Max Payne

"This would've been easy to mess up, but it turned out great!"

Introduction- When I first heard of a port of Max Payne for the GBA, I was skeptical. Obviously, it couldn't be third person like the original. Still, I looked forward to it, and bought it. There were some changes, but the game follows the original very well. Max Payne is a title that could've turned out awful, but instead has replaced Duke Nukem Advance as my favorite GBA game.

Gameplay (9/10)- Remarkably close to the original. You must travel through levels, blowing away thugs with your (eventually) huge arsenal of weapons. Yes, you still have Bullet Time, and it works great. Instead of a third person view, the action takes place from an isometric view. Different, yes, but it's not bad. You get a pretty good view of the action, except for when your start getting shot off screen. In fact, it's that and one other thing that keeps the gameplay from being a perfect 10. When moving through levels, if there's a lot of enemies (living or dead) on screen, Max will noticeably slow down a little. It's not to the point of a crawl or anything, just something I wish could've been avoided.

Story (10/10)- The story is brilliant, and keeps you interested from beginning to end. I won't give away too much, except that Max has been framed for a murder he didn't commit, and there's a drug causing some problems (not to mention the reason his wife and kid were killed).

Graphics (10/10)- Instead of using sprites for the characters, polygons were used. Look close, and you can see Max moving realistically. The animation is great and also very realistic. The levels are dingy and appropriate looking for the subject matter. The game uses all of the cut scenes for the story. Very, very cool.

Sound (9/10)- To go with the cut scenes, the cart uses the original voiceovers. Pretty cool if you ask me, it helps keep the story even more interesting, and much more involving than just reading words (which are there, too). The in-game music is repetitive, but good. Basically only two tunes, but they fit well. The sound effects are good. Gunshots, painkillers, all sound nice on the GBA. Everything gets muffled during Bullet Time, obviously.

Replayability (5/10)- Well, I just beat it, and I don't really feel like going back and playing through it again. That's not to say I won't go back, because odds are I will, but I've got Double Dragon Advance to work on now.

Final Recommendation- If you like action games, then get this. The isometric view is different, and there were a few changes, but overall this is the same Max Payne, only on the GBA. The story is involving, the graphics and sound are good, and the gameplay still excellent (save for the slight slowing, and getting shot off screen, which are annoying but not big deals). Definitely a must have GBA game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/31/03