Max Payne

The Good
Wow, has it really been nearly 10 years since Max Payne was released? The game that blended the grittiness of pulp and graphic novels, with the John Woo inspired gunplay. And tied it all together within a shiny 3rd person action shooter?

I have only reviewed Max Payne 2, at this point and after viewing the horrendous film adaptation, and replaying the game to rid the bad taste of the film from my mouth. I decided to throw my two cents into an already over-reviewed game. So here goes.

“They were all dead… the final gunshot, was an exclamation…”

Max Payne is a New York City cop, whom upon arriving home one day, stumbles into a nightmare. There are armed men in his house, and they are crazed on some new designer drug. In the ensuing chaos, Max’s wife and daughter are murdered. Flash forward some years later, and Max is working deep undercover, in the seediest hellholes. When his partner, Alex is killed, a crime for which Max is blamed, he goes on a rampage against New York’s underworld.

Max Payne is supported by a lot of other interesting characters. Like the whiny Vinnie Gognitti, the psychotic Jack Lupino, and the femme fatale assassin, Mona Sax to name a few.

Also there is the Address Unknown, back-story which mirrors Max’s plight. As well as the silly Captain Baseball Batboy. All of these elements come together, to make a more interesting narrative, and make the game world seem more realistic.

And how can I forget, the great graphic novel panels, that move along the story?

The gunplay is a blast. Literally. It’s like being throw headfirst into a heroic bloodshed film.(Look it up.-MM-) Max runs and guns, and can go into bullet-time, in which everything slows down around him, allowing him to easily take out his foes.

There are lots of guns and explosives to collect. Pistols, machine guns, rifles, etc. And in one particularly cool effect, when fired, the sniper rifle zooms in of the bullet and tracks it as it connects with an enemies head.

Max Payne, is a very adult game. Not only with it’s graphic violence, but also it’s mature themes, that would be lost on younger players. Be warned, Max Payne is a very violent game. Especially when it slows down, as the bullets riddle the bodies of the gangsters, and blood pours from their wounds. (Take that PG-13, BS film!-MM-)

The graphics are still pretty good. Not as much as say Max Payne 2, but they still get the job done, and only look a little dated.

The music is great, as are the voice overs. Particularly, the voice of Max. And some of the dialog with the enemies when they are just hanging around is laugh out loud funny.

The Bad
This game can be very challenging. I finished it on all the modes, and would not care to do that again. Max dies very easily, especially on the higher difficulties.

If you do not want or like a challenge, then you need not apply.

Some of the boss fights are insanely hard. Like the one with Jack Lupino.

There are also some “filler” levels. The only purpose these levels serve is to make the game longer, they could have easily been cut.

The Bottom Line
So here we are 10 years later, and Max Payne is still a blast to play. What you haven’t played it? You have to play it.

The Good
Sound were awesome with the gun shooting and explosions throughout the game. Also, the ability to pick your wasted victim's ammo is sweet to.

The Bad
Where do I begin? First, the voices are really blurred so you can never hear what the person is saying and when you can there is like only 5-6 different voices which is pretty lame. Plus, the background graphics are really shoty and just plain suck. Finally, the load times are horrible compared to the PC version.

The Bottom Line
Please, if you want this game, go buy either the Windows or Xbox version. If you don't have either, PS2 is only hope, and my friend you will be disappointed.

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!