Max Payne

"Suffers from a disease known as "Awesomeness"..."

We waited. We wanted. Expectations were huge. And for every image or video that was released for the general publics viewing, more hype came about.
The game was Max Payne, a title built around the success of the massive Hollywood blockbuster that was the “Matrix”. So did this game really deliver the hype? Or like so many other games, fail to bring justice to what was meant to be. Read on and the truth shall be revealed…

Story
Seems like a good place to start, so why not.
Max Payne was a cop, plain and simple. He was a very good one at that. Life was great, with a beautiful wife, a darling little baby and the perfect family house, Max was living a life of luxury.
But as is the case with so many happy beginnings, a devious twist in the so simple plot was to come.

Max is late on arriving home one night, and is startled to find his front door ajar. Upon entering Max finds two thugs in the hallway.
Max quickly pulls out his gun and pops the bastards (at this point in time you are in control of Max, so I decided to take out my anger on them by hitting ‘em right where it hurts).

He enters his bedroom. His wife, laying there, with a shotgun blast right in the stomach. A sick sight. Max frantically tries to find his little boy, but is devastated. For the thugs had killed him too.
So the beginning of the game leaves you angry, raged at the fact a cold blooded murder had just taking place, right in your “Perfect” home.
The only real gripe I have about this gripping plot is the balance of it all. I feel if the developers had of built the story up a little more without putting you in the deep end straight away, excitement would have been increased nearing the end of the game. As is the case though, constant action sort of dulls down the actual brilliant climactic ending. This may actually be a pro rather then a con to most people, as everyone has there own individual opinions.

Every time a cut-scene is presented (usually at the beginning or end of every level, with the occasional few in between), a comic strip style of sorts is activated. The actually story is told through words and picture that represent that of a comic book nature. A very original and clever concept in my view, adding a light hearted side to an already chilling plot

Graphics
Fantastic. The next step in reality for the gaming industry. But it all depends on what system your running this game on, as is the case with most PC games. I myself have a Pentium IIII 1.4Ghz processor with 128mbRAM and savage pro 4 32mb graphics chip.
Not really what you’d call amazing specs, but the game runs wonderfully, with medium graphical features that exceeded my expectations for what the game would actually look like.
As for the nitty bitty side of things, the facial features rarely change, despite all those promising images we’ve received with the hope of Max showing us his feelings when in certain situations. The enemies look even worse, with square heads of a deformed nature, similar to that of Goldeneye.
But I really am scraping the barrel in terms of faulting the graphics. The backgrounds are excellent, and the interactivity brings a whole new meaning the word “FREE”, in a sense anyway.
You’ll gawk at the half naked pictures on the wall, making for an unwelcome surprise when your girl/mum/sister is standing right behind you, hmmm.

At the end of the day, if you have the specs to run this baby (minimum of 128MbRAM, 32mb graphics chip), then your in for a real treat.

Game Play
Want to know why this game was hailed as the new Matrix of the millennium? How the cinematography comes into play for a video game? Well I’ll tell you.
I basically have two words for you. “Bullet Time”. This special power-up allows Payne to dodge bullets, jump about like a possessed clown, or fire while in real time despite moving about in slow motion.
The latter option is probably the most fun. If ever in trouble, just right click the mouse, jump in the air, rotate and shoot all enemies in the room, until dead. Heal, repeat, heal…etc
The bullet time mode is quality, despite it being a limited resource, I still think the developers have done a good job in balancing the option so’s not make the game too easy. The game isn’t the longest you’ll come across, but there’s nothing stopping you from going back a few times, in the extra modes that become available. The game can easily be completed in 10 hours, but those 10 hours should be the best of your whole damn gaming experience.

Healing is a Payne in the posterior. Max uses “Painkillers” to relive him of damage taken from enemies. They are few and far between, hardly cure you and an annoying concept to top it all off.
The quick save option will be abused due to this, which really should have been avoided in the 3 year making of this game.
Overall the game play is excellent, with only a few bugs that can easily be ignored.

Control
Customizable. Easy to get use to, making the game a whole lot easier to all of us.
Everyone has their own preferences, so the C feature is great.
I’m not too sure whether it’s compatible with a controller or not, but PC vets won’t mind that at all…

Sound/Music FX
Adds to the realism of the game. Great in game, great in cut-scene.
You can actually tell the position of an enemy just by hearing them babble.
I love the dialogue too. It’s corny but never seems to get old. The Italian/mafia accents give the game a more amusing feel, which in a way is a great touch.
Every explosion is met by a nervy jump as the action jumps right out at you, very entertaining.

All in all Max Payne does deliver the goods, with a little cherry on top to finish it all off.
Great graphics, half naked women, gripping storyline and excellent dialogue make it the best action game, ever.
Not to mention the fantastic Bullet time mode.
Maybe without this special power up the game wouldn’t be as good, but with it, it redefines the genre, absolutely stunning.
I’d give it a 10, but no game is perfect, but this is as close as it comes.
Look up the word “Fun” in the dictionary, and the name Max Payne should be in there somewhere. Cool and refreshing, oh and did I mention the Map editor too…?

Story line: 9.0/10
Graphics: 9.0/10
Game Play: 7.5/10
Sound/Music FX: 9.0/10
Control: 9.0/10
Reviewers tilt: 9.0/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/20/01, Updated 09/20/01