Max Payne

Max Payne is more of an experience than a game. You can see a level of realism that most games-and some movies-cant touch. You can hear every bullet just barely miss you as you dodgeshoot (a form of slow motion action similar to what is seen in The Matrix). You can feel max's world around him as he physically and psychologically deteriorates in front of you. Above all, you will admire the action-packed thrill and the overwhelming terror of the game. When you dodge a thousand bullets and look behind you, you will see a wall with a thousand holes in it. Your dual ingrams will tear down rows of those who wish to stop you, as every death leads to more questions. You will know what it is like to escape from flaming buildings and be ripped into chaos as the dreaded "V" melts away your mind. Throw in a story to rival any movie, and you have, like half-life before it, a true experience. From the murder of his family at the hands of a designer drug to his framing of murder, to the very end, this game will leave you screaming that you are never "too tired to go on".

Max Payne is the titular cop hell-bent on revenge after his wife and child have been murdered by a group of strangers in his own house. While the plot of the game feels good enough for any film-noir it is the unique atmosphere that separates it from the rest.

While most people will probably remember the game for the revolutionary bullet-time that allows the protagonist to move in glorious slow motion, there is I must say a whole lot more to the game.

Take for instance the movie references; The code for a passageway is "John Woo" while at a certain point Max dryly comments before attempting to take out some terrorists: "I played Chow Yun Fat..." Max Payne also has an awareness of itself in the game, whereby he accounts that "I feel like being in a computer game..."

All in all I must say that Max Payne is the greatest film-noir game and you surely must try it to experience it!

To this day no game has gripped me like "Max Payne". I remember I got this one Friday afternoon and had it beat by Sunday morning. Yes I did spend most waking hours playing it, but that is a testament to the game's story. I rarely find myself addicted to a game's story. I rarely find myself wanting to know where the story goes. In games, plot does take a backseat to game play for me. But "Max Payne" got it right. It's short enough not to lose focus from beginning to end, but long enough to become a deep and immersive experience. The game's pacing is flawless. The style by which the story is told – graphic comic strip narrated by the hard-boiled Payne is also perfect and adds much to the game's style an atmosphere.

The much-hyped slow motion aspect of the game is simply the icing on the cake. There is nothing like jumping into a room – gun in each hand – in slow motion and re-enacting your favourite John Woo action scene. Nothing. It is true that the A.I. isn't the small tool in the box, but what lack in brains they make up for in numbers. The vast selection of weapons is also impressive, though I have myself found myself going through the entire game using only handguns except when other guns are essential to the objective. But that's just the Woo fan in me.

The graphics were jaw-dropping at the time and are still damn impressive today. There was times when I was simply amazed at the details: if you got the camera right behind Max's shoulder you could see the micro-fabrics of his jacket and the singular strands of his hair. Bullet hits were also impressive – both visually and in their restraint. They remind me a lot of Exley's shotgun massacre in "L.A. Confidential". Debris flies over the place but not in an over-the-top Woo or "Matrix" way. This helps retain the gritty realism the makers were striving for.

"Max Payne" is derivate of a lot of works and is quite clichéd, but it is executed with style, atmosphere and an immense level of game-making professionalism that makes it an experience unlike any other. Put film noir, John Woo and "The Matrix" into mixer and "Max Payne" is probably what you get. And it's one hell of a cocktail. The game is thrilling, visceral and explosive. What more could you want in an action game?

Now here's what an action game should be. Max Payne is like a tribute to such Hollywood action icons, such as The Matrix (1999) and director John Woo. This is one of the best video games I have played in a long time. Never in a video game have I seen such good graphics, great dialogue, and intense action.

At best, a game like Max Payne runs like a television marathon series. The game is separated into three chapters with at least seven parts each, including the amazing graphic novels.

The game has a promising premise: DEA agent Max Payne is framed for the murder of his partner, Alex Balder, during a robbery in a New York subway station. With his partner dead, Payne is framed for the crime and the robbery. The case takes a bigger turn with the flow of a new drug in the city, and the possibility of a corrupt organization's involvement in supporting the drug (known as Valkyr). For Payne, it's going to be a long night in New York, during the city's snowstorm blizzard of the century.

Max Payne is a dark video game, and the title hero is also the narrator of the story, and while Payne doesn't seem confident in his storytelling, at times, he provides humor during the narration. The game shifts us to the events leading up to Payne being set up.

There is a sad and somewhat unpleasant sequence where Payne's wife and baby daughter are murdered by Valkyr junkies. And there is the possibility that the corrupt Aesir Corp. may be responsible for his family's death.

Payne must also battle a trail of mobsters, security agents, and black ops operatives, who all want him dead.

What makes Max Payne a great video game is the graphics, which uses New York locations we've probably never seen before, such as a run-down night club called Ragna Rock, and an old seaport.

There is even a great chase sequence where Payne chases a mobster from buildings to a construction site, and to the rooftops of New York apartment buildings (Not in that order).

Payne is also given a cache of weapons, such as handguns, grenade launchers, and machine guns. All enough to start a war. There is even a feature known as bullet time (reminiscent of the action styles seen in the John Woo movies), in which Max is able to slow down time and get a better advantage over his enemies. And if you're a hardcore John Woo fan, you'll notice that Payne is also able to do that familiar double handgun leap in the air.

And while Max Payne is such a good game, it does have its minimal flaws, which is its lack of character variety; the mobsters (who resemble Joe Pesci wise-guys), and agents all look essentially the same. The body count, and the amount of bullets used are ridiculously too high. And sometimes shooting someone point blank in the head doesn't work all the time. I guess it's trying to follow that great tradition of the John Woo Hong Kong movies in which there is always a high body count and a person is hit more than once.

Not all levels rely on handguns and automatic weapons. There is a moment that I like where Payne is unarmed and he must fight through a hallway full of thugs with a baseball bat.

There has been rumors that Max Payne is being made into a motion picture by Twentieth Century Fox that will fill in the gaps missing in both games. The video games, alone, are perfect. Max Payne creates a hero, who, if not plausible (he does endure mega doses of violence, and manages to live through the cold, stormy night), is at least persuading as a man determined to find the truth and clear his name.

COMMENT FOR THE PC-VERSION:

"Max Payne" is brilliant. You just cannot say it in any other way. MP is a super-cool actiontitle that uses the so-called bullet-time effect to create extremely stylish shoot-outs where the main character Max Payne constantly dives into bloody gun-fights. Playing it again over 2 years since its first release still confirms its excellent quality, and it is a game that easlily passes the test of time. Some people may argue that this game is only inspired by "The Matrix", which is not correct. John Woo`s brilliant actionmovies like "Hard-Boiled" and "The Killer" are both among the most important source of inspiration for the Finnish developers. I can guarantee that if you give this one a go, then you will be hooked.

10/10