Max Payne

"Payne to the max! But is playing this game a 'payne'?"

I'm a gamer who enjoys shooter games. Games like Perfect Dark, Golden-eye, etc. Those kind of games are right up my alley, even though I'm not a fan of First Person Shooters. Upon seeing the commercial for Max Payne, I thought to myself, wow, this game looks promising. This game was also the first ever game I played that used an analog control system, in which you move the character with the left analog stick and control the camera with the right analog stick. But hey, enough with the intro, let's get down to what makes Max Payne, well, Max Payne. :)

Graphics - Ah yes, graphics. It's a never ending debate among gamers as to if graphics really matter or not. But let's not get into a debate on whether they matter or not. I'll be the first to tell you that the graphics in Max Payne aren't exactly, for lack of a better phrase, top notch. The characters are rather flat looking and lacking of expression. The clothes also look rather, again for lack of a better word or phrase, weird. The environments don't look too good, either. The cut scenes are where the graphical flaws show the most. The faces of the characters really lack emotion and just look flat out boring. But if you don't care too much about that, I guess it won't be a problem.

Game-play - This aspect of games covers the controls of the games and general feel of them. The controls in Max Payne aren't too difficult, but you might have a bit of trouble getting used to them. I was playing it a few days ago and had a really difficult time playing it, but that was only because I hadn't played it in such a long time. You press right, left, up and down on the D-Pad to cycle through your weapons, whether it be a lead pipe, baseball bat or a sawed off shotgun, that's how you do it. The camera, I will say, can be very troublesome at times, and it even feels very stiff when you move it. I don't know exactly how do describe it, but I'll say it isn't as smooth as, say, Splinter Cell. In that game, you can move around the camera with ease and it's smooth. In Max Payne, however, it just feels as if the camera doesn't agree with you when you move it and it just stops suddenly. Sorry if this sounds weird, but that's the best way I can describe it.

Sound - Two down, one to go. The sound in this game isn't too good, either. The gun shots sound good as do the baseball bat shots. The real trouble comes when the characters talk. At times, it can be very difficult to hear what the characters are saying. Their voices just sound like they're shouting at you from up-stairs and they want you to hear what they're saying, but they know you'll have a tough time. But the cut scene comic book style makes up for that. The man who provides the voice for Max Payne is an outstanding narrator, and really makes up for the low quality sound throughout the game.

My favorite part of this game is Bullet Time. To activate Bullet Time, you press L2. This puts everything in slow motion, and trust me when I say you will NEED to do this in this game. You'll be in a lot of pretty right situations, and Bullet Time will save your life. Plus, while you're running, you can press L1 and Max will dive in slow motion and you can shoot while in midair. This, in my opinion, is the best thing about this game. It is truly a life saver. All in all, this game isn't bad at all. If you're not a graphics nut, they won't bother you much. The controls are relatively simple to comprehend, but you will probably have a bit of a tough time to adjust to them. But once you do, it'll be no problem. Should you purchase this game? Sure. It's a fairly enjoyable game, despite its flaws. But hey, what game doesn't have flaws?

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/22/07