Max Payne

"You a man on a mission , and only one thing in your way EVERYTHING!!!!"

Introduction

The following introduction is going to give you in sight of what Max Payne is all about. It will go into detail as much as possible explaining who makes this game and everything else. If you just want to read to the game play , story line , etc just skip to the review.

.Max Payne one of the most ambitious titles made by the first unknown developer named Rockstar studios. Max Payne was first in production and also announced for the personal computer in the year 1999. After about 2 years of hard working on Max Payne, the game was finishing the final procedures and the game was almost for release. It was released in July for the personal computer. It got tons of great reviews ,in some magazines and websites it got game of the year for the personal computer. Red on to see my review for the PC version.

The Next Platform

With much success of the intense action shooter it was clear that Rockstar had to get more out of such a great game .Rock star studios than brought the 3rd person shooter to the Microsoft X - Box. This was a great idea bringing it to the X - Box (also found on the Play Station 2) because the X - Box hardware was just released the previous month. The personal computer and the X - Box version were nothing but the same. It was a direct port from each other with no extra levels , guns , secrets something quite a few people were disappointed with including myself. The Play Station 2 version also got a direct port of this game also with some of the glitches taken care of as well as the X - Box version. All 3 versions of the game are identical minus some glitches from the personal computer version .

Rockstar Studios and There Games

A few years ago Rock star was an unknown company . Now days when you here the name of Rock star you immediately think of great games like Grand Theft Auto 3 for the play station 2 , the two Smuggler Run games for the Play station 2 and Game cube , State of Emergency and of course the first great game of there’s Max Payne. When Rockstar released a game in titled “Grand Theft Auto 3 “ it was great hit. It was the number one game not only for the play station 2 but for all consoles since it’s release. Since the release of Grand Theft Auto 3 many things have changed about Rock star. They were inquired by Sony to make all the Grand Theft Auto games exclusive to the Play station 2 until 2004. Rockstar and DMA studios (developer of Grand Theft Auto 3 also) joined together to make one big business now entitled Rock star North. Since the great hit of Grand Theft Auto 3 Rockstar North has been developing the game Grand Theft Auto : Vice city exclusively for the Play Station 2.

The future of Max Payne

So your still wondering if you should get Max Payne? Or have you beat the game a thousand times and want something new? Either way when you finish this great game you will wonder when is Max Payne 2 coming out. Currently with the huge success of Max Payne Rock star North has announced that there are working on Max Payne 2. It has only been announced for the personal computer as of now with some screen shots and a few details other than that it‘s a big mystery of what the story, game play and other things will be like following the first version . It should be in stores in about the fourth quarter of 2003. It has not been announced for any of the Next - generation consoles ( Nintendo Game cube ,Sony’s Play Station 2 , Microsoft X - Box) but it is a good bet that they will follow after the Personal Computer ‘s game after about 5 months or less just like they did with first Max Payne. So video games aren’t enough to float your boat? Well your in luck because it has been confirmed that there is a movie in production in titled Max Payne based on the first video game. Many other video games movies have been released. Some of them are Super Mario Bros. , Final Fantasy , Resident Evil and honestly they all pretty much stunk. Other movies like Crazy Taxi , House Of The Dead , are also in production so the big question is the movie going to be good as the game? Let’s hope it’s good and not a disaster.

Game Play

Max Payne is a 3rd person shooter. It resembles a lot of other 3rd person shooters as well as 1st person shooters. The game play in this game will put you in different scenarios all the time. It has the classic third person shooter view. When you begin the game the game play takes right off from the start and keeps on going. It continues to keep going up and up and better and better as the game progresses. The game play consist of you defeating enemies in different fashion. You will either sneak around door to door using stealth ,shoot like a maniac or just plain avoid the enemies. These are the key to the game play.

The personal computer is one of the best ways to play this game. Unlike the Console you use you keyboard to control Max. Using the keyboard makes it more efficient to get around and me like other gamers find it more comfortable to control Max. Good controls equal even better game play. Nothing more is worse than playing a game with such potential and getting ruined by controls. Luckily Max Payne’s controls are right on target for this game.

