There was a time when Max Payne was the toughest character in video games. In the original two games, Max was fast, unstoppable, and always with a witticism about his increasingly screwed up situation. But that was over a decade ago, and decades tend to take their toll on people, and Max Payne is no exception. Max Payne 3 is the long awaited, long delayed follow up to the first game to employ slow motion in its game play mechanics. So is the game a worthy follow up to the original, or is the franchise out of ammo?
The Story
Time has not been kind to Max Payne. Despite gaining his revenge for the death of his family and (depending on what difficulty you played the second game on) started a relationship with hit-woman Mona Sax, Max is once again left alone with his only comfort coming from bottles of the booze and pill variety. Soon Max is approached to join a personal security team for the wealthy Branco family in Sao Pablo, Brazil. When the boss’ wife is kidnapped on Max’s watch, Max sets out to get her back, but in true Max Payne fashion things quickly get twisted as Max finds himself not knowing who to trust, and short on time.
The story of the game is one that definitely lives up to the original two games, not by emulating them but by adding a dash of realism. Sure, the original two games had Max taking on the New York mob and uncovering the Valkyr drug, but that was child’s play compared to the complexity, and oddly enough realism, of Max Payne 3. For the first time ever, Max is brought out of the shadows and into the beautiful sun filled setting of Brazil.
But, don’t let that fool you. This is the darkest Max Payne game of them all. In the first game we had a confident protagonist who had youth on his side. But this time around Max is older, outgunned, and outmatched. Max Payne may have been the toughest man in New York, but in Brazil he’s little more than a rent-a-cop who doesn’t understand the language and hasn’t seen real chaos yet.
What makes the story work so well is the very thing many fans had been worried about: the change of scenery. It would have felt quaint to have simply done another snowy New York film noir game. By bringing noir into a real world setting (or perhaps they’ve brought the real world into a noir setting), the game feels more poignant and less like a really long John Woo/film noir homage. What truly makes it great, however, is that despite the new setting and new characters, Max is still himself. If any other character said the things Max says during the narration, you’d think they were whiny, but in Max’s case we know exactly the kind of hell he has been through, which makes us root for him even more.
The Gameplay
As previously said, Max is older this time around. In the original game Max had youth and speed as part of his arsenal. But this time around his youth and speed are gone, but they’ve been replaced with experience. Max doesn’t move the way he used to. Before he had finesse, but here he’s a bull in a china shop and you feel it in the game play. Rockstar Games has gone to great lengths to ensure that the animation in Max Payne 3 is top notch. With the age, physique, and even skill level varying from enemy to enemy, each character is animated differently. For example, Max runs much slower than his (usually) younger opponents. He doesn’t turn on a dime, so if you run into into a room full of thugs and have to double back, you actually see Max have to shift his weight to turn. It’s the little details like that that make the game all the more immersive. The character animation of your opponents is amazing as well, with them responding not only to gunshots, but specifically where they get hit.
Better Bullet Time?
Now, let’s get down to what people really want to know: is Bullet Time better? And to answer it simply: yes, it is. To compensate for Max’s lack of speed, Bullet Time runs out much slower. This gives the player time to better plan out their shots, but perhaps most importantly it looks COOL. Plenty of games have put slow motion in, but the bad mechanics of those games show even more in slow motion. Bullet Time in Max Payne 3 just lets everything great in the game play mechanics shine brighter. The coolest new feature of Bullet Time is the return of the final kill cam, which lets you see the last few shots you fire in all the gory detail you could possibly want.
Frustration
The only frustrating aspect of game play comes in the form of the Last Man Standing mode. Last Man Standing mode occurs when the player has had their last bit of health taken out, but still has pain pills. The game play turns to Bullet Time and if the player can take down the enemy that shot them before hitting the ground, their health replenishes. While this is a neat feature, it can be very frustrating, because if something is blocking your shot when you get hit or the gun in that hand is out of ammo, it’s game over. It’s a cool feature, but one that perhaps could have used a bit of fine tuning.
Make no mistake, Max Payne 3 is a very challenging game. You are almost always outgunned, and the feeling that Max is up against people who are in a whole other league than the goons he’s used to from New York never leaves the player. In true Max Payne fashion, things go from bad to worse in a hurry, both in the story and in the game play. Max is the underdog this time around. This isn’t like other action games where the player can just run in and mow the enemies down unscathed. Max Payne 3 requires a little bit of strategy on the part of the gamer. However, the increased difficulty is all the more rewarding.
Other Goodies
Max Payne 3 has some pretty neat side features. The most prominent, and coolest, side feature is the ability to collect parts to create golden guns (a nod to the influence of John Woo films). If you manage to get them all, then any gun Max grabs will become golden and have a bit more power behind it. This is done by discovering clues throughout the game and then finding the parts, which have been hidden.
Another interesting feature that occasionally brings a few good laughs is being able to watch TV in a few spots. It may be a cheap laugh, but in a story where there aren’t many laughs to be had, it’s a welcome one. The game also has an amazing soundtrack that perfectly fits the sunshine noir setting and makes you feel like you are playing an action movie.
The Verdict
Max Payne is a complete revitalization of the series, but more than that, it is a gorgeously cool game that could easily stand on its own two feet without the comparison to the originals. Rockstar has done it again and delivered an amazing, beautiful, haunting, and of course cool gaming experience that sits proudly next to GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption, and LA Noire.
