Max Payne

"If you like most action movies, as well as action games, this sould be up your alley"

Overall Rating 9/10

This game has just about everything. It has an unreal story, great graphics, amazing detail, good controls, great sound, and great voice overs. IF you enjoyed games like ''Syphon Filter'', ''Metal Gear'' or ''Resident Evil'', you will love this.

Graphics 10/10

The graphics in this game are just flat out unreal. When you pause the game, the camera circles around Max frozen in the position he was in. You can see the different expressions on his face, and the most detailed thing is when the game is paused, and if you are shooting at the same, you can see the individual bullets and where they are going. The company put a lot of time into creating good detail for this game. And they did a great job.

Controls 10/10

If there is one really good thing about the title, is the conrols. If you played ''Red Faction'' ''Time Splitters'' ''Rainbow Six'' or ''Alien Resurrection'' you'll have no problem with the conrols in this game. The joysticks move Max. The left one moves him and the right turns and looks. The right shoulder buttons shoot and duck. The left shoulder buttons activate ''Bullet time'' and ''Shoot dodge'' Features that I'll talk about later. The controls will take a little getting used to if you are new to this style of motion. But you'll be cruising along pretty quickly.

Gameplay 8/10

Max Payne has introduced a new style of gaming. This game has ''Bullet Time'' and ''Shoot Dodge''. These features allow you do enter a Matrix-like mode and dodge bullets. The sound and motion slows down to allow for better reaction. Another cool feature are the difficulty levels. You start the game on another new feature. The ''Fugative'' difficulty adjusts the enemys to yoour skills. So if you are burning through the levels, it will make itself more difficult for you. But this is where the game has it's flaws. In parts of the game where there is a lot of action you will notice a lot of slowdown. When there are 5 or more guys on the screen at once it slows down. The game is actually pretty long. But if you are good at this type of game, you will burn through it. I can beat it in about 4 hours when I skip the comic-like story.

Sound 10/10

This is unreal. In bullet time, the gunshot sound is slowed down and sounds really cool. The voice overs are really cool. Max has a voice similar to that of Solid Snake from ''Metal Gear Solid''; Deep and raspy. The italian gang members also sound cool. They have an italin-New York accent. Very cool. The Background sounds are really good too. In the early segments of the game, you can hear a lot of screaming. and it sometimes is muffled behind closed doors. And it changes when you open them. Very Realistic.

Story 10/10

The story from this game is one of the best I've every seen in a game. Max comes home from work one day and his wife and daughter are dead. He is out to get revenge. The Mob has framed him in killing one of his comrades. So the cops and the Mob are after him. Does Max Get revenge? or do the Cops stop him first?

Replay Value 9/10

After you beat the game the first time, more difficulty levels are unlocked. Making the game harder and funner.

Rent or Buy?

It's up to you. I loved Max Payne. I own it. But if you have a weekend free, you could rent it and bang the whole game out in a weekend. Try and find some more info on the title and then decide what to do.

In the end I would say that Max Payne is one of the better PS2 games out there. This game has brought many new features to the gaming world such as bullet time and the self-adjusting difficulty. If you want to know any more information on the game from me, E-mail me.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/01, Updated 12/20/01