Max Payne

"Did RockStar match GTA3? Hell yeah!"

From developer Rockstar comes Max Payne, the story of a cop who has lost it all. After the murder of his wife and daughter, Max goes looking for answers. His quest takes him through the bowels of the New York City drug culture, old and beaten subway stations, and across numerous building tops. In this plethora of bullets and blood, Max Payne is a game that you'll be happy to have in your collection.

Gameplay

The controls are much like Half-Life or Timesplitters. Each analogue stick controls either moving forward or strafing. The L buttons control bullet time- which you'll hear more about later- while R1 takes shooting and R2 handles jumping. The directional arrows change weapons, while X uses various objects, Triangle automatically gives you your most dangerous weapon, O releases painkillers, and Square is reload. It's a short learning curve, making the controls easy to master.

Max Payne offers a unique mode not-yet-before seen in other video games: bullet time. With the tap of the L2 button, gameplay slows down, allowing you to dive and run as your enemies shoot at you. It gives you the chance to get out of way of bullets faster, as well as consider your options before blasting everything to hell. This feature is key in high-action situations in areas you're not familiar with. Another great move is the roll, where a press of L1 allows you to dive forward or to the side, depending on which way you're running. Diving to the side allows you to leap behind objects or out from behind objects, surprising the enemy with a flurry of ammunition. While properly using the dive feature will take some getting used to, once you have it down, you'll see what a great tool it is during those five on one attacks.

The level design of Max Payne is great. There's a mix of open areas and inclosed facilities, each with it's own problems. Outside, you have open areas where you're open game for snipers and sneak attacks. Indoors you have less room to move, so your options are limited in case of an attack. There are a ton of interactive objects- medicine cabinets, dresser drawers and side-tables open up to reveal painkillers (health), ammunition, and guns free for the taking. Documents that peak Max's interest send an exclamation mark (!) on to the screen. Press X and you get to read them. The plot unfolds as Max figures things out, by over-hearing conversations and reading up on his enemies plans. It's a great twist to the usual ''Capture the enemy and he explains it all'' gag used often enough in most shoot em' ups. This method also gives the player a better understanding of the plot, because with each document examined, more information is unlocked, allowing you to take it in and understand it all, instead of getting bombarded with a pile of facts at a cutscene.

Artificial Intelligence plays a key role in Max Payne- then again, AI plays a key role in all games, but is very unique in this go-around. Computer-controlled baddies toss grenades down stairwells if they hear footsteps. The corner doors and search the room, taking cover if they feel a threat. Instead of running into a room at full force, only one or two enemies will come in at a time, another staying back incase you manage to get through. This sort of strategical AI is if and when you learn the tricks, because there's nothing more satisfying than tossing a Molotov down a stairwell during a conversation between the guards about making end's meet.

Finally, the weapons. As mentioned before, the directional arrows control changing weapons. This system makes for a pain in the butt when you want to switch guns during a shootout. If you want to switch from a pistol to a more deadly double Ingram (Uzi), you have to press all the buttons, highlight the weapon, and press L1. The developers were trying to make it easier to switch during battle, but when you have to keep an eye on your enemy while looking for the right weapon, things can get frustrating. However, when not in the midst of five FBI agents firing at you, the system works quite well.

Graphics

The frame-rate is higher than Rockstar's other action game Grand Theft Auto, and in a higher-resolution that you'll notice right away. The textures are more well defined on buildings, characters, and clothing, but are horrible on cars. If Grand Theft Auto did one thing besides introducing the world to animated depictions of prostitution, it showed how great cars can look. The vehicles in Max Payne are bulky, poorly animated, and the textures, my god, it's like looking really close at the walls of a first-generation PlayStation game. But since cars are only a small part of Max Payne, you can get over it.

The lighting effects are amazing. Fire looks more realistic than in that other aforementioned Rockstar game, and so do the explosions. Flying bodies and splattering blood over desks and posters really looks cool. And, they don't disappear! Yes, kill a guy 10 minutes ago? Go find him- he'll still be there, dead as ever.

The animation and crispness of the graphics makes for a great experience.

Sound

The music is well played out. Dark and mysterious tones while searching, a hard rock beat when something goes down. It's no-Metal Gear Solid 2, but Max Payne has a lot to offer in intense sound that really puts you in the game.

The sound effects are right on. Cars peeling out sounds better than it did in GTA3, while bullets and explosions are perfect.

Overall

Aside from sometimes frustrating missions, Max Payne is a very pleasant gaming experience. The story flows well and really gives you a feel for the guy, while the graphics and gameplay really back it up. Even though I was able to finish Max Payne in under three days of casual gaming, it's still worth a look.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/01/02, Updated 09/01/02