Max Payne

by Rockstar Games

Product Features

• Max Payne is a fugitive undercover cop, hunted by both the cops & the mob. There is no hope for Max to win in this cat-and-mouse game -- all he can do is take as many of them as he can. How he does it is up to you.
• Unique 3rd-person perspective takes into the darkest parts of New York
• Shoot it out with thugs and crooked cops in the worst blizzard in a century
• Play in Bullet Time -- slow-motion timing that lets you dodge shots
• Dark and gritty just went to a whole new level!

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002SUOV
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: July 26, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (346 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,721 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Max Payne, the New York police detective, has had a bad time of it recently, and it's time for payback. Three years ago, junkies high on a mysterious new narcotic called Valkyr slaughtered his wife and child. The tragedy drives him on a prolonged path of vengeance. It turns him from a detective looking for easy work to a deep undercover vice cop infiltrating the Mob to a hardened vigilante. Max Payne is a film-noir-inspired game about revenge that is unflinching in every way possible. It's dark and moody, extremely twisted, and turns PC action gaming on its ear by featuring state-of-the-art graphics, audio, and cinematic action.

Aside from its inspired use of photorealistic graphics and unique graphic novel (comic book) panels to further the plot, the game also features something called Bullet Time: a slow-motion toggle, usable for a limited time, that re-creates the awe-inspiring diving maneuvers made popular by director John Woo and, of course, The Matrix. At the touch of a button, Max can go into slow motion and leap forwards or back, and side to side, while pumping generous amounts of lead into his enemy's bodies. This toggle isn't just eye candy, it's a strategic device that evens the sometimes staggering odds the game throws at you. The action is made even more visceral by the interactive environments (glass shatters, plaster puffs into dust, and wood splinters) and generous amounts of blood.

The game carries a Mature label, and this should be taken very seriously. The game doesn't pull a single punch, whether in flashbacks showing Max's reaction to his gunned-down spouse, or even, somewhat tastelessly, flashbacks that include his slain infant daughter. And he mows down a virtual army of hackneyed Joe Pesci-style Italian mobsters or ski-mask-wearing terrorists with extreme prejudice. The plot is predictable, the script is humorously bad (intentionally so?), but the action will definitely make a shooter fan drool. Max Payne is the übershooter, and as such, it should be kept out of the hands of kids. But mature action fans will love it. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Fantastic graphics and unparalleled action
• The slow-motion Bullet Time is The Matrix or Hard Boiled come to life

Cons:

• It's a little on the short side
• The script is, at times, hilariously bad

Product Description

Max Payne is the game where your life has fallen apart in a New York minute, and you have to get revenge before you can move on.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Corney name, excellent game, August 2, 2001

By 

"dldante" (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Max Payne (CD-ROM)

Although the name of this game might be a turn off at first (Max Payne? How original!), you should never judge a book by it's cover. At a glance it may seem like just another clone shoot-em-up game, but in reality the game is quite innovative and just about the most fun you'll ever have with a shooting game.

You play the game as Max Payne, an undercover DEA agent who's having a streak of a bad luck (to put it lightly). I don't want to ruin the story, but bottom line is that you'll end up having to shoot your way out of every situation. The gameplay is superb! With a short and painless tutorial, easy to navigate controls, and 10-20 minute learning curve, the game is quite easy to jump into and play. The story plays out like a bad action flick, but it's fitting and actually adds to the gameplay.

The graphics are excellent and the level of detail is amazing as well. Within the game you'll see bullet holes from every shot you've taken and looking down at the floor you'll even be able to count the shells from your gun. There is no item decay which helps add to the realism, if you gun down some punk you can run around for 20 minutes and when you return his body will still be there (and so will the shells from your gun). The story settings are excellent as well. Running around seedy parts of the Bronx while gunning down mobsters and drug addicts is quite a change of pace from the your normal shooter where you're on a space station killing stupid looking aliens. Also, the "Bullet Time" effect is something completely new to the genre that really makes the game shine. Basically what "Bullet Time" does is put the game in slow-motion allowing you to get a better edge in gun battles and perform beautiful action-movie-like stunts. Although "Bullet Time" sounds like a cheat, it's really what makes the game great. You won't be able to just do it whenver you want for as long as you want. You have an Hourglass that determines how much B-Time you have left, and even when it's full it's only a couple of seconds in total. Earning more B-Time requires you to kill thugs WITHOUT using the B-Time, so it is best saved for tight situations.

