Max Payne

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat disappointing, but OK
Review: Max Payne was billed as being one of "those games that will change gaming." With this type of hype, I was eagar to buy this game. However, after playing it through, and trying a mod or two, I must say that this will not change gaming. Its an OK game. I'd still take Half-Life over this game.
I'll list the games pros and cons:

Pros:
Its graphics are undeniably nice.
Its new features: Bullet time and the diving shooting are very cool.
Nice mods bound to show up.

Cons
No multiplayer?! This was one of the games major problems.
Only a few save slots.
Bad plot.
Most of the maps are just average.
NO replay value. I uninstalled it (its a space consuming game) almost immediatly after beating it.

Overall, nothing industry bending, but a few (8-12) hours worth of moderate fun. Waiting until this game's price comes down, is my recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Unbelieveable game!
Review: Great Game, Great Story and a LOT of fun to play. It's a bit high on the system requirement side, I'm running a P4 1.3ghz, 128mb RAM, and a NVIDIA3 Ti200 graphic card and it still slows down in heavy action. Aside from that, this game is definitely one of the best games ever created. If you like first person shooters, then this game is definitely for you.

Rating:
Summary: I like it...
Review: I just bought this a few days ago because it was on sale at a local store.
I had played the demo once and didn't like it. However, I decided to give the game antoher chance after reading the highly positive PC Gamer review. This time around, I began to see what everyone was talking about.
After having played through a few missions now, there are several things that I really like and really dislike about this game.
Like:
The graphics are amazing, especially for a game that had nothing to do with the Quake III engine.
Bullet Time is a one trick pony, but it's a useful one trick pony. It allows Max to dodge otherwise lethal enemy fire or take on a whole room of goons unscathed.
It's stable. I have an older GeForce that sometimes has trouble with newer games (Return to Castle Wolfenstein at high resolution, for example) but Max Payne runs fine at 1152-854-32.
The game's pacing is good. So far, it has yet to become bogged down by some stupid plot point. The game makes you want to see what the next level holds in store.

Dislike:
The lead voice actor's frequently flat and deadpan delivery of lines
The often corny metaphors that the developers came up with.How many bad 40's detective movies did they have to watch to come up with those stinkers?
It's difficult to skip some of the animated sequences that I do not want to watch at the moment.
Enemy AI isn't reall bright. You can dust off one baddie while his friend stands around with your 12 gauge pointed at his head- not good.
It's third person. I am of the oppinion that shooters are easier to play when they are first person with a third person option. (Fortunately for me, there is a patch out there for FP in Max Payne)

All in all, this was a good game, though it is not for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: max payne ... the downside
Review: Max Payne is a great maxtrix stlye game with only one down side. There is no Joystick or gamepad support so your stuck trying to play a fast paced action game with only a keyboard and mouse. If you have a X-Box or PS2 get Max Payne for it. If not, then flood rockstargames.com with complaints and see if there is some way us PC gamers can get joystick and gamepad support for our version of Max Payne.

Rating:
Summary: Max Payne fan
Review: Max Payne is the game of the year 2001.

Rating:
Summary: Best Game for your money and for the year
Review: I got this game for Christmas and finished it about a month later. It a heart pounding, nonstop action all the way around. I would recomond this game for anyone that looking for a good action game. the bullet time is the best part of the game and it can keep you alive once you know how to use it. Just buy the game and i promise you that you won't reget it. I just waiting around for them to have a sequel for this.

Rating:
Summary: CCGR.ORG's review
Review: Max Payne is the title of the new third person shooter from Remedy Entertainment, it is also the title of the lead character in this 10-15 hour epic of John Woo proportions. I, like many others, have been following this games development ever since the incredible screenshots first started appearing on the web, a few years ago. Am I disappointed in the results? Well, lets review this bad boy and find out.

Graphics

Remedy has been touting this game as " Realism to the Max". Is this a true statement? Yes and No. The graphics in some instances are light years ahead of previous titles, while in others they seem to be on par, or a little behind the competition. Let's take an in-depth look at the graphics in Max Payne, to see just where it stands. One note, I ran the game with all effects set to the Maximum, and I had acceptable frame rates.