The game play does not get repetitive like other shooters. You will face different kind of enemies with different weaknesses to learn so you won‘t always know how beat the enemy so you will have to learn the strategy behind beating them.The game will develop as you go on using different methods of defeating your foes. The controls make the game play ten times better it makes switching between guns dodging back and forth which makes this game all more enjoyable. You will often face ten to fifteen foes at one time depending on what method of shooting you use. I have to say the Pc version makes switching between guns back and forth easier than the X - Box and Play station 2 version .

If you have ever watched the movie the matrix you will known what I am about to talk about if you don’t I will try to explain it. When big brawl fights break out it is a good thing to use a thing called “Bullet - Time” when you press the bullet time button you will go into a different mode with Max and the time around him slow down by 5 times. This will allow you to shot the enemies quicker so you can get past those very hard areas with many enemies . Bullet - Time was perfected by Rock star in this game and was the first game to use it. Now that Rock star and Max Payne has started this Bullet - Time other games are using it especially 3rd person shooters . Other games using this new feature is the game called Dead To Rights , Dead to Rights is very similar to Max Payne in almost every way with the weapons aspect , bullet time mode enemies , story line and even the area. Another games using the bullet time is of course The Matrix game . The movie that made the “slow down” time famous of course is going to use it and we will just have to see if the movie that perfected it is good as the game that perfected it.

This game also offers a variety of different weapons. There such great weapons in the game coming from different periods . The different guns are like the Beretta which was a basic weapon in the early 50’s during the gangster mob time from the new technology of the double automatic Uzi’s . Some other weapons include the pump action pimp also known as the a shotgun , the desert eagle which is a basic weapon , the one or two weapon big Beretta some weapons that you throw are some grenades and Molotov Cocktails. There is a good selection of weapons that will impress any gamer and shooter fan.

Different Modes

In Max Payne there are different modes to playing here they are.

Fugitive

The fugitive setting can first be accessed when you start the game ,it is the default mode on Max Payne. The good thing about this mode is that it adjust and is not random about throwing enemies at you. I have noticed that if you are not good and getting killed often the game gets toned down adjusting to your user level. However if your killing guys left and right don’t think this mode will keep you on the easy level rather it will get harder as the computer recognizes your experience and gaming level. The auto aim is on during this mode making the game very easy to kill your enemies . After completing the game on fugitive mode you will now have access to the Hard Boiled Mode.

Hard - Boiled

The hard boiled mode is the next level up from the fugitive mode. The Auto aim is not as clear as the fugitive mode making it harder and difficult to kill and shoot the enemies. Max’s healing power is also different from fugitive in the aspect that you will take more damage when hit and the life bar isn’t always full at times. This mode will throw more enemies at you more often . After beating the game on Hard Boiled you will unlock dead on arrival and the New York Minute

Dead On Arrival

The next step up after the Hard Boiled mode is the Dead on Arrival Mode. This mode leaves up to the name because seconds when you start to play you will get bombarded by enemies . This mode is for extreme players only and I mean that you need some true aim and have to have gone through the game a few times to even beat the first level in this mode. If you thought the hard boiled health was not good and that you often died because it was easy to get damaged than stay clear of this one because you will take twice as much damage from what you would in the Hard - Boiled mode. You will get this mode after completing the Hard Boiled mode.

New York Minute

This mode is my favorite and a very cool mode. It is pretty hard to and frustrating as well . Here’s how it goes you start a level as usual and a timer will be on the screen, you have that amount of time to complete the level everything drains the clock(not counting viewing movies or chapters) . If you kill an enemy the clock will gain more time to complete the level and if you enter bullet time the clock will also slow down.