Now although I do rate the game with 5 Stars, it does have it's annoyances. For one, the game is quite short. If you have a whole day to yourself you can blow through the game within a good 10 hours. Another annoying thing is the AI reflexes. It's almost impossible to sneak up on these thugs! The second you enter the room they are all aware of your presence, sometimes even before you enter. It's frustrating because these are supposed to be low-level hoodlums and yet they have the reflexes of a Navy SEAL. Another thing that will annoy the hell out of you is how long it can take to kill the people sometimes. You'd think a point-blank blast to the stomach from a Pump-Action Shotgun would be enough to finish off ANY human being... but be prepared to fire again. It'll also annoy you when you put 10 rounds from your Beretta into a gangsters chest to have him keep charging at you as if unaffected. Basically the bad-guys show no sign of pain or injury other than death. You can shoot him in the legs all you like, it won't do much other than kill him... eventually. But even with these problems I still rate the game a five because once you're playing, you won't even be thinking about these things. The game is short, but so much fun!

Overall, Max Payne delivers a very entertaining and very fresh gameplay experience. With many realistic weapons to choose from, the Bullet Time feature, the realistic enviroments, and the action packed gameplay, Max Payne will have you begging for a sequel once you've completed the game. Bottom line... the game is FUN!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Game of the Year -- Hands Down, July 31, 2001

By 

John L. Maillard "Digital Enthusiast" (Toms River, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Max Payne (CD-ROM)

Wow. Simply put, Max Payne is one of those games that makes you sit back and thank the heavens for your PC. From the brilliant opening sequence to the dingy corridors of Hell's Kitchen apartments and subway systems, Payne promises a feast of graphic delight, convincing audio, and a wealth of gameplay goodness. The game's depiction of Max's wife being murdered is harrowing, and from there, the story just gets better. Told in snippets of pulp fiction graphic novel, Payne's bent-on-revenge theme works to perfection. The locale of NYC is genuine, down to the ambulance sirens, mailboxes, and subway location signs. But where the game really stands out is its gameplay. Although Max is a conventional shooter, it is anything but. Using the brilliant "shootdodge" and "bullet-time" techniques, Max can essentially slow down the clock and dispatch enemies, despite overwhelming odds. How, you ask? By slowing the enemy's actions (including their bullets), Max remains in real time, essentially letting you squeeze off a few rounds before the bad guys even knew what hit them. When it's all over, you'll see foes somersaulting backwards, bullets and blood their last hurrah. The game's use of Max's heartbeat to slow down the action is unforgettable, and having to use it only in times of trouble is amazing. It never gets overdone. The action sequences are too good to be true. In fact, to believe it, you'll simply have to see it. Action camera angles are done seamlessly, and Max's comments during the game keep the story flowing. Cut scenes are meticulously crafted in grainy comic book action, and the style works, thanks to the story's key elements.

With so many cool features and amazing gameplay, the only disappointment with "Max" is its length. Because after 10 to 15 hours of complete immersion, it's over. Still, with the included editor, game geeks from all over the world will be creating mods to further Max's bloodlust. Oh, and one other note: Payne works better on fast machines with updated graphics cards, so be sure you've got a 700 MHz or better unit running with some heavy RAM (128 or above; 256 is clutch) and a GeForce2 or above.

So, if you're thinking about buying one game this summer, make it Max Payne. It's an instant classic that is sure to go down in PC history as one of the greatest. It's that good.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Payne, Pleasure, and Playability, September 3, 2001

By 

Brian M. Ranzoni "Da Killa B" (Albany, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Max Payne (CD-ROM)

Having heard about *Payne* since my early Navy days, I went out to Fred Meyers electronic department last Tuesday and bought it. Over two long nights and part of Thursday afternoon, I beat it. Sucked in from the moment I saw the box art, I refused to escape this game. With few exceptions, four years of development show in *Max Payne*.

