- "But who was I to talk, a brooding underdog avenger alone against an empire of evil, out to right a grave injustice."
- ―Max describing his own cliche
An Empire of Evil is the last chapter of Part I in Max Payne.
Plot[]
Max enters a ritual chamber which is revealed to be where Lupino performed occult rituals to the evil beings he worships, sacrificing three to four of his men, evidence that Lupino's use of Valkyr has sent him off the deep end into insanity. Max found a torn note with Lupino's boss, Don Punchinello himself, telling him to straighten up his act or he will send his infamous hitmen, the Trio, to deal with him. After inspecting the chamber, Max heads forward to confront Lupino who is in the building attic, screaming nonsensical messages to his 'masters'.
As Max enters the room which is like a hall for any dark ritual, he is trapped with many Lupino bodyguards who come down to try to kill Max. After clearing out all of Lupino's men, Max is faced with Lupino himself and his two remaining bodyguards. He spouts the message that haunt Max, 'The flesh of fallen angels' before he talks nonsense and attempts to kill Max. However, Max is able to kill Lupino despite his induced Valkyr state which gave him great endurance.
When Lupino finally goes down, Max empties the full mag of his Beretta into him to make absolutely certain he stays down after seeing what Valkyr has done to him. Suddenly, Max is met by a lady who mentions that Lupino is dead and that he has the wrong guy, holding a pistol before pointing it at Max.
Characters[]
- Max Payne
- Jack Lupino (Killed)
- Don Punchinello (voice only, note)
- Mona Sax (cutscene only)
Weapons[]
PS2/Xbox[]
On the PS2/Xbox version, this chapter is titled Straight from a Bad Dream.
Obtainable Accomplishments/Trophies[]
Complete 'Part I Chapter 9: An Empire Of Evil' on any difficulty
20 POINTS
Finish Part I in under 1 hour
25 POINTS
Complete Part I on any difficulty
Bronze 
Video[]
Trivia[]
- The various names of the "demons and dark gods" that Lupino is heard shouting throughout the chapter are a combination of ancient and contemporary names of demons and gods from various beliefs and mythologies. For instance, Beelzebub is a name sometimes given to the Devil, or a high-ranking demon of Hell; "Lilith" is portrayed as a female demon in Jewish mythology; "Cthulhu" is a deity from the stories of writer H.P. Lovecraft; "Hela" is a goddess from the Marvel Comics universe, based on the Norse goddess Hel who rules over the eponymous realm.
- When Max finally kills Lupino and empties the mag of his Beretta into him, he mentions that "V was a bad monster, turned them into freaking zombie demons from outer space." This is a reference to an in-game horror movie called, quite fittingly, Freaking Zombie Demons From Outer Space, though little is actually shown about the movie itself, and only a reference to drowning in blood can be heard from bad guy banter.