As Jason mentioned a few nights ago he had the opportunity to visit Rockstar Games and see Max Payne 2. We now have his preview of the game, offering a look at what's in store for the third person action game sequel. We also have four new screenshots and three more great gameplay clips.

I was able to see the kind of "gee whiz" physics demo that it seems like every developer loves to use to show off their physics engine: the player hits an object, which hits another, which causes some barrels to roll. If you've seen the Half-Life 2 demo from E3, you've seen this as well. It's cool, and will be a big part of the gameplay, but that's nothing new. What Max Payne 2 does that I haven't seen anywhere else, is use physics while still in bullet time. This makes for some really awesome effects. For example, I was shown a sequence where Max fired at a bad guy in bullet time. The camera then shifted to that same close-up sequence you may recall from the first game, however this time around, the body tumbled backwards, hit a pole and fell down a scaffolding to the floor, with complete rag doll physics the whole way. ...

Read the rest now! Max Payne 2 went gold today and will ship to stores October 15.

With the game due to be released next week it's not much of a surprise, and here is the announcement..Max Payne 2 has gone gold! The third person action game sequel will ship to stores in North America on October 15, and in Europe on October 24.

"With Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Remedy has done an incredible job in raising the bar for technical innovation and creating a truly superb cinematic experience," said Sam Houser, President of Rockstar Games. "With two and a half years invested in this project, the results exceeded even our high expectations. Everyone at Rockstar is eagerly anticipating the reaction of gamers around the world when it hits the streets."
"Working with the vast array of talent and resources that Rockstar Games brings to the table, we've been able to push the production values to an incredibly high level in Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne," said Petri Jarvilehto, lead game designer at Remedy Entertainment. "We are confident we've created a strong successor to the first game that pushes the envelope on cinematic action and intense storytelling."

You can find our interview about the game here, screenshots here and for some sweet videos check out FileShack.

HomeLAN Fed has posted a preview Max Payne 2 preview, offering impressions based on a recent demonstration of the game at Rockstar Games. All parts of the game are covered.

This forum post on the 3D Realms forums mentions that Max Payne 2 will be shipping on two CDs, except for localized versions, where it will be three CDs (as people will still be able to select the English language version). The full (and only possible) install will be 1.7GB.

In just a little over two weeks Rockstar Games will be releasing Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, the sequel to Remedy's incredibly succesful third person action game. We decided it was time to ask Remedy a couple of questions about the game. Questions and answers touch on the story, the new Bullet Time feature, graphical improvements, and the guys at Remedy even reveal information about a new Dead Man Walking game mode.

Shack: Max Payne 2 will feature "Bullet Time 2.0", what kind of changes have you made to this feature?
Petri Järvilehto: I think we're taking cinematic combat to a new level with the combination of Bullet Time, physics and better cinematic camerawork. We've had a couple of years to innovate and brainstorm on how to make Bullet Time cooler. We've taken time to tweak it, and have made it an even more integral part of the gameplay. This was an extensive iterative process (ie. try a lot of stuff and keep the things that work :-) We've done things like separating the player and the enemies to different time-scales ...

Read all about it here.

GameSpy is the latest site with an updated Max Payne 2 preview. Though there isn't much in the way of new information, there are new screenshots.

We have some new Max Payne 2 media for you guys to enjoy at this late hour. First up are these screenshots, which you might've seen attached to previews we mentioned earlier today but if not, go check them out. FileShack has a new collection of gameplay videos, six of them this time. The videos show Max taking care of business at several different locations in the game, and most of the clips run a bit longer than the previous ones. If for some reason you can't play Windows Media Video 9 videos we also have the movies in high-res and low-res Quicktime format.

IGN has actually updated early for once, offering a new Max Payne 2 preview. The preview offers impressions of a two level build recently demonstrated by Rockstar Games. New screenshots are included. Update: another preview is up at GameSpot.

The guys at Rockstar were kind enough to send along the various Max Payne 2 videos they've released around the net (without any watermarks that were applied to them) and we've put them in a single .zip file for your downloading convenience. The .zip includes four high-res Windows Media Video 9 format gameplay clips and a graphic novel teaser. In case you're bandwidth impaired, we also have the same collection in a lower resolution Quicktime format. Max Payne 2 will be released October 15.

Update: a new preview of the game can be found at UGO.

There is a very brief Max Payne 2 Q&A on GameSpy this morning. Remedy's Petri Jarvilehto is asked about the improved character models in the sequel.

Rockstar Games sends along this new Max Payne 2 gameplay clip, which you won't find anywhere besides FileShack. The high resolution Windows Media Video 9 format clip shows you 31 seconds of action packed footage as Max clears out a room.

Max Payne 2 will be released October 15, you can find the official website here.

Also on HomeLAN Fed today is this Max Payne 2 Q&A with lead designer Petri Jarvilehto of Remedy. JCal asks how happy Remedy was with response to the first game, what the main goals are for the sequel, if we're gonna hear more film noir monologues, how bullet time has been improved, and in what other ways MP2 improves on the first game.

There's some new Max Payne 2 Q&As online, at GameSpot as well as PC.IGN. The GameSpot guys talk to lead designer Petri Jarvilehto about the physics, while IGN talks to writer Sam Lake about the story. New media is included with both stories.

In case you didn't download the Max Payne 2 teaser trailer from IGN yet, Rockstar has now released the non-watermarked version which you can grab from FileShack. There's a 720x480 version and a 320x240 one.

Over at PC.IGN you can find the first gameplay footage from Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, available in either Quicktime or WMV format. Movie runs for a minute and twelve seconds.

The official Max Payne 2 website has been updated, offering three new screenshots from the third person shooter sequel. As we reported earlier today, Max Payne 2 will be shipping October 15.

This Take 2 financial report mentions that Remedy's third person shooter sequel Max Payne 2 will be released October 15 on PC. Also planned for release around that time are Railroad Tycoon 3 and Hidden & Dangerous 2. Thanks HomeLAN. Here's the quote:

Rockstar Games' products planned for release in the fourth quarter include the launch of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, the sequel to the hit franchise that has sold over 4 million units since its debut in 2001. The title will launch on PC, and will be in stores in North America on October 15th, with PlayStation2 and Xbox versions planned for release in the first quarter.

The official Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne website has been updated, finally offering something more than just a few wallpapers. You can now find screenshots (a trailer is coming "soon"), a list of game features, and system requirements among other things. Thanks Max Payne Zone. Max Payne 2 will be released this fall.

Computer & Video Games has posted their Max Payne 2 preview, which is actually the online version of a recent PC Zone UK magazine article. Besides an overview of the game, there are quotes from Remedy about the improved bullet time and the script.

In the case the GameSpot and GameSpy Max Payne 2 previews yesterday weren't enough, PC.IGN now has their own. They were shown the same build, but the article does contain two more screenshots.