Max Payne 2 Revisited

So I picked up MP2 I dunno, 3 or 4 months ago, beat it pretty fast, and put it on a shelf to collect dust. Now, me and Max Payne have an interesting relationship: I either go through phases where I say "blarg I need to stop playing this, it's too repetitive," and there are times when I revisit the game for storyline appreciation. Just so you know, I skipped all the cinematics the first time through. Don't ask why, I just did. Anyhow, Max Payne 2's storyline is excellent. It's just so twisted and dramatic. Now, many of you I'm sure might think it is over the top in story telling, that it's film noir style is just parrodying itself (if you played it, that is). Actually, I love the style. Don't ask why, I dunno; the drama makes the characters really intense, and instead of Max being the one-dimensional action hero that avenges his losses, he's very much human, constantly criticizing himself and beating himself up over his past failures (which often haunt him in dreams). The dream levels in Max Payne uno were real nightmares, mostly due to the fact that you had to run across blood in a pitch black level that took hours to complete. The dream sequences in the sequel, however, are very straightforward and well done. Another thing I'd like to add is that you get the real ending only on the hardest difficulty setting, something I love to see in games because it adds a lot more replay value (at least for me). I love the challenge of going back and using what I know of the level design and enemy reactions and taking it to the next level to fight guys who are an actual challenge. I found sadly that this is not the case in Max Payne uno. Instead of fighting enemies that think and react like real foes, you get guys that are just as stupid, but have guns that kill you in two hits instead of say, 8 or 10. Of course, everything about MP2 is noticeably better than the original, something you would have to play back to back as I have to truly appreciate. Not to say that the original isn't good; it uses the same film noir style that really clicks with me. However, I found MP2 to be more tragic and better told than MP, even though the story for the original is that you are hunting down the murderers of your wife and child. Yeah, the sequel is more depressing than that. Speaking of hardest difficulty beatings, by the way, I just did it for MP2. The real ending is...actually happy. I was hoping it would be that way, since the fake ending makes you want to put a bullet through your head. By the end, I was convinced that Max needed a little sunshine for once. God, I loved this game.