Max Payne

"A fun, noir-inspired action game"

Max Payne was one of the cooler game series' to come out during the PS2/Xbox generation. With a dark storyline and intriguing main character, as well as some great writing and graphic novel-inspired cutscenes, this series has managed to stand out from much else.

Plot; The game begins when Max, a NYPD officer, arrives home and discovers junkies in his house, and they've murdered his family. Seeking revenge, Payne dives into New York City's underworld to find and punish those responsible. The city's dark, in the midst of the "strongest blizzard of the century," and Max is quickly framed for the murder of a fellow officer and goes on the run, while at the same time trying to get to the bottom of his own mystery. It's good stuff and while some plot points aren't delivered with the impact I'd have hoped for, it's always intriguing, these characters are always interesting, and I was genuinely interested in seeing how this story would end. For an action game the storyline's surprisingly deep, yet also very funny, with some great one liners as Max demonstrates his very cynical personality.

Gameplay; It's a lot of shooting. The game's often dark levels, seedy hotels, enemy-infested night clubs, etc. have been ripped off by other developers for years to come, and they're memorable places to go through. When you encounter enemies, you can trigger "bullet time," which slows everything down and allows Max to kill the enemies, Matrix-style. The game contains references to John Woo movies and Chow Yun Fat roles, which is pretty fun. There aren't much in the way of bosses or variations to the level designs, it's pretty much just action. Luckily, the gameplay delivers, and though at times it relies too hard on trial-and-error and the solutions to some puzzles aren't particularly clear (prepare to get stumped at some dumb-but-unclear roadblocks,) Max Payne's fun to play pretty much throughout. Only towards the very end does it get tedious, but then the game ends. The humorous and fun gameplay is at an almost direct contrast to the dark, sometimes disturbing storyline, yet these two surprisingly end up working very well together. As you play the game you'll often listen to radios, watch brief news clips on TV's, etc. throughout your adventure that further deliver storyline and add context to the game's action scenes. There are some great shootouts here and it's like being inside a very fun B-movie.

Sound; Throughout much of the adventure, there's no music, just atmosphere, and this atmosphere works to great effect. The game's main theme, performed on cello, sounds great too and perfectly works with the game's tone. The voice acting's campy (hopefully on purpose) but the main characters, such as Max and the game's villains, are voiced very well. Gun shots, sirens, and of course the whoosh of the bullet time provide a great backdrop for the action.

Visuals; the game looks solid for a near-launch game on the Xbox, and while a bunch of the levels are a bit too industrial for my taste, the game shines in brighter environments, like the aforementioned seedy hotel, and of course snow-covered New York's a pretty cool sight to see. Some nice fire effects are in here, too. Character models in-game look pretty terrible but luckily most of the story's portrayed through graphic novel-style cutscenes, which are stylish and fun to listen to.

Verdict; Ignore the terrible movie that they just put out, Max Payne's a MUCH more interesting and deep character than the way he was portrayed in the film. The story here provides some very disturbing moments, as well as some humorous one-liners, and it finds the perfect balance between fun and darkness. It's hard to argue with some fun gameplay, and while it's at times needlessly frustrating, Max Payne's the start to a very strong franchise and it's worth picking up, especially with the third one just being announced. The framerate's all over the place when it's being played on the 360, unfortunately, though luckily a lot of the combat's in slow motion ANYWAY so it's not too crippling a problem. Definitely check out this series, especially if you were intrigued by the movie, and you'll be surprised at how much better the games are. Make sure you pick up Max Payne 2 as well, however, since it takes everything from part 1 and does it about 10 times better.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/09

Game Release: Max Payne (US, 12/12/01)