Max Payne

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly difficult!
Review: 3D Realms is one of my favorite companies because of Duke Nukem and Shadow Warrior, so when I saw that they made Max Payne, I immediatly drove to the store and picked up a copy.

When I started Max Payne, truth be told, I was amazed at how SLOW the thing ran. I used to think that my Pentium 700 was a good computer, now in order to get the most out of Max Payne, I need a gigahertz computer. Sheesh! Anyways, after turning down some details, I got the game running pretty smoothly.

The details on the game are very polished, and the locales in New York City are represented very realistically, from the run-down slums to mob boss mansions. The storyline, which is about a renegade cop whose entire family was murdered, is represented by what looks like water-colored comic strip panels, and it adds a nice touch to the game. The storyline is also one of the best I've seen in a shooter game next to Half-Life. The "dream" levels, which occur when Max Payne is knocked unconscious by whatever, are also quite disturbing! The innovative feature that will probably be the best in the game though, is something called "Bullet time." In bullet time, everything is slowed down, but you can aim the gun in real-time, very much like the popular movie, "The Matrix." This is a VERY cool feature. Sometimes when you blast away the last person in the room, it will zoom to him and show him falling slowly to the ground. And of course, when you use the sniper rifle, it zooms to the bullet's point of view. VERY cool.

Unfortunately, now we get to the negative parts of the game. First of all, as I said before, you need a machine with some SERIOUS horsepower to get the most out of Max Payne. Don't even bother with this game unless you have at least a Pentium 3 processor with a 32MB video card and 128MB RAM. The second thing that considerably dampened my experience was sound issues. I have a SBLive! Value sound card, and for some reason, the sound was very faint, unless I turned my back to the source of the sound, then the sounds came in clear. Wierd, and very annoying when the shotgun goes *piff!*

The third and most annoying thing about Max Payne was the difficulty level. The game sports a features that makes it so the difficulty changes according to your skill. For instance, when you first start the game, it takes a few hits from the handgun to kill anything, and if they hit you, you take a little bit of damage. That's okay, but Max Payne's idea of changing difficulty is making it so the enemies take more hits to kill, and you take less hits to kill, so by the time you reach the end of the first act, it takes two, maybe even THREE direct shotgun blasts to kill anything, and all they need is to get two, maybe even one good shot off of you to kill you (and head-shots don't count, by the way. It still took me two shotgun blasts to do the job!). Didn't this crap go out with Goldeneye for the N64? It is flat-out REDICULOUS in crowded enclosed rooms, especially one at the end of act one, with enemies continually pouring out of alcoves in the wall. And the end boss of the act took about FIVE shotgun blasts, and he STILL managed to kill me! Bullet-time became useless because the enemies still hit me even in the middle of a sideways leap. Even after all of the dying on act one, the game did not let up on the difficulty. I got so frustrated at the game I nearly threw it out the window. The only other software that did that was Messiah, and guess what? They ALSO had an innovative feature, just like Max Payne did! And if you beat the game, it opens up even HARDER features? My god!

Overall, I found Max Payne to be graphically superior to many other games, and the Bullet-Time feature is excellent, along with the storyline. But unfortunately, the overwhelming difficulty level and the really high system requirements only earns it three stars in my book.

Rating:
Summary: Game of the year. Hands down.
Review: Finally! I have been watching this game's production and developement for 2 years now, and I'm about as giddy as a schoolgirl now that it's out. I played the tutorial first, and as soon as I figured out how to "shootdodge" I could hardly contain myself. If you love the Matrix, You will LOVE this game! Shootdodge allows you to leap out to the side in slow motion, as individually pixelated bullets whizz by your head. For example, Shotgun buckshot pellets are all INDIVIDUALLY animated. So are bullet casings, which stay on the floor the entire level. One of the things that I never noticed before, but certainly do now, is how annoying it is to kill people and have them dissapear immediately. No More. In Max Payne, bullet holes in walls and items stay like that, as do bullet casings. if you shoot a briefcase full of cash, the little pieces of dollar notes float around in the air, while the briefcase material falls much more quickly. In one circumstance, you revisit a building that you had previously wiped clean with your dual berettas (!), to find that there were chalk outlines in the SAME PLACES where you had killed gangster muscle. I beat the game on easy mode in 2 days, but don't get me wrong, it takes about 16 hours to beat. The story was so interesting and involving I literally could not stop playing. I have gone back and replayed it already, I love the engine sooooooo much! There is nothing like sliding across the floor in slow motion with two uzi's wiping out gangsters in a matter of seconds...they never stand a chance :) It plays a lot like Nocturne, which was decent in it's own right. The graphic novel storyline which the game revolves around is very film-noire I really liked it, and his excellent metaphorical intros to each level are really outstanding. All in all it is excellent. So please do yourself a favor and buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Singley the most profound game I've ever played.
Review: I didn't expect alot from Max Payne, as the hype around it dulled my senses. I bought the game on a whim, and wow.. I was blow away. Technically, the game has no equal for graphics, the camera work makes you feel like your in a movie. The gameplay is very well done, although the AI is moderate, it can still provide a challenge. The key to the game is the storyline. Your heart goes out to this character, I more than once felt as though I would well up a tear for what this fellow goes through. The soundtrack and vocals are excellent adding so much more depth to the story. My only beef with this game is that it is EXTREMELY mature oriented. The graphic violence, blood, and various inuendos throughout the game should really be dealt with by adults. I haven't tried the parental "lock" version, however I can't help but wonder if they could take out all the stuff I would be concerned with my kids seeing. Max Payne is going to go on my shelf as one of the best games I've ever played.

Rating:
Summary: The Worst Game Ever
Review: This game stinks. Don't buy it, or you will be bored to death.

