There have been some horrifyingly twisted serial killers over the course of history. Colombia does a good line in them, for example, but even its most prolific murderer has a list of suspected victims that's 'only' in the hundreds. That pales in comparison to Max Payne 3's stratospheric body count. By the end of this game, you'll have snuffed out well over a thousand virtual souls, all of whom practically line up to put their heads in front of your crosshairs.
In a game based on shooting, that's ostensibly a good thing. You certainly won't be left wanting for people on which to practice your slow motion 'shoot dodges'. By the end of the 12-15 hour running time you'll be terrifyingly efficient - activating bullet time, sweeping into a room, puncturing three skulls and then finishing off with an acrobatic dive to flamboyantly empty your clip into the fourth. We can imagine John Woo nodding his head in silent appreciation.
In a way it's old school. Max Payne 3's biggest triumph is that, in a similar fashion to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the new development team has captured the style and feel of the original game perfectly. Max might have put on a few pounds since the early noughties, but the first time you dive into a room, swivelling in mid-air to plug multiple enemies, it'll all come flooding back. Like the original games, it's the narrative and the locations that keep you from switching your brain off and reverting to murderous muscle memory.
The plot's engaging, complex and beautifully delivered. It's also a unique take on the videogame 'hero' - Max is an alcoholic wreck at the beginning of the game and things don't improve a great deal throughout. Somehow, it makes it easier to root for Payne as he's shambling from one disastrous encounter to another, desperately trying to do the right thing. The now infamous point where Max shaves his head represents a noticeable gear-shift for the plot - it's not quite two different games, what with the ceaseless murdering, but it's definitely a dramatic evolution of the character himself. His motivation is your motivation after all, and it's that renewed sense of purpose that powers you through the second half of the game.
38 comments so far...
Bezza89 on 14 May '12 said:
Oh cheers Ed!
And nice review Mike, agrees with my thoughts on the preview stuff, definitely going to pick it up later - around june/july as I'm low on cash and by that time I'll know if forumers like it/still play the MP.
comabob on 14 May '12 said:
QUick Question
This is the same Mike that reviewed MW3 - and yet this gets points deducted for becoming repetitive towards the end?
Compared to a game thats what like part 10 in a f**king franchise?!?
This review = fail imho
msbhvn on 14 May '12 said:
I'll take a good story with slightly duff gameplay over the opposite any day. I'm a little concerned at the comparisons with Deus Ex HR, which I hated, but I'll give it a chance. Might have to put it on hold while I play MP2 on the original Xbox, but by all accounts that shouldn't take long. I can probably recite half the script of the first game, I played it so much on PC.
golliwoza on 14 May '12 said:
I still will buy this, in around a month when the funds are less tight. I am really looking forward to it and I know that it will be an enjoyable experiance for me. Cant get enough of a bit of gun ballet.
Bezza89 on 14 May '12 said:
Surely that is the point, MW3 is a hell of a lot shorter but as a result doesn't make you feel like you're doing the same thing over and over because each explosion is different, it was also marked down for not bringing any new ideas. I don't like MW3 but can see the point that the length can be a problem if it's just a longer corridor with more enemies in it, rather than a corridor that tells a tale and spins a new web.
If the story is top notch enough consistently through the 12-15 hours, I don't see a problem. If it isn't then I can see how you'd get bored quick, imagine skyrim with only human enemies and only swords as weapons.
Clanger67 on 14 May '12 said:
Great stuff that's put my mind at rest then.I don't mind the odd bit of repetitive if it is done well.Even Skyrim gets a bit with the dragons.
Windowlicker79 on 14 May '12 said:
They never said it was anything like Deus Ex HR. Because it isn't. All they said is that it MP3 manages to have the feel of the original Max Payne, much in the same way that Deux Ex HR has a similar feel to the original Deus Ex.
The two games really couldn't be any different.
You'll probably get a lot more from reviews if you read them properly.
OXM MightySeven on 15 May '12 said:
I should point out, it's not really a comparison with Deus Ex HR, I'm just saying that in the same way that game felt like the original Deus Ex, this feels like the original Max Payne.
Clanger67 on 15 May '12 said:
I got the sense of that from the trailer and the use of the original music.I also suppose that's why it gets a bit samey.The first one was the same but if it is a good story as well in 3 i don't mind it being repetitive.
Clanger67 on 15 May '12 said:
It seems to be getting quite a lot of eights as well on the score front.Although there have been a few nines and tens as well.
Windowlicker79 on 15 May '12 said:
People seem to forget that 8 is still a very respectable score. Its well above average.
