Max Payne 3 Review

In typical Max Payne fashion, this revenge tale opens up with Max standing over some beaten down schmuck while narrating his current situation, but then backs up all the way to the beginning of the events. Players then progress throughout the game until they reach the scene they first viewed after starting the campaign. This may not be the most original way of telling a story, but fans will remember this style of narrative from the first Max Payne game. Although the story may not be top quality, it definitely creates tension and contains engaging characters. Most of the people involved may come off as one-sided individuals with little to offer, however, as the story develops, so do the characters. You may find yourself feeling sympathy for a character that you originally viewed as stereotypical and uninteresting.

More Than a Single Player Experience
Multiplayer is making its debut in Max Payne 3 and it is surprisingly good. Well, maybe “surprising” isn’t the right word since Rockstar has a history of making terribly-addictive multiplayer. Just take a look the competitive modes available in GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption, two games which Rockstar stepped in and took over development of from the original developers with extraordinary results. Just like those two games, players can create their own avatar and unlock new accessories/character models through a progression system. Once the character has been created, they can be taken online in Team Deathmatch (rookie version available), Deathmatch (rookie version available), Gang Wars or Payne Killer. Gang Wars consists of 5 rounds and changes objectives each round, such as hunting a VIP. The other notable mode is Payne Killer. Here players battle it out for control of Max Payne and Raul Passos. Once in one of those two roles, it turns into a King of the Hill match, with players attempting to maintain control of the two powerhouses. The multiplayer will definitely keep players busy for quite some time.

For the offline-exclusive players out there, New York Minute is back and Score Attack is also an option. New York Minute is a timed killing spree with 60 seconds on the clock and more time available through kills. Score Attack removes the timer and replaces it with a multiplier. Trick shots, headshots and not missing between kills are all rewarded. Scores are then uploaded to leaderboards where people can compete for the number one spot as the most efficient killer.

NOT

Various Glitches
Max Payne 3 may be teeming with excellent quality, but like nearly every other game on the market, it isn’t without a few glitches. I wish I could say some of these weren’t all that bad, but they range from mildly amusing to game-breaking. However, it is worth mentioning that the severe ones are rare and could not be duplicated across different consoles. First off, there’s the odd character model animations post-death. Sometimes, after an enemy has had his life shot out of him, they slump to the floor and randomly perform one final, severe spasm. It can be amusing to see once-dead enemies jump back to life in a spastic display of defiance. Even Max is prone to dealing with this problem, or at least he did at one point. Moving on to the game-breaking issues. Audio randomly cut out a couple times, mainly after hitting “Retry” following a death, and would either resume after a cutscene or after a system reset. This problem was hard to imitate on the other writers’ consoles. So, it could be that these issues aren’t too widespread. Subtitles are a recommended safety precaution so that you don’t miss out on any lines containing story and/or character development.

Verdict

Remedy Entertainment may not have been a part of the Max Payne development, but they didn’t take the franchise’s soul with them. Rockstar understands what Max Payne is all about and with the help of the original voice actor James McCaffrey, they nailed the core concepts that the series held in the era of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox (and older PCs). Max Payne 3 once again raises the bar for bullet time and, well, just about every other notable aspect of third-person shooters. Max and his torment will draw players in and keep them going through the 12 hour campaign, despite some minor glitches. Even when that ends, there’s the surprisingly smooth and epic multiplayer. Who doesn’t want to take down real-life opponents via slow motion diving? Max has started a new chapter with this game and his triumphant return makes us long for information on where he will head next.

[Editor’s Note: Max Payne 3 was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]