Produced by 3D Realms, *Max Payne* is a third-person shoot through a noir-choked New York City. Finnish developer Remedy follows the standard set by Valve to immerse the game in an actual plot, bloody and surreal. We begin with our hero at the end of a vengeful rampage, and his reflections are the game. One fine American day, Detective Payne comes home in time to hear drug-crazed loonies shoot his wife and child. He hunts each intruder down, but too late. Payne joins his buddy Alex in the DEA. The killers had flown high on Valkyr, a new designer drug, and after three hard years the pair finally discovers the prime dealersa debased and savage crime syndicate. But the break bursts bigger than anyone could imagine: hitmen ambush Max and Alex during a subway meeting. Max survives, but somebody out there is determined, powerful, and sadistic: Max is quickly framed for killing his own friend. As a terrible blizzard sets over New York, cold rage sets on Max. His enemies think he is trapped and helplessthey only free his trigger finger

As the player, I turn Paynes predicament into an opportunity for revenge. But not all is grit and gloom. *Payne* parodies itself along the way, relieving its own pain through the medicine of laughter. Much of the story unfolds in a wonderfully dark and sour graphic novel. Frozen in pictures made to resemble watercolor panels, actors pose comically, goofy expressions across their faces. Voice acting accompanies the novel scenes with such delicious ham I wanted to eat it. As the voice of pain himself, James McCaffrey deadpans morbid metaphor after sanguine simile after killer comeback. After criticizing the insanity of a mob boss, Payne broods, But who was I to talkan underdog avenger alone against an empire of evil, out to right a grave injustice? In the action itself, the player will stumble across nods to *Pulp Fiction*, *Die Hard*, *Lethal Weapon*, *Batman*, *The Punisher*, and *The Killer*. Foes scream hysterically as they die. And wisely borrowing from *No One Lives Forever*, Remedy peppers the game with the conversations of its guards, like Why are vampire movies always set in LA? They cant get a suntan!

All of this humor works against the very un-funny circumstance of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. One must actually play through Paynes nightmares and hallucinations; the experience is as frightening as any horror movie. But filling the hole of a dead wife and child is a revenge-sodden plot, with the contrast between humor and horror keeping the atmosphere balanced.

Play is balanced as much as plot. Every time the game is booted up, the player has the option of customizing performance: textures, decals, sounds and frames. The software is also apparently able to recognize when the player cuts through the opposition like Deaths scythe, and when the opposition crumples the player-scythe like tinfoil. The stamina and aim of everybody is accordingly adjusted. *Payne* provides no armor, but introduces a Sam Peckinpah-style slow motion to give the player a stunt edge. Named after a special effect in *The Matrix*, this bullet time allows Max to shoot and dodge in slow motion, but aim in real time. Speaking of bullets, *Payne* bristles with contemporary crime movie weapons, including: Ingram M11s, Beretta 92s, and sawed-off shotguns straight out of *The Untouchables*. No bazookas, BFGs, or similar and unnecessary anti-tank weapons exist. Each level is exotic, moody-- and yet realistic (a multilevel parking garage has fluorescent lights and white-washed walls straight out of Navy boot campugh). *Paynes* puzzles and mazes are simple, subtle, and justified with snowstorms and mob wars keeping things in perspective.

A proper perspective recognizes quirks as well as qualities. Despite four years to perfect it, a few noticeable flaws prevent *Max Payne* from receiving my five-star approval. Max can crouch, but he cannot creepinstead he automatically stands up and jogs. This makes things easier on the level designer, but harder on Max when he steps around a doorframe and gets shot in the face. Max also doesnt climb anything other than stairs, which again benefits the designer more than Max. While Payne is obviously meant to be a lone-wolf, it would have added to the suspension-of-belief if the levels were populated with friendly New York bums, bartenders, and bus drivers hiding from the snow. Finally, some of the levels felt a lot like those in Ravens *Soldier of Fortune*, but given the location, I think the similarities are unavoidable.

Strangest of all to me is the content-line Remedy seems to have drawn for itself. No child should play Max Payne as it is, but the game is not nearly as explicit as many classics. The bloody chum found in *Quake*, *Half-Life*, and *Soldier of Fortune* puts Payne to shame. Swearing limits mostly to blasphemies, as *Payne* avoids words even network television slips in. While Max investigates houses, we see just one prostitute, and one gambler. *Duke Nukem 3D* has more pornography, foul language, and gore in the first two levels of the shareware version than all of *Payne*. The only illegal drug mentioned or seen is the fictional Valkyr.

But I can easily understand if content is traded for style or performance (or both). Remedys *Max Payne* provides active and balanced story and game-play. Its faithful film-noir atmosphere makes the player imagine more grit than is actually shown. Only its neglect of a few basics prevent a full rating. Now if youll excuse me, I do believe its bullet-time!" (groan).