your post again, u are right in terms on playing on 360.
 
Last edited:

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
It's insane to think how compromised console ports were back then, the games felt like two generations apart. We like to make a big fuss these days, but the differences are now negligible in comparison.
PS2 was just a very weird mid gen release of sorts. came out in march 2000 in japan, but didnt see release in the west until november. By the time the Xbox came out, it was almost 2 years old. Of course, it was going to be dated and struggle in comparison.

I played Max Payne on the xbox and it was fine. HL2 and Doom 3 were also released on the Xbox, but the PS2 just couldnt run them. Alex shouldve done a comparison with the Xbox.
 
God I'm so grateful to have been around and enjoying these masterpieces when they launched and that I wasn't a PS2 shitter. Played them all on my gaming PC at the time, an AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.3Ghz and Radeon 9700 Pro. Handled them beautifully.
 
Top Bottom