Rating: 
Summary: Cheesy + vastly overrated shoot-em-up
Review: I just finished MP, and it only took me a day and a half. Judging from other comments on Amazon I'm not the only person to have finished the game in such a short time. The graphics are a real mix. The cool particle engine shines as a stunning example of what we can look forward to in the next generation of game engines, but the scenery and background art looks brown and dull throughout the entire game - think Quake2 without the aliens and you're not far off.The game's one "gimmick" of a slo-motion play mode is fun for the first couple of hours, then just gets boring. I wish they had spent more time on producing a story (it has every cheesy cliche in the book, and is presented by a dull expressionless monotone narration). The game was so gripping that I just had to go and fill in my yearly tax return instead. Don't buy the hype.. buy a decent game instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Payne, Pleasure, and Playability
Review: Having heard about *Payne* since my early Navy days, I went out to Fred Meyer's electronic department last Tuesday and bought it. Over two long nights and part of Thursday afternoon, I beat it. Sucked in from the moment I saw the box art, I refused to escape this game. With few exceptions, four years of development show in *Max Payne*. Produced by 3D Realms, *Max Payne* is a third-person shoot through a noir-choked New York City. Finnish developer Remedy follows the standard set by Valve to immerse the game in an actual plot, bloody and surreal. We begin with our hero at the end of a vengeful rampage, and his reflections are the game. One fine American day, Detective Payne comes home in time to hear drug-crazed loonies shoot his wife and child. He hunts each intruder down, but too late. Payne joins his buddy Alex in the DEA. The killers had flown high on Valkyr, a new designer drug, and after three hard years the pair finally discovers the prime dealers'a debased and savage crime syndicate. But the break bursts bigger than anyone could imagine: hitmen ambush Max and Alex during a subway meeting. Max survives, but somebody out there is determined, powerful, and sadistic: Max is quickly framed for killing his own friend. As a terrible blizzard sets over New York, cold rage sets on Max. His enemies think he is trapped and helpless'they only free his trigger finger' As the player, I turn Payne's predicament into an opportunity for revenge. But not all is grit and gloom. *Payne* parodies itself along the way, relieving its own pain through the medicine of laughter. Much of the story unfolds in a wonderfully dark and sour graphic novel. Frozen in pictures made to resemble watercolor panels, actors pose comically, goofy expressions across their faces. Voice acting accompanies the novel scenes with such delicious ham I wanted to eat it. As the voice of pain himself, James McCaffrey deadpans morbid metaphor after sanguine simile after killer comeback. After criticizing the insanity of a mob boss, Payne broods, 'But who was I to talk'an underdog avenger alone against an empire of evil, out to right a grave injustice?' In the action itself, the player will stumble across nods to *Pulp Fiction*, *Die Hard*, *Lethal Weapon*, *Batman*, *The Punisher*, and *The Killer*. Foes scream hysterically as they die. And wisely borrowing from *No One Lives Forever*, Remedy peppers the game with the conversations of its guards, like 'Why are vampire movies always set in LA? They can't get a suntan!' All of this humor works against the very un-funny circumstance of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. One must actually play through Payne's nightmares and hallucinations; the experience is as frightening as any horror movie. But filling the hole of a dead wife and child is a revenge-sodden plot, with the contrast between humor and horror keeping the atmosphere balanced. Play is balanced as much as plot. Every time the game is booted up, the player has the option of customizing performance: textures, decals, sounds and frames. The software is also apparently able to recognize when the player cuts through the opposition like Death's scythe, and when the opposition crumples the player-scythe like tinfoil. The stamina and aim of everybody is accordingly adjusted. *Payne* provides no armor, but introduces a Sam Peckinpah-style slow motion to give the player a stunt edge. Named after a special effect in *The Matrix*, this 'bullet time' allows Max to shoot and dodge in slow motion, but aim in real time. Speaking of bullets, *Payne* bristles with contemporary crime movie weapons, including: Ingram M11s, Beretta 92s, and sawed-off shotguns straight out of *The Untouchables*. No bazookas, BFGs, or similar and unnecessary anti-tank weapons exist. Each level is exotic, moody-- and yet realistic (a multilevel parking garage has fluorescent lights and white-washed walls straight out of Navy boot camp'ugh). *Payne's* puzzles and mazes are simple, subtle, and justified' with snowstorms and mob wars keeping things in perspective. A proper perspective recognizes quirks as well as qualities. Despite four years to perfect it, a few noticeable flaws prevent *Max Payne* from receiving my five-star approval. Max can crouch, but he cannot creep'instead he automatically stands up and jogs. This makes things easier on the level designer, but harder on Max when he steps around a doorframe and gets shot in the face. Max also doesn't climb anything other than stairs, which again benefits the designer more than Max. While Payne is obviously meant to be a lone-wolf, it would have added to the suspension-of-belief if the levels were populated with friendly New York bums, bartenders, and bus drivers hiding from the snow. Finally, some of the levels felt a lot like those in Raven's *Soldier of Fortune*, but given the location, I think the similarities are unavoidable. Strangest of all to me is the content-line Remedy seems to have drawn for itself. No child should play Max Payne as it is, but the game is not nearly as explicit as many classics. The bloody chum found in *Quake*, *Half-Life*, and *Soldier of Fortune* puts Payne to shame. Swearing limits mostly to blasphemies, as *Payne* avoids words even network television slips in. While Max investigates houses, we see just one prostitute, and one gambler. *Duke Nukem 3D* has more pornography, foul language, and gore in the first two levels of the shareware version than all of *Payne*. The only illegal drug mentioned or seen is the fictional Valkyr. But I can easily understand if content is traded for style or performance (or both). Remedy's *Max Payne* provides active and balanced story and game-play. Its faithful film-noir atmosphere makes the player imagine more grit than is actually shown. Only it's neglect of a few basics prevent a full rating. Now if you'll excuse me, I do believe its 'bullet-time!" (groan).
