Max Payne

"A nice effort, but an impossible idea..."

Like virtually every game released in the last five years, Max Payne was ported to every system that could handle it. The PC version was, of course, considered the best, while the PS2 version was considered the worst (although I think it got more criticism than it deserved). That wasn't enough, though; somoeone had the bright idea of porting the game to a GBA cartridge. Needless to say, the idea was doomed from day one; the GBA simply cannot handle a game like Max Payne. Still, the port did get more things right than I thought it would.

Graphics: By themselves, the graphics would have been barely passable. The sprites are heavily pixilated, almost to the level of a NES game. The levels all look alike, as do the enemies. These are only worsened when compared to the graphics of the original versions; needless to say, the GBA could never handle the effects of the original. The graphic novel scenes are still done well, however. (3/10)

Music: There is almost no soundtrack in this game. The entire score can be summarized into three tracks: the graphic novel music, the regular level music, and the intense fighting music. All three sound about as dry as cardboard, and do nothing but annoy after hearing them seven thousand times each before the game ends. (2/10)

Sound: First, the good: they were somehow able to fit many of the voice tracks into the game. Of course, these only play during the graphic novel scenes, but the mere fact that they got them in is remarkable. However, they lost a lot of quality, often sounding muted and scratchy. The rest of the sound isn't much better; everything is pretty basic, from the gunshots to the enemies dying. For some reason, though, they included a slow-motion shout when enemies die in bullet time; this is a complete annoyance, and adds nothing to the game. (6/10)

Gameplay: Now THIS is where the game goes downhill. The basic elements of Max Payne are here, but the weakness of the system bring them down HARD. First to suffer is the difficulty. Max Payne was hard at times, but it never got infuriating. This version, however, has you getting gunned down constantly by enemies you didn't see, solely because they were A HALF-CENTIMETER OFF THE SCREEN. Max can still enter Bullet Time, but now it's a necesity, as he cannot be damaged while shoot-dodging (as opposed to the original, where you could get slaughtered if you didn't shoot-dodge at the appropriate time). The sniper rifle is missing (although I could see that coming), and several powerful weapons are obtained much too early. Ammo isn't that easy to come by either, especially since it's almost impossible to hit targets sometimes. And finally, entire levels are missing, and the ones that remain are heavily cut down. (2/10)

Story: The story is, for the most part, the same. New York detective Max Payne comes home one day, only to find his wife and baby daughter murdered by druggies. The killers were hooked on a new drug called Valkyr, a powerful hallucinagin that drives anyone who uses it mad almost immediately. Three years later, Max is undercover in the Punchinello crime family. He is about to meet up with his partner, Alex, when things go wrong, and the people responsible for his family's death come to light. The game's story is still presented in graphic novel cutscenes, although much of it has been delegated to simple text balloons. Also, since several levels were cut, many plot points are either ignored completely or make no sense. (6/10)

Overall: Get another version, if you haven't already. The game is several years old already. The GBA version isn't worth it unless you desperately want to take Max Payne everywhere you go.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 08/09/04, Updated 08/09/04