Story and Presentation
The game starts with Max about to execute some corrupt cop and put him out of his misery.
As Max steps ahead to make his move the actual story starts to unfold in flashbacks and takes you back and forth in time narrating why he escaped from New Jersey to Brazil and how he ended up being a bodyguard for the rich and powerful Broncos in Sao Paulo and eventually went heroic fighting for the innocent after being hit by lies, losses and double-crosses.The initial plot is delivered through extended cut-scenes and Max’s own gloomy cynical monologues.
As you progress through the Story you will meet a lot of influential people and witness some real dark stuff. The game pushes this sensational material so hard that you are bound to feel the pain and loss as being Max himself.
Once Max has his past grievances and violent memories sorted out he undergoes a significant transformation giving him a bearded and balder look signifying his alter ego and motive. I have to admit although I initially hated this transformation, the forthcoming events made me realize it was a necessary change and it did add to the thrill and mood of the story.
The Plot eventually takes him from the high rises of Sao Paulo to the Slums of Brazil while rescuing his client’s assets and in the process gunning down the paramilitary death squads to the local mafia and even the Brazilian cops.
The story keeps getting more complex and intriguing with every chapter unveiling more of the dark stuff and the minds responsible for an intricate conspiracy. Once Max has uncovered the suspense he seeks revenge against the ones responsible for the crime. While the Ending is worth all the action and suspense I assure you will be ready for one hell of a story ride.
The cut scenes are pretty long and hide the loading times required by the game. While they mostly stress on the mood and ambience of the scene they frequently highlight some keywords like “LOSER”, “SOS”, “BOOZE”,”BANGING” to add the extra focus.
The past and the present chapters are differentiated with a subtle difference in the environmental colors adding a sense of immersion to the scene.The game maintains the same older UI representing a health bar and the Bullet-time sandglass. Switching between weapons is done by quickly pausing the game with radial displaying weapons you can swap or switch to.
The main menu switches the animated backgrounds based on the current chapters adding to the immersion of resuming the campaign.
The game clocks at 8-10 hours based on difficulty.
