Max Payne: Information from Answers.com

Platform: IBM PC Compatible
Release Date: July 24, 2001
Genre: Shooter
Style: Third-Person 3D Shooter
Similar Games: Hitman: Codename 47 (IBM PC Compatible), Dead to Rights (IBM PC Compatible)

Game Description

Over four years in the making, the highly anticipated Max Payne adds a new aspect of stylistic storytelling to the action-based 3D shooter. The game was developed solely as a single-player adventure and the designers at Finland's Remedy Entertainment focused on creating an experience that would make players care at least as much about the main character as they would about finish times or frag counts. Tried and true devices of pulp fiction and film noir are employed in this computer game, drawing the player into the dark story through gripping motivations of revenge and self-preservation.

Technically, Max Payne offers its own brand of state-of-the-art graphics and sound. Detailed, high-resolution environments are deformable, as walls become riddled with bullet holes of various sizes and shreds of paper, plastic, plaster, and tile fall to the ground, each in their own distinctly realistic manners. Admittedly inspired by the cinematic works of John Woo and Sam Peckinpah, the game applies stylistic techniques borrowed from action films as well, not only to add to the mood of the story but also to enhance gameplay. The title's signature "bullet time" gunfights can be played out in slow motion to provide a familiar dramatic effect and also to allow the player a chance to better situate himself and pick out prime targets in the chaos of flying lead.

While the storyline still determines the events that need to happen in each mission and level, the Max Payne is designed to allow the player to decide exactly how goals are accomplished. While the game must adhere to the linear nature of a plot-driven experience, it strives to also allow an engaging sense of freedom and control through expansive level design. Large, seamless areas are intended to offer the player a sense of new space to conquer as he sees fit, whether methodically sneaking about to avoid detection or running quickly and violently through a swarm of enemies with both guns blazing.

~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

You find yourself standing on the roof of a New York City skyscraper. It's snowing and a cold wind is blowing -- you've got a sniper rifle in your hand and you hear police sirens somewhere far below. How did you get here and what could have possibly caused you to do such a thing? The camera moves in closer and focuses on your face -- Max Payne, fugitive DEA agent with nothing left to lose. Your only goal is to avenge the murder of your wife and child, killed by crazed drug addicts.

With this introduction, you are plunged headfirst into the dark and sometimes disturbing world of Max Payne, presented in the style of Hong Kong action cinema and modern noir detective movies. The much touted Bullet Time feature gives you the powers of a master assassin and lets you experience all the grizzly action in slow motion. Just like the action star Chow Yun-Fat, you kill with grace and precision, every bullet perfectly aimed and the feeble shots of your enemies dodged with ease.

Max Payne truly captures the moment of every shootout and inspires you to not just kill the bad guys, but to do so in style. Remedy Entertainment recreates the atmosphere of New York City with a combination of authentic, varied sound effects, photo-realistic textures, and excellent lighting and level design -- indeed, other than a complete lack of pedestrians, it seems real. Only the worst blizzard in a hundred years explains the empty streets, and only drug addicts roam the city, no doubt looking for their next fix.

The levels are so well designed and the action so immersive you soon forget about the missing populace. As you fight your way through the snow-covered streets, subways, slums and skyscrapers, you seek answers to the underlying mystery of why your family was executed. Why are the police now seeking you as a notorious criminal? Although the developers attempt to weave the story seamlessly into the game by basing all action around the premise, the result isn't perfect.

The story is, at times, predictable and full of clichés, about the quality of a straight-to-video "B-movie" and seems to miss the mark in terms of fluid gameplay. Unlike Half-Life, where the action is integrated perfectly with its simplistic, yet appropriate story, Max Payne frequently yanks you out of the game and forces you to look at a badly-drawn in-game "graphic novel" and listen to mediocre dialogue. If only Max Payne had NPCs, it would be a masterpiece.

The game does have style, though, and provides several memorable moments and delivers on the promise of movie-like action. The visuals provided by Bullet Time are almost as good as some of the shootouts in The Matrix -- even John Woo didn't make every bullet visible as it flew through the air, something the Max Payne engine manages quite well. The lack of a good story is disappointing, but the game is still enjoyable because of the action and level design alone.

The particle and sprite effects in Max Payne set a new standard of quality for the PC. At the time of release, no other game has featured such realistic flame or detailed ballistics effects. The textures are almost all taken from photographs, making the levels and characters appear extremely lifelike, and the lighting is as good as the lighting used in Quake III.

Playing Max Payne is like stepping into an action movie, and most first-person shooter fans will be instantly hooked. The pace is maintained throughout the game and nearly compels you to finish in one sitting, with the occasional awe-inspiring moment driving you to continue. Although the weapons are standard fare, they're effective and made more interesting through the use of Bullet Time effects. If action-packed stories and expending entire clips of ammo from dual Mac-10s in slow motion appeals to you, Max Payne is a sure-fire hit.