Rating:
Summary: OH MY GOD.
Review: This is the best action game EVER. There is nothing more I can say about it. Each penny you spend on it will be worth it. Buy it now.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: This game is one of the best third person shooters I have ever played the vivid storytelling and cool dark urban setting is topped off by a mode where you can move in slo motion and dodge bullets like in the matrix. This is a deffinite purchase for any gamer in there right mind. I will score all of the different elements from 1-10

Story:9 Control:9.5 Audio:9 Graphics:9 Overall Game:9

Rating:
Summary: Fun, nerve-wracking, edge-of-your-seat action
Review: FIRST OF ALL: If you are turned off from buying this game because you don't have an experimental super-processor and a mountain of RAM, don't fret. I run the game on a 450 MHz PIII and 128 MB RAM and it's smooth as silk (at the lowest, but still gorgeous, graphics level). If you have the bare minimum hardware, it's very worth it to give it a try.

Atmosphere: It is a very mature game - not for the little tikes. The game deals with violence, sex, and drugs most of the time, not to mention heartstring-pulling drama. If you're OK with that, prepare to be immersed in a tense crime action-drama that feels like a movie and (mature) comic book at the same time. I find myself almost biting my lip at times playing this game. The suspense will have you sweating bullets. The voice acting, especially Max's, is also great. Max has that great "seen more hatred and darkness than any man should" kind of sound in his voice, but has a comforting "tough guy" sound as well. The only thing I can really compare this game to, in terms of immersiveness, is Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation, only with a richer setting.

Graphics and sound: The graphics vary between great and jaw-dropping, depending on the power of your processor and 3D card. In the slow-motion "Bullet Time", you can actually see the bullets coming toward and away from Max. The sound is also very well-done. If Max is a room away from two thugs talking, they sound like they are a room away. Overall, it makes you feel like you're there.

Gameplay and features: One of the coolest features of the game is the slow motion, officially called "Bullet Time". Bullet Time can be used at any point, since there is no break between action sequences and looking around. However, Bullet Time is limited. It slowly drains while it is activated, but you get a little more to refill it a bit whenever Max downs an enemy thug. The slow-mo really adds an extra "wow" factor to the action sequences. This isn't just Tomb Raider with thugs, drugs, and Baretta slugs - this is a game of Matrix-like action tied together with a Usual Suspects-like story. The controls are very simple and do not detract from the game whatsoever.

My advice: Buy this game if you have at least the bare minimum hardware. Wait until it is dark and quiet to begin playing it. Prepare to have all of your emotions thoroughly smacked-around and sent through a rollercoaster ride of action and drama.

Rating:
Summary: Again, too much hype.
Review: The first time I read about Max Payne was something about 3 years ago on a very old edition of PCGAMER. After reading about it, and looking at in-game shots, one could say I was one, very exciting small kid. Ok, enough of that nostalgy, the game is out, let's see how it really is. GRAPHICS - There's no doubt that Remedy have given us one of the best visually games available on the PC market. The textures are sharp and clean, the facial animation is also superb, all in all, T&L in all its glory. I have to mention to Bullet Time effect which is great, special, Kudos REMEDY! Audio - Once again, as the graphics in this game, the music is also excellent, really immersive and on straight line with the plot. The speech is also really cool, altough Max talks familiar (Mr. Nukem anyone?). Gameplay - Ok, the gameplay is good, but I see it as the downfall of this game. What this game lacks is a variety of movements. I truly believe a slow walking, belly walking, etc, would have made wonders to the somewhat shallow gameplay. The lack of tactical aspect is a shame too. A more complex gaming, other than just walk here - kill that guy - walk there - kill this guy is really imoportant our days. The story is great, but the gameplay, compared to it, is simple and nothing special. Another downfall in this area is the length of this game. The game is very short, and the end-user would probably finish it by a weekend or so - so don't expect a long gaming experince. Now don't get me wrong, Max Payne is a fantastic 3rd person action game, even one of the best currently offered on the PC, but after 4 years in the making, and so much hype around it, I really expected a revolution, something new, better and fresh, and Max Payne is not all that. But than again, I have always been a 1rd person dude, Unreal Tournament anyone?

Rating:
Summary: Best Game Ever...
Review: This game is amazing. I just got it today, and I have not been able to stop for about 4 hours straight. You are a cop, your wife and child both were killed 3 years ago. Now, you are being framed for a murder. Could things get any worse? The gameplay is basically like Tomb Raider, except this is better. This game is a best buyer for hard-core gamer fans. The weapons are amazingly made, the enemies have great AI, the graphics are amazing, just everything is awosome. The game is for mature audiences, contains blood, gore, and some other mature scenes. Well, the only thing I really don't like is that you die to easily, but there is also strategy and sneaking. Well, buy this game! Thank you, and goodnight.

Rating:
Summary: Max Payne.... Max Fun!
Review: I am very picky when it comes to games. Ecspecially when you have a shoot-em up game because they tend to have little or no story (IE Quake 3). In my opinion a story makes the game by far. This game EASILY makes my grade. Like one reviewer wrote, this game has AWESOME graphics, AMAZING gameplay, and of course; a non-improvable story. Never before have I ever played a game with a plot more intriguing and yet the graphics and action make it even better. The Slowtime feature (enables you to be in slo-mo matrix style) NEVER gets old and is very useful for the game. Max's voice is a bit too much, very low and very deep, often times amusing. PARENTS WARNING: While this game IS fun it is also VERY violent I would not reccomend the game for people under 11 or so.

Overall, this game is shaping up to be the action game of the year, if not overall best game of the year. Thinking about getting it? GET IT its totally worth it. TRUST ME.