You know that feeling you get when you hear another Twilight, Transformers, or Adam Sandler movie is coming out? That's how I felt when I saw the box art for Max Payne 3 a couple of years ago. Then I found out my beloved Remedy was having no hand in its creation, and I was even more...well, disgusted, to be honest. Why resurrect a franchise that doesn't need another iteration? The second Max Payne ended the story sufficiently enough, right? Well yeah, it did. But regardless of whether or not it was wanted or needed, the world now has Max Payne 3, and it is excellent. Of any studio that could have gotten their hold on Max Payne, I can't really imagine anyone besides Rockstar doing it justice.
Max Payne is an aging, angry, drunk, pill-popping ex-cop with a dead family and a lot of bullets in his gun. I think the weakest overall part of Max Payne 3 is that like I said, this game really isn't necessary. And because of that, the game jumps back to various points in his past in order to establish how he went from being a fixture in every bar in New York City to working a security detail in Sao Paolo, Brazil. That part of the plot feels forced. Rockstar obviously needed to do something to explain the shift in setting, and they did it as well as they could have, but if I had a complaint, it would be that. Or to say it another way, if this game had never been released, I would be okay with that. It's very entertaining in multiple ways, but unnecessary. Kind of like Halo 4 coming out. Not really needed. However, I don't mind if games aren't needed and come out anyways, as long as they aren't lazy and obviously only to make a lot of money.
So on to the game. The levels are varied, there are multiple involving vehicles, the graphics are excellent, and it even pays homage to the previous two games, which any Max Payne 1 and 2 fans will appreciate. Rockstar even did a sort of comic-book-cutscene hybrid that works well enough. Throughout all of the many cutscenes in the game though, when Max is narrating, some of the words he or others say will flash up on the screen, and most of the time it feels kind of useless. When I first started playing I thought for sure there was going to be some revelation at the end of the game, where it flashes back to all of the things that were written and it all sort of comes together and makes sense. But it becomes apparent pretty quickly that it's purely for the style the game was trying to capture, and that they don't really mean anything aside from adding atmosphere.
As with the previous games, this one has a very dark sense of humor, and some of the lines in it were particularly good. If you aren't familiar or just don't like noir in general, you might not like or understand the game. All of Max Payne's narration is over the top, and the writing is pure gold. There are so many lines that made me laugh, but even comedy aside, the story is excellent. And while it's not realistic for one man to kill hundreds (if not thousands) of people trying to kill him right back, the story itself is realistic enough.
The graphics, as mentioned, are also superb. There are many instances of overexposure or disjointed image quality, illustrating how messed up Max is because of all the painkillers and alcohol. It's really an atmosphere thing, and they aren't used so much it becomes irritating. Gunplay is also great fun. I haven't had this much fun targeting specific body parts since Grand Theft Auto IV (also Rockstar). This is going to seem really petty, given that the game is nearly flawless, but for all the blood and realistic way in which bullets interact with the people you're shooting, I was surprised and (very) slightly disappointed that it wasn't possible to actually shoot off specific body parts. I assume it must have something to do with how complex the bullet/body physics of the game already are, and it's really only a very mild point.
The health system is the same as the previous two games, which I was actually surprised and quite happy about. Instead of entering a red state when taking too much damage and waiting for it to pass under cover, there is a small representation of Max's body in the lower right hand corner that fills up with red after each time you get shot. If you have painkillers and take enough damage to fill it up completely, you'll enter Man-Down State, in which you find yourself on your back and have to shoot the person who last shot you. It is quite well done, and feels very natural. The rest of the enemies will be much more grey and unassuming, while the one you are supposed to shoot will still be colored, so it's usually not too difficult. If you have no painkillers and take too much damage, you just die. When you play the game on Old School difficulty, however, Man Down State is disabled, and if you take too much damage, you die, just as the first two games. Very challenging.
Just like the first two games, this one also has controls that can be frustrating at times, especially when you're trying to exit cover and run in a particular direction. For some reason, you'll run in the opposite direction you intended if you try to do things too quickly. But not doing it quickly enough of course, means more time you're spending absorbing enemy bullets. On harder difficulties, it is easily the biggest negative aspect of the game, but to be honest, I didn't mind so much, because the sluggish (at times) controls reminded me of the first two games.
If this is your Max Payne game, you won't be lost. Pretty much all relevant backstory is explained in the opening cutscene, and the edges are more defined during flashbacks to his past. Overall this is one of the best games I've played so far this year, and if you're a fan of the series already, noir, shooting, pill-popping, excessive drinking, bad dance music, or making things blow up real good, you should probably at least give this game a rent. It's worth your time.
This package only came with Disc 2, either I got scammed and the seller intentionally did this, or they forgot to put in both discs, the game is now unplayable with the other disc
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 23, 2012
Platform For Display: Xbox 360Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 18, 2012
Platform For Display: Xbox 360Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
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Most Awesome Game to play in Xbox 360 Earlier i Played ...
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Nope
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Ryan
Great game and works fine
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Tanuj Sood
Higher wrong MRP mentioned in the website
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Buen juego
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