Max Payne

The Good
+ Great soundtrack
+ Great storyline
+ Excellent storytelling
+ Bullet Time works with ease
+ Easy-to-learn level design
+ Autosave and quick-saving abilities


The Bad
- Stripped down levels from the PC
- Some visual glitches
- No level selecting


The Bottom Line
Presentation: 95/100 Max Payne is about the title character where he is looking for revenge after the death of his wife and newborn baby daughter. The great film noir storyline is told through graphic novel stylised cutscenes and narration.

Graphics: 90/100 The texture quality looks great with smooth framerate. The character models can look a little blocky. Bullets can also be seen flying through the air in Bullet Time with very high amount of details.

Audio: 90/100 The soundtrack is excellent. Max narrates his story well. Audio transitions while moving from one area to another can be sloppy at times.

Controls: 90/100 The controls work well with the Xbox controller. The left trigger enables Bullet Time and Shootdodging while the right trigger fires your weapon. The directional pad allows you the cycle around your inventory with ease; the left and right buttons switch groups, while up and down switches weapons within a group, and press the right trigger to equip your weapon. The only flaw with the controls is Max's lack of ability to walk, as Max constantly moves at a running pace; and there are also parts in the game where you have to get from one place to another by getting across narrow beams or grounds.

Difficulty: Challenging but just right The easiest difficulty can feel challenging at first, but after you beat the game, the Fugitive difficulty won't be as difficult. The Hard-Boiled difficulty is described as hard, but it's practically the same, hard at first, but feels easier after. Dead on Arrival is legitimately difficult, even you beat the game. New York Minute is where you have to beat each level in a minute. Ingame cutscenes and graphic novel panels pause the timer and killing bad guys will buy you some more time.

Gameplay: 95/100 The gameplay is different from typical shooters, as it is the first game to use Bullet Time, inspired by the films directed by John Woo and The Matrix. Bullet Time works like this: when triggered, everything slows down, but you can aim in real time, giving you the advantage over your enemies, using the Shootdodge maneuver will help you dodge bullets with ease. The AI's capabilities are scripted and could put up a fight, but they don't react to hand grenades. The level designs are shortened down, and some levels are shorter just to make the levels after them longer. This game also has auto-saving and quick-saving abilities, where the game automatically saves at the beginning of each level. You can also use quick-save or normal saving while in a level.

Overall: 91/100 Max Payne isn't a lengthy game, as there are 24 levels that are divided each. There is no multiplayer, which is forgivable, and also considering about how would Bullet Time work in multiplayer. This game is recommended to buy.

Score: 91/100