Story - Line

The story line in this game will have some many twist you will think your in a blender machine! Ok let me break it down for you

Pro Logue

Max Payne is a successful cop. He had been on the job for quite a while working for a tough city where everything goes on and is no holds barred. New York City is where he lives of course and at the time of this game it is freezing there a huge storm going down while you play this game . As Max Payne is doing his job as a cop he lives in New Jersey with his wife and baby. But three years ago.........

Story

So now you know the insist of the story here is the rest of it. One day when Max comes home from work he hears his wife Michelle screaming for dear life in there New Jersey Home. Max runs up the stairs to see some robbers in his house and his wife being murdered on the bed with blood splattered every where. The robber’s are killed as well as his wife. As soon as Max notices his wife is dead he runs to his baby room to see the bed over turned and the baby laying on the floor in a puddle of her own blood also being found dead. The cops soon came and they were under the impression max has done it because Max has been on a lot of stress lately. However that was 3 years ago and Max is still on the loose killing everybody he sees to get to his wife’s and baby’s murderer to large. Max is still the prim suspect in this case and the cops are still trying to find him and arrest him. However Max will try to bring his wife murderer to justice by any means necessary.

Max Payne’s story line is not the most original piece of work to grace a video game but it does fit quite good with this game. The story line has been re done many times especially in the action/shooter genre like Dead to rights , Rendum and other great games. This game is divided in to different chapters. There are really no cut scenes per say in the game but rather you will see pictures and you can flip back and forth between them and max will talk to you while viewing the pictures. It’s a very different type of viewing the story and at first I hated it but it was quite unique and realized it was a good way of showing it.

Graphics

If you want the best graphics for this game you should definitely go for the X - Box version than the personal computer and finally the Play station 2. The PC graphics are good in many ways but fall short on others comparing mostly to the X - Box version. The personal computer version has some texture problems that were worked up between the Play station 2 and the X -Box version. For instance Max will sometimes be out in the snow and on the ground would look like a white floor instead of real snow. Some key things to note is the enemies the faces are absolutely great you can see there hair and texture of there skin just like in real life. The graphics are not an eye gem though they could have been turned up and the graphics should of had more light to it , in some parts you can not see anything . Max Payne’s face was one more thing I just did not like, I was stunned at how it looked so square - ish compared to the other faces in the game which were much fuller. Every thing else was fine and dandy though and was very good.

Audio / Sound

The sound is not bad but it is not as good and some parts just don’t have music which should. There are no songs on it more just sound effects and people talking. When you see a chapter Max will start talking to you and at times the words and subtitles will get too small to read so you need max to speak good so you can hear him. Everything he says can clearly be heard and doesn’t get scratchy like some other games. There are few cut scenes in the game with moving characters and talking but when there is the voice acting is superb. You will see Max’s or anybody else's lips moving and matching the sounds coming from the game. Now for the sound affects , they are quite creepy at times and other times they get you pumped up and trigger happy . When your in a tight spot with tons of enemies the music will get intense with beating music. Max has nightmare some times and in these nightmares you will hear your baby crying which will get you freaked out if your playing alone in the dark. Over all the sound and sound affects are pretty good and is definitely better than most shooters.

Replay Value

When you complete the game you can always play the game on different level setting or try to just use only one weapon the whole game a certain amount of painkillers per level. Here are the different modes you can play with.

