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".

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.

Games don't usually get this good. I mean, this is an absolutely amazing game. From the involving story, the terrific direction, and awesome action and game-play this one has it all.

Max Payne is a cop infiltrating a drug ring and just about everything goes wrong. Everything. It is up to his guts and guns to solve the problem.

While this is a shooter a gritty and realistic feeling pervades the game making it more of a movie. The bad guys are punks, security guards and such. They talk, run, scream, and are afraid to die. They are placed in realistic locations. And speaking of locations...You actually feel like you are in the city. The graphics and story just place you in the moment and you push through the gauntlet of pain and bad guys with sympathies for the character.

There are a few limitations, this is a game after all, like the bad guys have basically one tactic, and some of the action scenes are way over the top, but hey... if this is based off of an action movie, it's perfect.

Basically YOU GOTTA PLAY IT! 9/10

Rated MATURE: unrelenting violence

Max Payne is a man with nothing to lose. He has been framed for murder, and lost his wife a child. Now, you must take control and lead Max to the ultimate revenge against the killers of his family, and the people who set him up. With a great plot to follow, shown with comic graphic novels, realistic gritty surroundings, bullet time-a slow-mo matrix kind of effect- and weapons, revenge and more, MAX PAYNE delivers to the hard core gamers out there. I think it's one of the most under rated video games ever. If you like games such as Grand Theft Auto 3, you'll love Max Payne . Also, get the game on XBOX. It has the best graphics out of all the systems. 4/5 stars.

JOHN ULMER

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!