Max Payne

"A must for Mac, the best since Deus Ex"

First impressions:
When you first start the game, you're presented with 'prelaunch options'. It's a simple yet charming feature which allows you to change the default resolution and even detail levels of a surprising amount of graphic details. Having a high end machine, I promptly set everything to maximum and dove right in. The opening cinema is a little hokey, but it can't help it. By using Option + D while starting the application, and then clicking on the Max Payne logo in the prelaunch options, you can disable the opening cinema (as well as other options).. I found it a very nice feature. The menu interface is clean and quick, if a bit shy of taking up screen space. Resume game will always take you to the most recent save or quick save, saving from having to deal with the load menu.

There is a tutorial.. Nothing new if you've played anything like Deus Ex or Red Faction, consisting of standard movement keys, fire keys and a use function. It's kind enough to have an 'enemy dispenser' to hone your skills before the actual game, and get a healthy dose of 'bullet time'.

The Gimmick:
Every game has a gimmick of it's very own. Red faction was a rebellion on mars, Deus Ex was super 007 of the future.. Max Payne has 'Bullet Time'. We've seen the basic premise of this before.. Defeating enemies builds up a meter which enables some special talent. Unlike the usual fray of making your guy super fast while everyone else is the same speed, Bullet Time slows down the entire game world.

The effect feels natural. Part matrix, and part a real phenomena of when people seem to experience slow time. You're able to twist your body around in order to look and aim at normal speed, giving you the advantage of a few extra seconds to aim for a better shot. Everything from the motion of your enemies, your own stride, and every projectile already in flight or being shot is slowed to a moderate crawl. With good timing, you can dodge bullets as they fly through the air and return fire to an enemy in the midst of an action movie-like dive.

Without any other gimmicks to rely on.. No typical rocket launcher, no lock on weapons, no energy weapons, no armor or super jumps.. Bullet Time will be your saving grace in 9 out of 10 situations. The developers have done a very good job of making the game feel real, without any added novelty of impossible weapons like duke nukem.

The Story:
At the very start of the game, you're greeted with a scene which would make your character out to be a psychopath with a gun. And it's not terribly far off. In the first chapter, you're greeted with the story of Max's troubled past and the current state of things. Things play out in a smooth manner, for the most part. The course of action seems to make enough sense to go along with it even when it's broken up by the seemingly random effect of 'the kindness of strangers'.

The presentation of the story is done through very sparse in game cinema, as the heart of all the story telling is a self narrative by 'Max'. During these cut scenes, mingled within game play and at the start of each level, you're treated to highly stylized pictures that strongly resemble that of an airbrushed graphic novel. Narrative blocks and word balloons are all there while great voice-overs cover the text. The method seems strange at first, but quickly grows on you as a fantastic means of presenting imagery that in game cutscenes and prerendered scenes would have made appear much more lackluster.

Though the story swirls around Max's history and the current mess he's become tangled in, it also touches upon the current state of the city. Set in New York during the winter, you're not greeted with hokey notions of Christmas time and a holiday gone wrong.. You're submerged deeply into the heart of a brash winter storm, something that gets a lot of mention as time goes on and seems to weave itself into the story and atmosphere.

Graphics:
The best to grace my computer. Period. Each projectile is rendered in flight to amplify the real feel of bullet time, and particle effects are rampant as suitcases of money kick up dollar bills when shot, tiles break when shot and blood spatters from every gunshot wound. Of particular mention, you're often very likely to get a moment of intentional slow down as you ride the bullet of a successful sniper rifle shot to it's intended victim.

The early enemies you encounter are highly diverse, as well as the 'unique' foes (typically bosses). Only in later levels do the enemies begin to feel 'skinned' as every early level person you come up against seems to have their own body type. Weapons are modeled realistically, and Max himself has quite a high poly count allowing his jacket to sway as he dashes about.

Lighting and level design are very well thought out, though snow sometimes seems rather stiff on the environment models outdoors. Little details make the world go round.. everything from flushable toilets, to working beer taps and televisions which act as a believable light source. There's no shortage of interesting things to take note of.. Whisky bottles shatter in a brownish splash of liquid, posters on walls are often extremely legible and steam jets from pressurized pipes when shot.

Even the unusual 'graphic novel' story segments are gorgeous. Facial expressions remain clear while the backgrounds are muddied gently to pull your eyes to the right places. The loading screens earn the same treatment of beautiful and detailed painting like graphics.

Sound:
You're not likely to be impressed by sound, because everything is done just right. Gun shots, explosions and even foot steps are spot on. Electrical devices come with their own little sound of shorting out when you shoot them, and the sirens are real enough for Max to thank you when you silence the overhead speakers.

The sounds are spot on and avoid all measures of ill attention, but it's the voices where things excel. Despite looking a little too clean cut in early sequences to posses such a voice, Max maintains a perfect 'gritty grumble' throughout the game. You're bound to be reminded of Clint Eastwood during the course of the game's events.

Other members of the cast are well voiced with the appropriate amount of 'scumbag' and 'we're friends, really..!' spiced into their voices. No disjointed text or robotic script reading to be scene, which is impressive. The entire game feels like a mix of comic book, third person shooter and Hollywood movie because the voices are just so good.

Performance:
With all options set to Max and a resolution of 800 x 600, I got a steady frame rate of 50 (on average) with a GeForce 4 MX and a 933 G4 Quicksilver. I ran the game in Mac OS X 10.2.1 with no conflicts. Every texture seemed quite clear, and there were almost no traces of pop up at all. Collision detection and 'jaggies' rarely showed, to which I'm able to say the game was remarkably well done but not flawless.

Final Impressions:
The game ends like it starts, like any good movie which bases itself on a self narrative from the hero's point of view. I can't say it's a perfect ending, certainly not as much closure as Deus Ex had with 'a job well done' ending sweep. It leaves some branches open for a sequel, and DOES wrap up all the loose ends which you encountered during the course of the game itself. In all, the game has three 'chapters', made up of six to eight levels each. It certainly doesn't seem like much, but each level is large and difficult enough to earn at least 14 hours of game play (without cheating). That said, it does feel a bit short.. but perhaps that's because there's no incentive to explore. No 'upgrades', no especially hard to obtain super weapons. And besides a sort of winner's circle gallery at the end of the 'DOA' difficulty, there's little reason to replay besides simply enjoying the story over again.

That having been said, it's well worth the price. You may not delight in it quite as much if you prefer dramatic explosions and energy weapons, and you may not enjoy it that much if you have a low end system.. But it is a very good game. Having picked this up shortly after GTA3, it feels vaguely in the same vein. There's a wealth of organized crime to be taken out piece by piece, and you seem to be the only well armed man to do it.

Final scale:
Pathetic-Poor-Sub Par-Average-Good-Great-Excellent

Graphics: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Story: Excellent
Duration: Good
Replay Value: Average

Final score: 9/10, Deserves to be on your purchase list

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/07/02, Updated 10/07/02