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Customer Reviews of Max Payne

Payneful Wait Pays Off

Finnish game development company Remedy Entertainment has been working on their Max-FX game engine and the Max Payne game title since late 1996, following the success of their Apogee published 2D Racer, Death Rally. From fall 1996 to fall 2001 is a long road to take from concept to finished product, and despite a seemingly endless development cycle, Max Payne has weathered the long winters and burst onto the PC gaming scene with both guns blazing.

Noir to the Max

One thing you don't find much of in today's action games is story. Usually the developers just give you a gentle push toward the enemy and substitute state-of-the-art graphics and level designs for things like plot and characters. In Max Payne you play Max Payne, a New York City cop whose life is torn asunder when his wife and baby are killed by psychos drugged out on a new designer drug called Valkyr. Max joins the DEA and goes undercover with the Mob hoping to discover the source of this new killer drug. Just when all the clues are starting to fall into place, Max is betrayed -- framed for killing his contact at the DEA. Now both the police and the Mob are after Max. With no place left to go and nothing left to lose, Max wages a personal war on crime, along the way uncovering a tangled web of street thugs, Mafia crime bosses, and secret government cover ups in the dank underworld of a city clutched in the grip of the century's worst blizzard.

At first glance the story may seem a little trite, even cliché -- framed cop seeks vengeance on the Mafia underworld only to uncover secret government conspiracy -- however, Remedy Entertainment brings it to life using comic book style story boards for the bulk of the tale. These detailed Photoshop-modified images give the story in Max Payne a gritty stylistic feel that matches the dark mood and stark realism of the game's levels. Blending these story boards more seamlessly into the game, these sequences are often triggered by a television broadcast, a clutter of loose paperwork found on a desk, or even a radio left playing in an empty office cubicle. They help bring the game's environments to life while moving the plot along at the same time. The voice acting in these sequences is top-notch, matching the noir mood of the game perfectly.

Payneful Dreams

Satan was here.
Moving the storyline along with comic book style cut-scenes is one thing, but Max Payne takes storytelling to a new level weaving together scripted events and storyline themed levels. First you play out the opening sequence where Max's wife and baby are murdered by Valkyr-addicted drug fiends, and later in the game Max experiences two hallucinatory dream sequences. These dreams bring Max's torment to life and let the player "live" the painful memories and horrific moments that have driven him to the edge. While a few players may be put off by the mazelike quality to these levels (and that fact that you can still die -- even in a dream) they add recurring themes to the game and add depth to a character who would normally be nothing more than a gun-toting, one-liner spewing cliché -- like in most 3D action games.

Maximum Graphics

Max Payne uses the 3rd person point-of-view perspective. This allowed the developers to pull off two shrewd special effects: the Matrix styled slow-mo "Bullet Time," and the John Woo style jumping effect known as "Shootdodge." These two effects can also be used together in one action-movie slow-motion acrobatic "Bullet Dodge Combo." Max can run into a room full of thugs and deftly dodge incoming fire by flying through the air and shooting in slow motion. While Bullet Time slows the game down -- to the point where you can see individual bullets and shotgun pellets whizzing by -- it doesn't slow down your mouse pointer -- giving Max superhuman reflexes and pinpoint accuracy. These effects have to be seen to be appreciated as they take the game to a whole new level. It really is like a John Woo movie on your PC screen.

Max Payne lacks nothing in the graphics department. Levels are highly detailed and full of interactive objects that can be shot or blown up. Toilets flush, bar taps spit beer, and you can even find running water in a [cheap] flophouse. With photo realistic textures the game looks run down and gritty -- like a seedy corner bar on the bad side of town. Adding to the realism, guns have the proper bolt actions and spit out shell casings when fired. Enemy characters will react to the environment when killed, slumping over chairs or falling over tables without clipping through walls like in most games. Corpses, bullet holes, and shell casings stay in the environment for the duration of the level. No ghostlike fading away for enemies in Max Payne. The dead stay dead.

Paynefully Short

Max Payne does fall short in a couple of spots. The game is almost criminally short and will take the average gamer only 10 hours to solve from beginning cut-scene to ending storyboards. At a retail price of [not too expensive] Max Payne might not offer enough gaming bang for your gaming buck. When you complete the game, the extra tough "Hard Boiled" mode and the time-limited "New York Minute" gameplay mods are unlocked. However, the game plays through the same levels again with the added frustrations of not being able to skip the in-game cut-scenes.

Maximum Conclusion

Even if Max Payne is a little short, it is still one of the best PC games released this year. When you stack up the excellent storyline, awesome visuals, stellar special effects, and pulse-pounding gunfights, Max Payne is simply one of the most fun action games on the market today. You owe it to yourself to enter the gritty noir world of Max Payne. Just be sure you take an extra clip!

[BIG DANIEL McFOOT]

Ever wanted to be Chow-Yun Fat this, is as close as you get
Max Payne is definitly one of the best action games out there
Pros:
Sweet graphics
A huge aresonal of weapons
Bullet time puts enemies at your mercy
Short but sweet
Nice graphic Novel Cutseenes
Quick save is tite(Don't need to start all the way over like in the PS2 version)
Just a pure action-Shoot em up game
Cons:
Horrible voice acting
Plot starts good, but later on, it makes no sence
Not much replay value

Max Payne definitly brought Hong Kong shootout action films to life on consoles with propper justice. Altho the dialoge is just plain out horrible, the gameplay is what matters, and the gameplay is all action. If you ever wanted a pure action game, get this; if you ever wanted to be Chow-Yun Fat, this is as close as you get; if you want a lengthy game, rent this first, cause it's not that long.

Peace

I'd rather drink cyanide than play this again.
I believe the title spells it out people. This game is the worst game ever. I'm a 17 year old and playing this was like torture. I love killing things and blowing them up as much as the next guy, and prolly a little more. But come on now! EVERYTHING IN THIS GAME DIES!

I was a little annoyed after watching those junkies kill his wife and kid, and i said, ok maybe this is just the beginning. I played it until just after entering the bank through the subway, (for those of you who haven't experienced the misfortune, thats like the 2nd section of the 1st level) and by the time I got there I took it out of my XBOX, broke it, and through it away. I wouldn't even pawn this on another gamer because it was so bad! Crappy gameplay, script, graphics, story, everything. Bullet Time was OK, except he seems to dive everywhere, he can't just stand in one spot and shoot, but that coulda been just me.

If you are one of the few people who haven't played this game, be VERY happy! AVOID IT! I wish I could take back the few minutes I played on it, because they were completely wasted and I think i got dumber from playing it. (Not to mention disgusted as hell)