Max Payne

"If you want a lot of pain, Max will give it to you!"

When you want to play an all out action game featuring John Woo-like style gun shooting, and a plethora of kick ass weapons combined with the element of slow motion techniques to take out the scum of New York's underground crime ring, then Max Payne takes the cake. Remedy has created one of the most exciting action games as of now, and its dark storyline will only want you to continue to dive deeper in the world of Max Payne.

Story - Max Payne, an undercover NYPD cop, had just returned to home in New Jersey, only to find his house broken into and ransacked. As he investigates, it is not long before he forces himself to blow away some crazed men who had murdered his newborn baby daughter and wife in cold blood. Unable to cope with the situation, Max nearly breaks down in anger and sadness.

Three years later, Max returns to the NYPD scene to discover that the men who killed his wife and daughter were junkies with large amounts of a certain drug in their systems, called Valkyr. He also finds out that the Valkyr drug is somehow connected to the Punchinello crime family, an organized mafia that operates in the undergrounds of New York. With a tip from his police partner, Alex Balder, Max sets out to the streets to investigate the case behind Valkyr and the crime family that's pushing it. Not only that, but Max becomes a vigilante, with nothing but vengeance burning in his mind, to bring the ones who killed his family to justice.

Graphics - The graphics in Max Payne are pretty good, giving the game a rough and dark look. The myriad of thugs that Max faces throughout his adventure can range from typical street mobsters, masked mercenaries, and sharp black suited hitmen. The environments that Max goes through reflect New York's dingiest parts of the city, from dirty subway stations, snow ridden streets, a shoddy hotel, rooftops, slum buildings, and an industrial complex, to name a few. Another graphical detail to note is that you can even see the bullets whizzing by in the air as you're being shot at, not to mention how the blood of your enemies splatter on the wall and floors as you blast them away.

Gameplay - Max Payne is broken up into three huge parts with each having eight chapters within. The controls are well placed and are easy to get used to. One thing what makes Max Payne stands out from the other action games you've played. Introduced for the first time is a new innovative mode called Bullet-Time, where Max has the ability to dramatically slow down time while he's faced in a heated gunfight. Normally in real time while you're shooting, it's difficult to take on more than one mobster, especially in a narrow corridor or a small room. This is where Max can use his Bullet-Time ability against his foes to easily get the drop on them and barely even getting hit himself. Even when the action around him slows down, Max can actually still fire in real time, giving him the big advantage. However, his time is limited, so this always gives you a choice when to decide is the best time to use it when in a pinch.

Max can also shootdodge, making him slow time down again, but only for a brief period. While dodging, Max can also aim in any direction, so gunning down the baddies doesn't usually pose a problem.

Max also has an arsenal of weapons to assist him in his long war against crime. What would he be without his guns? He can choose from Berettas, Ingrams, Shotguns, a Desert Eagle, a Colt Commando, and even a Sniper Rifle. Max can also use two Berettas and two Ingrams at once, giving him double the firepower and having the baddies drop twice as fast. For his smaller weapons, you can use Grenades and Molotov Cocktails. If Max finds himself without ammo in a given situation, he can resort to using either a Lead Pipe of a Baseball Bat. Each weapon has their strengths and weaknesses, and keeps the gameplay in check as you try to figure out which weapon is the best to use while facing packs of mobsters.

Sound - The music is pretty much good, in the very few places it offers. In some of the levels, though, there's actually no music, so in a sense it gives the game more of a serious feel. The sound effects are nicely done, especially the gunshots and the taunting from the guys you're fighting.

Instead of using in-game cut scenes, it tells the story through a graphic novel, complete with balloon sayings. Some may not like this change, but I think the graphic novel somewhat fits the dark mood of it, and it couldn't have been done better. Max certainly has a way with words while he describes his life story, but some may consider the writing for the game craptacular and non-fitting for his character.

Replay Value - Even though Max Payne is a really good game with a decent length, it may not warrant a second or third playthrough, depending on your tastes. When you first play, you have a choice of either Easy or Hard difficulty levels. Once the game is beaten, you can play the game again on an even harder difficulty level just to challenge yourself. I would say the replay value is medium, but not high. There is also another mode called New York Minute, where you try to beat each level with in a minute.

To rent or to buy? Max Payne really delivers a nice pace of action and a good amount of weapons to use while going up against your enemies, not to mention the game's greatest feature, Bullet-Time. Bullet-Time alone is just plain fun to go into and the fact of easily capping your foes away with relative ease. I'd definitely say it makes a good purchase, and a worthy addition to your Xbox library.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/10/02, Updated 09/10/02