Fugitive : The fugitive setting can first be accessed when you start the game ,it is the default mode on Max Payne. The good thing about this mode is that it adjust and is not random about throwing enemies at you. I have noticed that if you are not good and getting killed often the game gets toned down adjusting to your user level. However if your killing guys left and right don’t think this mode will keep you on the easy level rather it will get harder as the computer recognizes your experience and gaming level. The auto aim is on during this mode making the game very easy to kill your enemies . After completing the game on fugitive mode you will now have access to the Hard Boiled Mode.
Hard - Boiled : The hard boiled mode is the next level up from the fugitive mode. The Auto aim is not as clear as the fugitive mode making it harder and difficult to kill and shoot the enemies. Max’s healing power is also different from fugitive in the aspect that you will take more damage when hit and the life bar isn’t always full at times. This mode will throw more enemies at you more often . After beating the game on Hard Boiled you will unlock dead on arrival and the New York Minute
Dead On Arrival : The next step up after the Hard Boiled mode is the Dead on Arrival Mode. This mode leaves up to the name because seconds when you start to play you will get bombarded by enemies . This mode is for extreme players only and I mean that you need some true aim and have to have gone through the game a few times to even beat the first level in this mode. If you thought the hard boiled health was not good and that you often died because it was easy to get damaged than stay clear of this one because you will take twice as much damage from what you would in the Hard - Boiled mode. You will get this mode after completing the Hard Boiled mode.
New York Minute : This mode is my favorite and a very cool mode. It is pretty hard to and frustrating as well . Here’s how it goes you start a level as usual and a timer will be on the screen, you have that amount of time to complete the level everything drains the clock(not counting viewing movies or chapters) . If you kill an enemy the clock will gain more time to complete the level and if you enter bullet time the clock will also slow down.
I personally beat all the levels and all the difficulty settings and I enjoyed every minute of it , it did not get repetitive if you were to play an adventure game again. There were new enemies in different places harder to kill and different weapons in certain areas to play around with. I personally think if you beat it once you did not beat fully it until you have played all different level settings and beat them. Plus it is loads of fun to try.

Other things worth mentioning

It takes some time to get used to the controls and it is recommended that you do the practice mode to get the jest of how it works. When you master it you will love it , it is very easy to switch between the weapons in fighting especially the pc version of the game . Another thing I like about the control is the aim unlike other shooters Max Payne’s aim is superb , it will lock on to enemies very easy making for good shoots . Another thing that ruins games all the time are glitches. A lot of games have them and will mess up the game which will make you not want to play it. Luckily I have notice just a few minor very minor glitches. The biggest glitch that I have encountered was when Max shoots somebody and kills them they would just stand up right looking dazed , but it doesn’t really matter because that glitch does not effect the game play in any shape or form. . This game is not a very short game but not very long . It will take 20 minutes to beat some chapters and others will take you days .

The fun factor in this game is very high you will be playing days and building up your love for this game. The game keeps getting better and better every time you play it. There are many secrets in the game so you will be playing through the game many times to find secrets and different areas that you thought were impossible to get to. Over all this game has many different things to keep you enthused in the game for weeks and months.

This game does not require a mega Pc for it to work . As a matter of fact I used a very bad computer for this. The game will not crash like other shooters like Quake or Unreal Tournament (or for me that is). So don’t worry about your computer not being able to handle pc games because this game will probably be able to run on your computer in all likely hood. Sometimes you might stumble between hitting different things on the key board and result in a death but that is just a minor down fall.

Another thing I like about this game is an auto save option. A Quick- save option will allow you to save the game any place at any time. Unlike other games where you have to get a something to be able to save you can save as many times as you want. This is another key to beating the game you should save whenever you have good health and are right before a hard part that you know it will take a few times to get by so that if you die you will be close to where you last played. Quick save is not the only save option in the game , in certain levels there are about 3 different ( depending on the difficulty level ) auto save places . If you want a harder task try to just use the auto - save and no quick saves which will make the replay value increase even more.

Conclusion

(All Scores are out of ten)
Game Play : 9.6
Story - Line : 8.6
Graphics : 7.5
Audio : 9.1
Replay Value : 9.6
Fun Factor : 8.9
Score : 8.8
Rounded for Gamefaqs.Com: 9.0

To Buy Or Rent

This is a great shooter made by Rockstar. If you love games like James Bond : Agent Under Fire , Metal Gear Solid one and two or Dead To Rights this will definitely suit your bill. It has great game play , long replay value , nice graphics and everything else a gamer who like a shooting game or even if you have never played a shooting game in your life you will love this game. It is definitely a must buy and a great game to add to your PC collection becuase it quite simply one of the best third person shooting game of all time.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/24/02, Updated 09/24/02