Rating: 
Summary: Too Much Fun
Review: Max Payne is a lot of fun and has a great story to boot! The game is great but is pretty short, maybe 12-15 hours of gameplay. The game is also very addiciting, I haven't but people i know have beaten this game in a day. Bullet-Time is a great feature which puts everything in slo-mo to let you aim at enemys and focus on a head-shot, while dodgeing bullets at the same time, very innovative. The game is story-driven and let me tell you that the story is fantastic. Its probably the reason that most people spend all day playing it... to see what happens next in the story. Theres one downside to Max Payne, lack of multi-player. if you want to have fun with some friends, sorry, look somewhere else becuase Max Payne won't let you play on the net. Lastly, i don't know the min. system requirements so here are the specs for my system... 1ghz AMD Athlon, 256mb Ram, 32mb Geeforce 2 video card, Hercules GameSurround Furtismo II sound card... the video settings are at their highest and the sound settings are at their highest as well. The game runs perfect without any skipping in either sound or video.
Rating:
Summary: Gritty and Stylish
Review: Max Payne is an addictive game, that has action bordering on insanity. I must admit, when I busted out the bullet-time and took down 4 guys in a matter of seconds, it was the most fun I had had in quite a long time, in terms of computer games that is. This ultra-stylish game begins with a gruesome murder, and then snowballs into a one man versus all killing rampage. Slow-motion deaths, bullet-time, multitudes of weapons, gigantic explosions, and just about everything else is thrown into the mix. I have a few problems with this game, first of all the stupid just plain embarassing dialogue. "I don't know about angels, but it's fear that gives men wings" is typical of the tripe that max spews. This all might be a huge joke, or just the game designers trying to stay within the conventions of film-noir with the constant voiceover, but I didn't find it funny. The other problem is the wasted characters and simplistic plot. A revenge plot is a simplistic plot to be sure, and I was embroiled throughout most of the gameplay, it's just when it's all done, the plot should have been a little more fleshed out. The other thing that made me mad, (spoiler ahead) was the complete waste of a female character. She shows up about midway through, and I thought she could be a nice counterpoint to Max. Instead you never see her again, until she is murdered near the end. I was more than a little peeved. Anyway, it is definitely better than the crop of mediocrity currently occupying the online landscape. It is short, but it is a game that has quite a lot of replay value due its numerous cool set-pieces. All in all, a worthwhile buy and one that will satisfy despite its flaws.
Rating:
Summary: Max Payne Kicks!!
Review: I bought Max Payne not too long ago and beat it. I have to say that this is the best packed action shoot em' up game. In Max Payne your an undercover cop and becomes a New York fugitive. I can't tell you why because it would spoil the whole game. I gave this game 5 stars because of it's unique creation. It's full with action and it has just the right amount of difficulty. There's also an option that lets you do a matrix slow motion style shooter for about 7 seconds. This is a very brilliant option in the game because if you see a group of enemies just use this option and shoot them. Secondly, the graphics are amazing. It just spices everything up to a new level. The enivironments are also interactive, for example, you can buy a soda from the soda machine or turn on the sink or shower or even flush a toilet. So, that's also a pretty cool thing they put into this game. Also, the game's AI Scripts are easy at the beginning and increase with each level. The AI is never impossible to beat and I think that is pretty creative. Max Payne also has a dazzling storyline. The only bad part about this game is the voice talent. Max Payne always seems dull and just says things in a voice that's kinda lame but funny. Like if someone dies he's just like..well if you buy the game you'll see what I mean. I gave this game 5 stars because I thought it was very unique and amazing and everything! I also want to thank the creators and everyone else for spending their time to create a game with so much action and brilliance. Well, if you like action packed games with unique features I say buy this game at all costs!
