Introduction
In 2001 Remedy entertainment unleashed a true masterpiece that defined a new genre in gaming. Max Payne introduced bullet-time shooting alongside cinematic style narration with the state of art visuals. To add more depth to the story the game even contained many references to the Norse mythology, particularly the myth of Ragnarok. Names of characters used in the game depicted the Norse gods and myths. Max Payne 2 followed suit in 2002 to add yet another legend as its sequel. The game also introduced the sexy Mona Sax as Max’s new girlfriend. Every aspect of these epic games was so well designed and developed that they still hold a reputed spot in the hall of fame.
After 10 years of wait Rockstar brings back the legend to the Gamers of all class i.e. PC, XBOX and PS3. The game follows the previous two installments with a completely new setting. Its nine years and Max has retired from his job in the NYPD and has grown a few years old. He is now more world-weary and cynical than ever. He is even developed an addiction to alcohol and pain killers. However things are about to take a drastic change in his life as he is pulled into a conspiracy of shadowy, warring factions threatening every aspect of Sao Paulo society in a deadly web that threatens to engulf everyone and everything around him.
| Developer | Rockstar Vancouver |
| Publisher | Rockstar Games |
| Writer | Dan Houser, Michael Unsworth, Rupert Humphries |
| Directors | Sergei Kuprejanov (design), Mark Tennant (animation), Rob Nelson (art) |
| Platforms | PC, Mac and XBOX |
| Genre | Third Person Shooter |
| Engine | RAGE combined with Euphoria |
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.
Gameplay
Max Payne 3 maintains the core elements of the game from its predecessor while bringing new environments and game play Mechanics. Aspects like painkillers, Shoot dodge, Dual-wield and the new cover based combat are greatly enhanced to even indulge any one new to the series.
Bullet-time as you call it defines Max’s signature’s move in taking down multiple enemies with deadly efficiency in a blink of eye. The Cover system is very well implemented and even allows him to blind-fire. The Aiming is not as smooth and requires you to enable auto-aim for better accuracy.
Shoot-dodge is another extension to bullet time where Max can leap into action and take out multiple enemies with head-shots. Although shoot-dodging in crowded smaller spaces could be a bit of bailey, in Open Space you will be the sharpshooter against hyper-aware and accurate enemies.
While the Enemy AI is smart enough to take cover and flank you they improve considerably as the game progresses making you a lot more careful if you leave your self-exposed. The obvious solution is to use cover, slow down time, throw a glance and take headshots.
The Guns vary from Hand guns, shotguns, SMG’s to assault rifles. You will also get access to a couple of launchers and Sniper rifles. You can dual wield most guns although you drop double handed weapons in the process. The lack of using grenades in Single player campaign is a disappointment.
You can also collect golden gun parts scattered around the levels as variant of every weapon to double your damage or ammo capacity.
Using pain killers is the key to surviving in most of the tight situations however you need use them wisely. The game also offers the LAST-STAND mechanic, which gives the player an edge of time after running low on health allowing Max to kill the enemy that wounded him in order to continue playing, however this mechanic is only usable if the player has at least one painkiller in his possession.
The only grudge I have is lack of complexity and difficulty in BOSS battles. Bosses are too easy to defeat and don’texhibit the kind of smartness to challenge Max. Once you are finished with the main story you also have the option to try out New York minute. In New York Minute the goal is to complete the levels as quickly as possible. Shooting enemies will give you additional time and the total time is printed upon completion of Part I, Part II and Part III. Again there is a Score attack mode where you aim for higher scores while re-playing the same campaign. Finally the Multiplayer is a real surprisefeaturing Death matches, Payne Killer and Gang War modes.
In Gang wars you’ll play four rounds, with different objectives that alter depending on what happens in each of them: from claiming territory to defusing bombs to assassinating a randomly selected leader of the opposing gang. This accumulates a point advantage going into the fifth and final round, which always takes the form of an all-out death match. Bursts, which function like perks, are central to this mode, and confer advantages to the members of your crew, from raising the caliber of your weapons to inducing paranoia in the opposing team, making friendlies appear as enemies. It’s also laudable to see a developer trying to innovate in the multiplayer space, rather than simply rehashing the mainstays. Max Payne’s multiplayer is definitely not an afterthought, and will certainly reward players with months of enjoyment.
Graphics and PC Performance
What’s surprising is that Rockstar paid special attention to the PC users and developed the Game from scratch allowingus to enjoy the game in its full visual glory. I have to give credit to Rockstar on this considering they put aside all past Consolitis difference and delivered what we can expect from them in future games like GTA 5.
Speaking of the Engine the game has the ability to blend physics and animation.For example, when Max takes a dive to surprise his enemies he does so appropriately according to his surroundings. This is done through the use of the advanced Euphoria dynamic animation engine. However, the game itself is built on the RAGE game engine, so in a sense there are two engines used in the game on top of each other.
The game supports every possible DirectX version from DirectX 9, 10, 10.1 and 11 and stereoscopic 3D rendering on the PC.DirectX 11 features like HBAO and tessellation are pretty evident in the game and are heavily optimized. Max’s tessellated Hawaii shirt looks very realistic with the creases and folds.
Animations are not that slick but Max moves are very well executed to complement the bullet time. The amount of detail that goes into the environments is pretty stunning .From Shooting bottles, doors, gas cylinders, windows, walls and vehicles almost everything is destructible and the environment reacts exactly as it should against the bullet impacts.
When hit by bullets, blood holes appear on the enemy skin showing the point of impact. Overall I can say Rockstar did a great job in the visual department.
Audio
The game keeps the original sound track and adds some remix to it which is great. The music was mainly composed by members of the noise rock band Health, with minor collaborations from other artists.Gunshots and background Music need a little more charm but they do complement the moments.
Most of the Dialogues are comprehensively edited .There is a lot of good writing in Max Payne 3, from its handling of character arcs to Max’s self-deprecating narration. I love the moments when Max stops narrating with a noir flourish and just calls someone an asshole. It’s a way of representing his exhaustion though the narration: he is too tired to think of a metaphor. But what really stands out to be the seemingly throwaway lines from minor characters, give those characters depth despite their little screen time. James McCaffrey returns to voice Max Payne in full motion capture.
Conclusion
Max Payne 3 is a step forward to providing something unique in terms of presenting a story or character. It’s is a different type of proposition. The gameplay is simple yet satisfying. Although players aren’t at the liberty to explore, or utilize unique combat, mostly deploying linear gameplay, you are rewarded with a masterpiece which is a well-worked character and story study. It makes the player feel he is a part of some action packed movie that has all the elements of love, hatred, betrayal and intense drama, which is attained at the expense of a clever narrative integrity.
Development Wiki:
The game was originally scheduled for release in late 2009. However it was pushed back several times until 2012 in order to “benefit from having more development time.” The publisher said the decision’s been made to “ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest quality.”
The debut trailer was released on September 14, 2011. Responding to criticism regarding the decision to abandon the film noir theme of the previous games in the series, the writer for the series, Sam Lake, responded by commenting that the game would “maintain its dark and gritty origins” and that fans of the series would be “in for a surprise. “Remedy boss Oskari Hakkinen praised Rockstar’ s take on the series, and said Max Payne 3 looks “brilliant”.
Rockstar conducted research to ensure that the vibe, culture, police, weapons and every element of Sao Paulo is as authentic as possible. The research team visited Sao Paulo several times and went to lengths researching the local gangs, police and Special Forces, including each group’s choice of equipment and firearms.
Overall Score: 8.5/10