Particle System Remedy has done a great job on the particle system. The fire and the snow are two standouts here. I know many games have implemented weather effects in the past, but Remedy seems to be the first to realize, snow rarely falls in a straight path. The snow in Max Payne, just like the Real World?, falls in a angular descent. I know this doesn't sound like much, but it definitely adds to the realism of the snow bound city you will be playing in, for part of the game. Next is the fire. The fire in this game is game is likewise very realistic. The fire definitely has a sense of volume to it (I can't think of any other game that does this convincingly) , and it generally behaves in the way you think it should. Some of the other particle effects, such as the water spray when you splash through sewers, are not quite as impressive, however. The particle system, in some instances seems to be tied to a pretty robust physics engine, which we will cover later in the review. For now, Particle System- Realism to the Max? Yes.

Reflections and Shadows

In a game that touts photorealism, reflections and shadows seem to be conspicuously absent in the game. Max Payne, like other games in the genre, seems to have it's fair share of bathrooms in the game. And just like it's real world counterparts mirrors make up part of their interiors. However, the mirrors in Max Payne reflect nothing, zilch, zero, nada. The shadows in the game, are of the blob type, similar to Tomb Raider and it's ilk. No projected shadows here. Many other games have incorporated projected shadows of late, and I'll be honest, I was kind of disappointed they weren't included in this game. Reflections and Shadows- Realism to the Max? No.

Textures

Reportedly, Remedy used a digital camera to capture all the textures in the game. Does it show? Yes, my friend it does. The texture work in this game is the biggest leap the genre has taken in approaching photorealism by far. The title character seem to benefit the most from this technique, but the levels and weapons seem to agree with this treatment as well. Are you going to mistake the game characters and settings for the real thing ? No, but it does do an incredible job of immersing you in the game. The shaders on the guns also have a nice chrome effect, but they are kind of tiny and it really isn't that noticeable. Textures- Realism to the Max? Yes.

Physics

I included the physics engine in the graphics portion of the review, because it effects the aesthetics of the game more than the game play itself. Like I noted previously in the review, the particles system is tied to the physics engine. How does this impact the realism in the game you ask? (well maybe you didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway) First, When you fire a weapon shell casings realistically eject, fall, and bounce around just like you would expect. Just don't stick around to watch them disappear, as this kinda ruins the moment. Take that same gun and fire a couple of rounds into any object in the game, and the object will likewise be destroyed in an equally convincing manner. For instance, glass shatters; wine barrels ( or grape juice barrels if you prefer) start sporting a leak; tiles shatter (ala the Matrix); money flies around; dry wall will now show a hole with plaster pouring out, you get the picture. It was so cool to watch the physics in the game, I would run around shooting anything and everything, just to see what would happen next. Physics- Realism to the Max? Yes.

Animation and Models

Lets tackle the animation first. The walk and run cycles seem to be a little unnatural. The knees and lower legs of the enemies seem to bend at odd angles and they look a little stiff to boot. Another sore spot in the animation is Max's standard jump, pitiful is a word that comes to mind. There is no anticipation of the jump or follow through in the jump cycle. It's a straight up and down jump, and very unnatural. Facial animation is rather nonexistent in the game, Max seems to sport that same squinty eyed Clint Eastwood expression throughout the whole game. I do give Remedy a hand, they don't show the faces of the characters very often as they talk. This kind of hides the fact that their lips aren't moving. On the other end of the spectrum, the slow-motion dive and roll is definitely a winner. It's very well done and convincing.

The modeling of the characters is pretty well done. They aren't exactly the most detailed models in the world, but the texture work seems to put the details in anyway. The rest of the modeling seems to be adequate as well, though the vehicles are rather blocky and unconvincing. Animation and Models- Realism to the Max? Some parts yes, but as whole no.

Architecture and Level Design.

The team at Remedy earned their paycheck in this department. The levels sport a very realistic look to them, in every sense of the word. The office building in particular had me feeling like I was viewing an architectural walkthrough. The city streets are populated with shops and homes that looks like they were ripped straight out of a NYC tourism pamphlet. And the interiors of these buildings are packed full of attention to detail on a scale I've yet to see in a video game, bar none. This is another area where the texture work paid big dividends. Architecture and Level Design- Realism to the Max? Yes.

