For some reason, I could never get into the story of Payne 2. Max Payne will remain a good and well told story to me, as well as a good game. But the sequel just seems to try and surpass it and largely fail. Gameplay wise there's little to keep me interested, with the exception of one or two levels (the construction site where you team up with and control Mona is a blast, for instance). The addition of a more complex physics system is nice but rarely lifts up, or matters much. The game also felt smaller.
And the story is just FUBAR. Vinnie alive? Vlad a villain? He was too much of an endearing and somewhat quirky character in the prequel, definietely not villain material as far as I'm concerned. Mona letting down her guard? And how many times does Max come close to dying? It creates some tension in the first game, but seeing him escape death over and over just feels forced. He's a badass, we get the point already. Stop pumping him full of lead and breaking his ribs, for god's sake.