I really wish that more people gave 7 & 8 rated games a chance. Just because a game isn't perfect in the eyes of a reviewer, doesn't mean its not a great game.
msbhvn on 15 May '12 said:
Yeah, I was kind of out of it yesterday. I have a monster of a cold and almost killed myself going to the corner shop, and then had to go again today for all the stuff I was too weak to carry yesterday.
Since I loved the first Max Payne, as I mentioned before, I'm sure to like MP3 then?
OXM MightySeven on 16 May '12 said:
Yeah, it's a masterclass in how to recapture the intangible 'feel' of a game. I think you'll be pleased.
Clanger67 on 16 May '12 said:
I hope i will mine is awaiting dispatch.I think i will,i don't mind the repetitive nature of the first two,if this is more of the same.Will be the story for me and some fantastic bullet time battles,seeing slow mo bullets whizzing past you,as you dive for cover.Great stuff two more days.Colour me chuffed.
Bezza89 on 16 May '12 said:
Not played 2 but MP1 was incredibly diverse and batshit crazy to boot, Crawling around NY subways, streets, then apartments - then BAM nightmare baby blood trail. Then a dock, some spooky house, a lasered up place and BAM everywhere's on fire for some reason and BAM more nightmarish babies and endless corridors!! Then you go up a massively big building and... I dunno something about a helicopter and a wire. Never boring. I think I forgot the beelzebub, lucifer Norse nightclub. That was also batshittingly batshit crazy.
It's a shame to hear Max doesn't get as surreal imo.
Clanger67 on 16 May '12 said:
Yeah Bezza i know what you mean.It was a bit surreal in the first one.A lot is him being schizo'd out over the murder off his mrs and kid though.I get the sense he has gone a bit like Sam fisher.
Clanger67 on 16 May '12 said:
Two isn't as surreal as the first.It is good,obviously he is still in a bit off a state over his mrs and kid.You get to play a woman he meets up with in the game as well.Well worth checking out, i am going to get them both again for the 360.I remember enough off the first two though so i don't mind going straight into three.
DylannnB on 17 May '12 said:
Hi guys great review and im really excited about this game but could you just give me a brief run through on the multiplayer, is there charecter customisation and what would you give the multiplayer standalone out of 10? If you could get back to me as soon as possible that would be great, thanks.
Decent_Jam on 17 May '12 said:
My copy was dispatched today, looking forward to using it as an antidote to less exciting things over the weekend.
See you in the OXM nights thread once you all get around to it.
Bezza89 on 17 May '12 said:
Grr a lot of oxmers getting payne... jealous!
SidTheSloth on 17 May '12 said:
I'm quite looking forward to seeing what everybody makes of it, it looks impressive and the reviews have been pretty good but that doesn't guarantee anything as we all know!
Not buying/playing the first two games has certainly made it easier for me to ignore this but i'd be lying if i said i hadn't been tempted!
Enjoy boys and girls!
comabob on 17 May '12 said:
Ive got my copy sitting here in its plastic - im tempted to give it a blast before bed but i know ill end up playing till the early hours.
Cant wait though - i loved the 1st one - liked the second and this one looks phenomenal. The reviews ive read that werent too ecstatic over it all complained about similar things (its too long, gets too hard/slightly unbalanced, and 1 said that the feel of max payne was lost) and all of them are things that i dont see as problems and judging by what ive seen in trailers and gameplaay footage - the character of max spot on (imho of course) and the dialogue is superb.
Rockstar + realistic physics + slow motion shooting + max payne = geekgasm (very close to orgasm but im not that bigger geek)
CunningSmile on 18 May '12 said:
It's odd the review that says the feel has been lost, because Mike's review here and a couple of others have all said the exact opposite. Guess it just goes to show that reviews really are one persons oppinion and we are all different.
msbhvn on 18 May '12 said:
My copy is installing as I type. I've been up all night, so my reaction times will be terrible, but I have a couple of hours until my shopping gets delivered and I can go to bed, so I'll have a go now.
SidTheSloth on 18 May '12 said:
Ha, i got into a similarly horrible cycle (no pun) with trials the other night! Determined to beat the track but i got worse as i got more tired, got grumpier as i got worse which just made me more determined to beat it! Why is the 'off' switch sometimes so difficult to press!
Surely the while world is akin to bullet time for you right now?