Lighting

Remedy ads also say this game is the first to have real time radiosity lighting. What is radiosity? Radiosity is basically (very basic mind you) a physically accurate method of calculating light, whereby objects pick up some of the color from surrounding objects . Sounds pretty radical, huh? Well the results aren't that radical. The only time I really noticed it is around the barrels of fire on the city street, they cast a noticeable orange glow on the bricks of the building. I suppose the whole goal of radiosity lighting is so you don't notice it though. There are no garish weird color lights, like Unreal ( purple?). There is also a rather well done glow around neon lights. And as a whole the lighting is rather well done. The whole thing kind of screams subtlety (screams subtlety?). One other thing, the lights do not seem to cast any shadows that move as you move. So uncheck real-time shadows. Lighting- Realism to the Max? A subtle yes, with a shadowy no.

Graphics conclusion

As a gamer, I was pretty pleased at the graphics in this game. They do a convincing job of portraying a real world NYC. As someone who was expecting the new paradigm in 3d graphics, I was a little disappointed in the lack of convincing shadows and reflections, but impressed by the physics based particle system and photo-realistic textures. If I was to give them a letter grade, I would give them an A-.

Gameplay

Basics
OK, so now we know this is a purty game, but how does it play? Well think John Woo meets the Matrix meets Charles Bronson, and you won't be far off. The game is played from a third person perspective like Tomb Raider, rather than the first person perspective of your typical shooter (e.g. Quake, Unreal, etc..). The camera and targeting problems, normally associated with the third person perspective, seem to be nonexistent. The game also has a pretty liberal save game feature, allowing you to save the game at any time. The load times for each level are pretty average for a typical shooter ( 30 seconds or so), but the subsequent reload from a quick save is instantaneous. Story

The games starts off with your character ( Max Payne) at the top of a skyscraper, surrounded by the NYC police department. He then goes on to explain, how he ended up in this rather precarious predicament. So you flash back to a few years earlier, when you, as a NYC detective, come home to find your family brutally murdered by some drug crazed maniacs. You then flash forward to a few days ago, where you are working undercover in the DEA to infiltrate the mob family behind the hit on your family. What follows is a series of double crosses and shootouts, until the end of the game, where you end up right where the whole thing started. Each part of the story progresses through a series of comic book style cut scenes. The story and some of the dialogue are chock full of cliché's. But as a whole, the story is rather w

Rating:
Summary: Good Game...Buy it Now!
Review: Most people say that you need a 'high-end' computer to play Max Payne. That is a lie and they friggin' know it. I have a Windows 98 Compaq Presario 5000. It runs fine. The only problem is I have the same monitor from my Windows 3.1. I guess I need a new one...

Rating:
Summary: Bring on the Payne!
Review: A great, albeit short shooter. With an original concept of combat revolving around "bullet time", this one still has levels I go back to for kicks. Bullet time does indeed perform great, not just looking purty but actually being essential to survival. The game is drenched with R material, so the kiddies may not want this one (they think they do but they don't). One nuisance I found which robs it of five stars are the act bookends, which are interactive and get tedious before too long. It has an intriguing plot revolving around Valkyr, a new drug being pushed by scumbag gangsters. The plot twists like a whirlwind, bringing in subplots ranging from government conspiracy to Russian mafia connections. A satisfying ending, as well. I just wish it were longer.

Rating:
Summary: The bright light at the end of a dark and stormy tunnel...
Review: For quite some time there was a major gap between shooters that are just a blast to play, and those that have a slick innovation or cool idea. Max Payne combines those two very nicely. Easily the best shooter since Half-Life, Max adds the element of a story and script that is classic in its detective noir style and the new, Matrix-like bullet time game innovation.

Have you ever wondered how action heros like Mel Gibson and Arnold always make it solo through huge gun battles? They had bullet-time!

The game play is a bit on the short side, but its a good ride while you go through it, especially with the gritty realistic settings. The boss battles are definitely the most difficult part of the game. And the hidden touches throughout the game only add to the style. Something annoying you in the game? It probably annoys Max too... so shoot it!