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST GAME I HAVE EVER PLAYED
Review: This is BY FAR, the best game I have ever played. I love action games, I usually play games like Unreal Tournament or McGee's Alice or Sacrifice, but I tried out this game - IT BLEW ME AWAY. The graphics are divine. The story is very gripping and keeps you playing right along hour after hour. The slow motion bullets are AWESOME. This game makes you remember when you wished video games were cooler and more like real life. THIS one, is as close as you can get - for year 2001, that is. It is simply amazing and very very fun to play. You are just doing tons of things - there is never a time to be bored in this game. You open doors/drawers/cabinets/ even drive things!!!
WELL worth the money and time to play. You will love it.
Rating:
Summary: Very poor value, overrated.
Review: One main gimmick (the bullet-time feature) and some decent graphics. That's all this overrated game really offers. And not only is it a 1.5 trick pony, but it's a very short one, too...you can finish it the same day you receive it.
Suffice it to say Max Payne is just poor value all round. It's obvious most of the reviewers here either don't have the game or reviewed it while still in their 10-hour honeymoon with it. It's incredible how much a couple of days can sober one's opinion of this lackluster game. My two cents? Save your money and don't bother till it hits the bargain bin.
Rating:
Summary: Lives up to the hype with few exceptions
Review: Don't buy the game for the generic and semi-entertaining story, buy it for the quality of action, the graphics, the awsome level designs, and the overall style of presentation. Forget any prejudices about 3rd-person gaming. The action is like no other game, as if a movie director were cutting each scene. Some moments are visually stunning. I admit it can get a little repetetive in that you just kill everyone in sight over and over again. But each situation requires a little bit different approach in a different setting. If you are wondering how your system will run this game, I have a Pent III 550MHz with a 32 MB graphics card and 256 MB RAM. Medium graphic quality runs smooth and looks great.
Rating: 
Summary: Wish I Could Rate It !
Review: I was so busy trying to get my hands on this game that I neglected to read the requierments. You have to have at least 96MB of ram in order to run. I have only 64. Now I am probably stuck with a game I can't play until I upgrade my computer. My question is why would a game so long in development need RAM that was not even heard of at the time? Or where they waiting for computers to advance that much in order to run it? Piece of advice to potential buyers. Don't make the same mistake I did and read the requierments carefully!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Max Owes It All To Woo!
Review: If John Woo wrote computer games they would look like this. Max leaps in slow motion, his blazing guns spitting hot lead towards his flailing victim. The bullets rip through flesh and bone. Blood is spattered on the tiled wall of the subway station as the thug slides to the floor with a final exhalation. Tiny chips of ceramic fall from the gracefully drawn arc of bullet holes. Why is there no action replay in this game? I wanna see it again! This is a well executed (pardon the pun) game with a very basic premise - if it moves, shoot it. Shoot it lots. The interface and mechanics are carefully thought out and designed to allow maximum use of the mouse as an action controller. If that turns out to be something of an innovation in a third person perspective game you can't help but feel that it's more of an emergent property than anything that was consciously determined. It's nice to see it, even if it is the way things should have been all along (space combat game designers take note). But the really deliberate innovation here is the invention of Bullet Time. Why did this take so long to discover? Just when you thought real imagination in games was a thing of the past, along comes this stunning use of 3D space to remind you just how mind blowing games can be. Forget trying to simulate reality and cast aside any silly justifications as to exactly why Max can do this. Why doesn't matter. He can do it and it's immensely cool. Sub zero, in fact. If you haven't experienced Bullet Time yet then there's no point in trying to explain the feeling you get from successfully implementing a carefully thought out sideways leap whilst delivering fifty slugs to the face of some drug crazed mobster. You just have to try it to realise how intuitive a system it is. Hit the right mouse button then the direction button, aim and blast. Max and everything around him momentarily slows to a crawl but Max retains the ability to aim in real time. Expect other games to implement similar time stretching functions in the months ahead. It's not all relentless and mindless gunplay though. There's a story being woven to cradle the action. It's not exactly an original plot but it suffices and it's driven along by game engine cut scenes and a tacky graphic novel presentation both of which feature suitably OTT voice acting. There's a definite waft of self parody drifting by here, especially when, during one of his more vulnerable moments, Max begins to question the nature of his game bound reality. Generally, the narrative doesn't take itself too seriously and is played for laughs. But when it gets heavy it manages to pull it off with some truly hair raising and genuinely moving moments. Some of the scenes that are played out are actually distressing, dealing as they do with the loss of Max's family and the depths of his guilt about the way they died. The gameplay itself isn't all shooting either. There are a couple of levels where Max has to navigate his inner psyche in search of some sort of redemption. But mostly, it's shooting. The few puzzles are well thought out and add a little variety but they ain't gonna fox the Tomb Raiders amongst us. There are one or two moments of tricky scenery navigation as a token nod to Lara's skillset but, aside from a couple of vertiginous jumps, any truly platform-esque elements are carefully and thankfully absent. Max Payne is gaming's next big star. I expect to be going to see the film in a couple of years time. No doubt I'll be moaning then about the Max Payne series' lack of originality and progression but until then I'll be lapping it up. If this is the B movie to Creative Realms' forthcoming Duke Nukem blockbuster we really do have a treat in store. But my money is on Max.
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