Back in 2001, Remedy Entertainment created Max Payne. A noir story about a young, cynical, wise-cracking New York City cop on the hunt to stop a drug smuggling operation. After a sequel in 2004, the series went silent despite tremendous feedback from fans and critics alike. Until now. Though, how would a sequel to an 8-year-old game be received? Wouldn’t the masses be confused by this Max Payne character?
Not exactly. It doesn’t really matter whether you’ve played the other two games. The opening cinematic depicts everything there is to know about the protagonist. He’s a broken man, a very broken man. In just four short minutes you’re shown exactly who you’re playing as. A substance abuser who finds sustenance through a combination of pills and scotch bottles. A bereaved man lost in the death of his wife and daughter. The shattered remains of a human being who has left everything that he knows in an effort to forget his past.
Years after the events of the second game, Max Payne no longer calls New York City his home. Thousands of miles from The Big Apple, Payne now lives life as a bodyguard for the extremely wealthy Bronco family in São Paulo, Brazil. While on guard duty, Rodrigo Bronco’s wife, Fabiana, is kidnapped. Payne hauls into gear, vowing to prevent the death of yet another woman in his life.
The story is narrated in Max’s voice, which is noticeably dark and deprived of compassion. This is a useful narrative tool. It allows the unfamiliar to learn more about the character and even gives the player a helpful tip here and there. He begins the story standing over a mutilated body, aiming a gun as he contemplates everything that has happened up until that point. As you navigate through the story, a few flashbacks are also thrown in. These help explain just how a retired cop living in Hoboken manages to make it 5000 miles down to Sampa.
Gameplay is just about the same as any third-person shooter: Over the shoulder camera angle, reticle at the center of the screen, and a nice amount of cover to be found littered around in each room. Melee combat is done automatically, oddly enough. Max will smack around anyone who gets to close and set them up for the player to pull the trigger.
Max Payne 3 witnesses the return of Bullet Time. A mechanic that the series is so well-known for pioneering. Bullet Time slows down gameplay and allows the player to align the reticle with their target at their leisure. While innovative back in 2001, this is something that has since then been used by various other titles and developers in the past eleven years. A new feature of Bullet Time this go around is the ability to follow the last bullet that kills your enemy, from the barrel to the body.
New to the series is a feature known as “The Last Man Standing.†Appropriately named, it allows Max to take one last shot at his attacker. Succeed and Max gets to live. If not well, that’s what the Retry button is for. Get ready to see a lot of it. Enemies will at times have the unfortunate tendency to shoot you from behind, leaving Max with a slim chance to let it work its magic.
Unlike the many third-person shooters of this generation, regenerating health is non-existent. Health is tracked by a male silhouette on the bottom right corner. Once he fills red, Max will succumb to his injuries. The only way to prevent this is with painkillers which allow you to heal up and keep on moving. It’s something that you may want to consider doing yourself as the game progresses.
Max Payne 3 brings on the hurt fast and hard. The game forces you to make nice with Bullet Time, whether you like it or not. Body shots become completely useless as enemies armor up and soak in bullets like a sponge. Rather than waste clip after clip, its much more effective to line up your shots and just shoot them in the face.
Multiplayer features three types of game modes: There’s Death Match and its multiple variations; Payne Killer, in which two players are turned into Max Payne and his partner Raul Passos. The goal is to kill as many of the opposing players as possible; And finally Gang Wars. Gang Wars is an objective-based multiplayer with its own narrative. Each mission directly affects the outcome of the story told in this mode.
Rockstar has also integrated the game’s multiplayer with their online Social Club. This allows players to create Crews, teams of players that can both compete against each other and complete goals to strengthen their characters. Any Crews created in this game will be carried over to the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V, though what carries over specifically is yet to be known.
Often you’ll be overcrowded, stuck behind ineffective cover with a few spare bullets that barely make up a clip. The game pushes you, testing both patience and endurance. This isn’t a game for the weak-willed, it only takes a few bullets for Max to die. Though as frustrating as it is, you’ll want to keep going. You’ll want to see how it all ends for this broken man forced into action.
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