Isn't it strange how the effect of bullet time has become a major factor in most gun-toting action games these days? True Crime: Streets of L.A. has it and makes nice use of it. Enter the Matrix, based on the film trilogy that inspired bullet time to begin with, actually has a button set aside for it, labeling it as "focus". But the innovator probably had to be Max Payne, which arrived for consoles and PC two years ago and made great use out of it, incorporating it into gameplay and allowing for better results of succession. Now the innovator has returned yet again, and it's even a more focused effort than the original.

Max Payne 2: The Return of Max Payne picks up the story shortly after the end of the first Max Payne. Max, still burned out and plagued by nightmares of the death of his family and the twisting inferno that resulted from the first game, is barely getting by living in a run-down apartment and working back on the police force. But, as you can tell by the title, he's in for a worse ride than you could expect. He's called upon to investigate a strange warehouse shooting, and his hellish nightmare twists even worse, with familiar faces popping up aplenty. What is Mona Sax doing back in the picture? Who are the strange forces behind the death of his police buddy? I would tell more about the story, but soaking it in is part of the fun.

Max Payne 2 is a well thought-out sequel, packing the kind of action that will keep your guns happily a-blazin', yet having enough style and substance to single it out from the other wannabes in the genre. The engrossing story is merely one of the factors that make the game great- it's the attention to detail that's a real grabber here.

First off, the game uses a bit more focused gameplay than the original. Bullet time has returned, as I've mentioned, and you can incorporate it more smoothly into your gun battles for better result. Of course, your enemies are ready to take you down more insistently this time, as the artificial intelligence is tightened as well. So make sure you keep your painkillers handy. The effect is still outstanding and incorporates nicely into the game's control mechanism. You can opt for an easier difficulty if you need to get the hang of it, but you'll probably want to dig into the game's harder level of play to unlock the higher-up modes.

Then you've got the game's graphic engine and presentation, both top-notch. The game moves breezily enough and pays attention to specific things, like the lighting effect a blazing fire will bring or the ability to smash an object and watch the pieces fall like lifeless parts of a puzzle. The game moves pretty fast, with barely any slowdown whatsoever and great attention to the characters. Max no longer looks like just another stiff mug, but a living, breathing, broken man. Kudos to whomever designed Mona as well, what a babe. I took a look at the PS2 version is comparison, and, man, does Remedy need schooling on the PS2 machine. It moves so chunkily it looks like it was dipped in peanut butter. But I'll save that for another review.

As for presentation, I also need to give props to the sound department. Not only does the game has boisterous sound effects, with gun barrels blazing and coming across like thunderclaps, but there's also excellent voice work (no lame Nick Kang jokes here) and some moving music in parts of the game.

The game's got some modes to unlock and tons of weapons to get into, and the single player mode will take some time to beat, especially on a harder difficulty. But, past that, I'm afraid Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne doesn't have that much replay value. The game lacks any sort of multiplayer junkets of any kind (not even a versus mode between Max and Mona), nor any downloadables through Xbox Live. This is a bit disappointing, only because it would've been nice to have the game pack some kind of novelty besides its enthralling single-player experience. Perhaps if a Max Payne 3 surfaces (and that's a big if, considering the story here), we'll see such inclusions.

Otherwise, if it's a single player, rock-solid action game with the kind of story that involves you is what you crave, then Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne will more than likely suit the bill. It's got top-notch production values and great additions here and there, even though it lacks in the longevity factor. What better way to say Merry Christmas than "nothing beats killing guys in slo-mo"?