Max Payne

The Good
Well, to put it bluntly, it was FUN! There isn't much NOT to like about Max Payne. GOD proved that less can be more. Don't be mistaken, this isn't a long game, but what they did, they did to a "t", as this was a well refined, complete package. Great gameplay, with a very good diverse range of locations, a tremendous, gripping story, and all the eye candy you could ever need.

The Bad
Well, I'm not sure if this was something I don't like, but the game was kind of short. However, as I said, you'll probably be satisfied by the overall product.

The Bottom Line
One of many shooters on shelves, but one of the better ones. GOD clearly put a lot of thought and effort into this. The replay value is there, because it's one of those games that are pure entertainment.

The Good
"Are you saying this game is like Doom?"

No, no, that's not what I meant. Doom and Max Payne have only one direct link to each other, and that's guns and violence. Of course, many games have that link, so why did I mention doom in the one-liner? Because very few FPS games, or games in general since Doom have had that thrill of going into battle, killing everything and walking away triumphant. Games nowadays emphasize realism and bring the action to you in a very scripted and "realistic" way. Like having to take out that guard to progress, or being forced to defend yourself against assailants, or of course the end-game boss. Now, I'm not saying that's not good either. In fact, I love the type of game that emphasize strategy and realism. I just missed the action of a Doom-style shooter, and Max Payne has brought it back to me.

"So, Max Payne is basically a senseless kill-everything-for-no-reason shooter? Bah! Boring!"

That's not what I meant either. Max Payne has a dark and noir-like story and setting that make going from one level to another something more than "flipping the switch and counting up your score". I compare Max Payne to Doom because of the battles, because Max Payne is not realistic at all, but at the same time it is an edge-on-your-seat thrill ride. I remember playing Doom and firing off that shotgun at the horde of demon-spawns, running away from the cloud of bullets, rockets and fireballs, dodging behind walls and charging into battle with no hope of surviving, only to come out alive, standing in a field of corpses.

That is how the battles in Max Payne are essentially fought. You charge into battle with the odds against you and somehow, miraculously, come out on top. How does this happen? Well, you have one distinct advantage, and it's the real selling point of Max Payne - bullet time. Obviously influenced by The Matrix, Max has the ability to slow time down, allowing him to dodge bullets and fire off his ammo twice as fast as his opponents. Once the battle begins, it might only last one, two seconds before everyone in the room - except for Max - falls to the ground dead.

"Doom didn't have that feature!"

Okay, enough about Doom. Don't talk anymore.

The story is cliche'd, but it's certainly new to the FPS genre - or in this case, TPS (third-person shooter...blargh) and as you play it, it won't feel at all like an "I've seen this before" game. You come home one day to find a bunch of druggies murdered your family, and then you're framed for murder! As if things weren't bad enough, druggies and thugs and psychos and every criminal and politician in the city is after you! It's up to you to cut through the red tape - in slow motion, baby - and find the men responsible for your family's death and clear your name at the same time. Such a feat could only be accomplished by Max Payne (or maybe Duke Nukem).

"Hey, Duke Nukem! That came after Doom, why didn't you mention Duke?"

Wha - I said quit talking! Doom had a story to go along with it, and it was pretty cool. Duke's story was dumb. Now shaddap!

The battles in Max Payne are truly memorable. Sometimes, during the death of an enemy, there'll be a sort of camera-sweep cutscene that adds so much to the experience. During the battles, you'll actually see the bullets fly past you, smashing bottles and breaking small pieces of wood off the walls. And there's just something great about throwing a molotov cocktail accross the cafe in slow motion and watching it burst into flames on the fatass bartender as he charges at you with his shotgun. Max Payne brings a truly cinematic feel to the genre that isn't brought on by scripted cutscenes or FMVs.

It comes with an editor. Heh...if you can figure it out, you can make a Max Payne for yourself.

The Bad
While I didn't mind the linearity of the game - it is just an action FPS afterall - it should still be noted. You don't have any real area to explore in the game, save for a few secret areas that you're not supposed to visit. There are no sights to see or anything like that. It's all standard "go here, kill everyone, go there, kill everyone, go through the door, kill that guy".

Everyone wants to kill you. Most of the areas you visit are areas where you'd expect to see a lot of enemies, but it's just a little rediculous that a hotel has thirty criminals armed with shotguns and uzis, but no civilians staying there.

I really wish they'd done more with the camera-sweeps and stuff in the game. They were awesome, but there just weren't enough of them. Only a few guys had them when they died, and I only remember one area that had a different camera angle before the enemy was dead. They added a LOT to the game and made it so insanely fun to play, I really wish there had been more.

Strategy would have made the game cooler. While Max Payne diving in slow motion was a cool feature...it just gets dumb when Max dives around the room shooting ten times in one battle. I wish the bullet-time would have been a more optional feature rather than a must-have, because unless you get the first shot - and make it a fatal blow - in a battle, you'll die without bullet time. Also, there's really not anything else to do but bullet time. You can't really duck behind many things because your head will pop above it and the bad guys can just shoot it. You can't lean around corners, there is no stealth involved in the game at all. I love the senseless-violence action...but there could have been more to it.

Some people complain that the game is too short. I didn't think so, but...well, maybe it is.

The dream sequences were cool, but the level design was unecessary. It's filled with mazes and guessing games.

Bullet time drains waaay too quickly unless you're just diving. But it's pretty useless unless you're diving, which is a pity.

The Bottom Line
Doom-style action with some shnazzy cinematic effects. Max Payne rocks!

The Good
No aliens, robots or demons here. Just the gritty, snowed in streets of New York. The story and the game owe a lot of inspiration to the "Die Hard" movies, complete with the renegade cop that can survive the impossible.

Here we start with bullet time that was possibly borrowed from "The Matrix" and implemented in almost every FPS immediately following it. A great feature that lets you aim in slow motion whilst killing the bad guys.

All the action is set against very realistic architecture, with missing tiles, dirty floors, boarded windows. The introductory subway level was especially enjoyable.

The sound was top notch too. The guns had distinctive sounds that let you know what the bad guy was firing at you. Voicework was great too. It was so well done that you never got the sense of bored actors reading a script in to a mic. The music was minimal and well done, providing that additional sense of the solitary figure against the world.

Storywise, It was a little contrived, but with memorable characters. Instead of your usual stereotypical wiseguys, you have different people representing different factions that are making a play for power in the Big Apple. Max finds himself having to take most of them all on at one point or another as allegiances fail.

Gameplay is awesome. I have never had so much fun with a 3rd person shooter before. The random bits of loopiness provided a much needed reprieve from the endless shooting, like the Pink Bird TV show. Using painkillers instead of health packs adds that additional sense of absurdity as Max is being continually shot up.

The graphic novel was an innovative touch, even if it was used to save the developer time and money instead of using ingame scenes. It let the player skip or review completely at their own leisure.

The end game? Fantastic and challenging with a grand payoff. I like that you really don't know who the really bad guy is until the very end.

The Bad
Got to be honest, Wasn't so crazy about the maze parts of the game. I didn't like the blood trail mazes, which were mercifully left out of the sequel.

Otherwise, It was just simply great.

The Bottom Line
Great gaming for low end machines at a budget price. I liked it so much that I bought it again in 2009 after buying it in 2001.

Very much a gaming experience.