10 Great Video Games Everybody Wanted (But Nobody Bought)

5. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

The first instalment in Remedy's hardboiled shooter was praised for its OTT shootouts, noir atmosphere, and bullet-time mechanics. Since Max Payne made a killing in sales, the sequel was sure to sell just as well, if not better.

Although The Fall of Max Payne wasn't as revolutionary, it improved nearly aspect of the original, offering a tighter story, better voice-acting, smoother graphics, and more intense action. (Also, leaping into the air in slo-mo with guns blazing had never felt more satisfying.) 

That's why it was baffling when Max Payne 2 tanked. In fact, it sold so abysmally, it's one of the central reasons why Take-Two Interactive was shut down. (In hindsight, the subtitle "The Fall of Max Payne" was surprisingly prophetic.)

Stranger still, there's no concrete explanation why MP2 failed. It was available on the PS2, Xbox, and the PC, so its accessibility wasn't a problem. It garnered rave reviews across the board. It didn't get swallowed up by a bigger brand released around the same time. 

Most importantly, it was a game that the fanbase wanted to play. 20 years, it's still a mystery why Max Payne 2 didn't pan out as well as it should've.