December 18, 2003 - Rockstar quietly snuck onto the Game Boy Advance scene last year with an absolutely fantastic handheld rendition of its Duke Nukem franchise, aptly titled Duke Nukem Advance. This year, the company's struck gold again with a GBA version of the original PC and console design, Max Payne. Though the game's in a brand new viewpoint with gameplay that's been simplified to work with the portable system's limitations, the Game Boy Advance version of Max Payne is an excellent title that brings a lot of new style gameplay (along with buckets of blood, gore, and adult situations) to the handheld. The adventure is a bit on the short side, but it's one hell of a ride from start to finish.

Features

• Three parts
• 12 chapters
• Cartridge save (one slot)
• Additional modes unlockable

Max Payne is essentially an action shooter with the basics of an adventure game -- hitting triggers or switches to open doors -- thrown in. The hook of the game design is its implementation of what's called "Bullet Time," an effect stolen from the film version of The Matrix; players can...no, scratch that, must utilize Max Payne's bullet time ability to slow down the passage of time. One tap of the R trigger sends time on a slowdown, and puts Max in a superhuman dive in the direction he's facing. This gives players the ability to avoid enemy bullets, as well as lock in on these bad guys to take 'em out with a few blasts from the gun. The Bullet Time meter is limited, but as long as your aim is true and bad guys get shot, it'll replenish. But successfully blasting through an area without Bullet Time enabled is nearly impossible, so wasting what little Bullet Time you have is definitely not a good thing.

Mobius Entertainment, the UK development studio behind lower-key GBA titles such as Army Men: Turf Wars and Drome Racers, the group behind bringing the Remedy-created action series to the Game Boy Advance. Max Payne, and the team has pulled off an outstanding job rebuilding, from scratch, all of the elements that made the PC and console versions so damn fun to play. Mobius already had an existing pile of tools and technology it created for the long-in-the-can A Sound of Thunder title the team developed for BAM, and the studio tweaked this engine to more mimic the style of game that Max Payne is.

The engine, and its ability to manipulate 3D characters, is what makes Bullet Time possible on the Game Boy Advance. The effect is incredibly believable since Max and his enemies are real-time 3D objects, which gives the developers freedom in their animations. These characters fly around the screen with smooth grace and motion, flailing arms and legs when they hit the ground; the animations only enhanced further when the Bullet Time kicks in. But the impact isn't just limited to character motions. The engine also allows for destructible and interactive objects; crates, bottles, and water coolers explode; hotel beds vibrate. And walls can be shot as well, leaving holes pecked in the surface, or blood caked up there if an enemy gets too close to the "action." All of these effects are also slowed down when Bullet Time is initiated, making the effect even more believable...and awesome to watch on the GBA screen.

Max Payne is split into three parts of multiple chapters, but it's essentially twelve missions long. The challenge comes from completing a chapter without losing all of your lives; Max only gets four chances in a level, but losing a life doesn't set players back very far. Lose all the lives, though, and you'll have to restart that chapter from the beginning, regardless of how deep you were. Throughout these levels you'll find painkillers tucked away in crates or medicine cabinets, items that replenish health by hitting the Select button. There are also a ton of different weapons, from clubs and grenades, to shotguns and double-fisted automatics...as well as plenty of ammunition to fill 'em.

But with only 12 missions, players can finish the adventure in just about four hours. That isn't exactly a long time, and this was the huge downside to the PC and console games as well. The other downside is in the game's newer isometric perspective: since the "camera" can only show so much of the area, there are many times within Max Payne where players will blindly blast off-screen enemies to get rid of them. It's kind of unfair to have enemies attack so far beyond the borders of the LCD screen, and it's just a little awkward to be able to nail them without being able to see them.

Closing Comments
But even with the short length and off-screen action issues, Max Payne is a surprisingly awesome conversion that almost came out of nowhere. The Game Boy Advance isn't exactly a powerhouse of a gaming system, but Mobius' versatile technology allows for as much Max Payne gameplay as the isometric perspective allows. Rockstar's shooting two for two on the Game Boy Advance, with their Hat Trick, Grand Theft Auto on the way...and after experiencing the outstanding handheld versions of Duke Nukem and Max Payne, we're extremely eager to hit the portable streets next year.

Rating	Description
out of 10	click here for ratings guide
10	Presentation A brilliant third-person rendition of the PC and console games, with full spoken narration
9.0	Graphics The isometric engine allows for several 3D characters on-screen, destructible items, and lots of gore.
8.0	Sound The narration is impressively extensive but obviously heavily compressed. The music is equally impressive, but there's only a few tunes to speak of.
9.0	Gameplay Absolutely satisfying shooter with a unique feel on the Game Boy Advance. There's a few instances of too much off-screen shooting, but overall it's a fantastic experience.
5.0	Lasting Appeal The challenge is admittedly a short one, but so was the original PC version. At least there are a couple extra modes to unlock after everything's done.
9.0 Outstanding	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)