Max Payne

"The best Payne you'll ever feel"

Wow. After playing the PC version and finding out that it was quite a dark game, I was hoping that I would be at least able to see this version of Max Payne and having said that, I'm clearly not disappointed.

For the uninitiated, Max Payne thrusts you into a world of crime, conspiracy and intrigue. Heck if only there were more sex scenes and payoffs to police, my cousin would be getting out the good booze to celebrate.

Graphically, the game draws you in with its ''Payne''-staking detail (pun intended) to nearly everything, both interactive and noninteractive. Vibrating beds, Vending Machines, cash registers are but a sample of things you can play with. Max Payne is very sharp and smooth, and looks amazing on my TV (I dont have HDTV either). It Payne's me to say it, but I was eerily reminded of key scenes in The Matrix while I was doling out a severe thrashing to the less law abiding citizens in the game.

Gameplay wise, the control invokes shades of Red Faction and Halo, which certainly isnt a bad thing. Max moves like you'd expect him to, trenchcoat waving while he rolls, jumps, dodges, fires off a few rounds, jumps aside, rolls back, and fires again. The bullet-time system, which for those unfamiliar, lets you slow down time, so you can dodge, shoot, and pull off other impressive maneuvers. You almost expect Keanu Reeves to show up at some point and belt out, ''I know Kung Fu'', just so you can waste him, in true bullet time fashion. The story is well done, told in both cinema scenes and comic book style overlays, which suit this game to a T, or to a P, actually.

Sound is equally impressive, the voice acting, various gunshot sounds, screams and all are very well done. I wouldnt mind seeing an animated Max Payne movie and having these voice-actors come back and do their roles would definitely be a plus.

There isnt much more to say that most of you dont already know, if you like bringing the Payne, and the games you have now are causing you Payne, (and all these puns make you want to scream in Payne), then dont fight the Payne, and at least play this game. It will definitely be some of the best Payne you'll ever feel.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/19/01, Updated 12/19/01