Bezza89 on 18 May '12 said:
I know Max Payne as a dark game about shooting in slo-mo, with the feel of the game being more about the mind, in that Max has a few drug trips and most of the enemies are a bit mental. I hope to god that when I run into a room and all the bad guys shout 'MAX PAYNE?!?!' and shooting erupts everywhere otherwise the feel of the game is different. I can appreciate a different tone, but don't try to convince me it's the same as the other games if it's not as fun to shoot and die, full of surreal moments and fourth wall breaks. And nightmare baby blood trails... Time to reacquaint myself with MP1.
msbhvn on 18 May '12 said:
Absolutely, blurry tunnel vision and everything.
Second disc's just finished installing, so off I go!
Clanger67 on 18 May '12 said:
msbhvn on 18 May '12 said:
My bloody shopping just turned up early! Good job the opening cutscene is pausable!
Clanger67 on 18 May '12 said:
Bloody hell fantastic start,real nostalgia with the music and the same guy narratting.Just died wading in,they have made fantastic use of bullet time and the slo mo effects.Think it is going to be money well spent,i have had a massive smile on my face since the opening music,lol.
msbhvn on 18 May '12 said:
Agreed. I like the words sometimes flashing up as they're spoken à la Fight Club. The visual effects are a bit like Fight Club, too, now I think about it.
Clanger67 on 18 May '12 said:
Yeah and the being drunk flash ups you get in the mini cut scenes,because he is recollecting.Made it through the first bit and only died twice.Love how you can slo mo the last man standing and keep shooting him from the different camera angle.
DylannnB on 19 May '12 said:
Okay so heres what i think of the game. The single-player is absolutey amazing has a well driven story and it sucks you in as soon as you press start id give it a 9/10 in my opinion. Although i do have a few problems with the multiplayer for example: sometimes you lock onto a target and it refuses to let you shoot even though im mashing the fire button, also im not sure if its the servers or not but when you get into a game of multiplayer and the loading screen comes up just before the game starts sometimes it gets stuck on that loading screen for about 5-10 minutes at times and everybody in the game has to dashboard, is anyone else having any problems like this and if so do you think rockstar will release a patch anytime soon?
GHOSTY05 on 20 May '12 said:
Ok well i am still waiting for my copy from amazon.
This is super **** (Saver) delivery for you, this is the last time i order games from amazon.
harkking on 25 May '12 said:
Ok....I don't get it....personally this is one of the worst games i've ever played.....seriously...the multi player is laughably bad...and the single player just annoys you to the point of throwing your controller across the room in sheer anger....you die ALOT....and then there's all the cut scenes, tell a story but, come on..and whats with all the blurry, double vision crap.
GHOSTY05 on 27 May '12 said:
Amazing single player and arcade mode.
Multiplayer is complete Tosh.
There is simply no point to this multiplayer mode at all, they may aswell have added 4 or 5 new single player missions!
Lancer Armstrong on 10 Jun '12 said:
Yeah, I'm not having any fun with this game.
It's frustrating. The kinda game that invites you to do something and then punishes you for it. It encourages you to jump through the air guns blazing all John Woo-style, but rewards you with almost instant death the moment you leave cover. It encourages you to explore and look for painkillers and collectables, but if you take a second too long it cuts to a shot of your partner dying, followed by "YOU FAILED! f**k YOU, LOSER." and then restarts from some far off checkpoint.
Gameplay is pretty repetitive, with very little variety, and the camera is annoying as hell. The reticule constantly switches from the one shoulder's side to the other, meaning I have to constantly reset it. Word of advice to all Third Person Shooter developers: Keep the damn reticule over the character's right shoulder. That's the standard. With First Person Shooters, the gun stays on the lower right corner of the screen. With Third Person Shooters, the character stays on the lower left corner of the screen. Simple. All the great shooters stick to this simple rule. Why? Because it f**king works.
As for the look of the game, the cutscenes look like they were edited by some MTV hack who's been banished to Direct-to-Video hell. If you seriously think it looks anything like Fight Club, then I sure as hell don't have a lot of faith in your film knowledge or taste. It looks more like some Tony Scott-directed acid-flashback mess like Domino. Empty, annoying, tasteless. The developers obviously watched Man On Fire a lot. "Ooh, look how the words appear of the screen. Edgy."
Sorry to say it, but Third Person Shooters have become much better than this. We have great games like GEARS OF WAR, DEAD SPACE and VANQUISH now. I know that Max Payne 3 is aiming for some kind of nostalgia-driven fan service, but there's a reason this kind of gameplay died with titles like Stranglehold and Wet.
Wish I could get my money back.
Decent_Jam on 10 Jun '12 said:
So I'm guessing you're not a fan?
You make some fair points there, but in all I'd have to disagree and say I am really enjoying it. Furthest I've got in a shooter campaign in a while too, despite its ridiculous difficulty.