Style over substance, gaming disappointment or high flying shooter that was more than worth the wait? Martyn adopts his best 'tough guy' pose and prepares to enter the fast-paced, gun blasting and down right violent world of Remedy's Max Payne.

'Cover me boys; I'm going in!'

 

Part One: Pertaining to the hype.

I feel I would be remiss if I didn't start by addressing the gigantic hype that surrounds this game at it's merest mention. I, generally, feel that within the gaming industry, hyped and glamorized products can mean really bad things for the game and thus your whole experience with it. It was very worrying indeed to see this game on the cover of many magazines both in the UK and stateside, the same magazines that insist in brandishing sensationalist headlines like '..the pc game's market savior' or '...the best game EVER!' I've no need to point out to you the extreme disappointment upon rushing your new purchase home (after it achieved a sky high percentage in said magazines), firing up your turbo charged PC and installing the game only to find in under thirty minutes you've achieved new levels of frustration and / or boredom! (Any one for a game of B&W!) With Remedy keeping their card's close to their chests for around four years now, what can we expect from Max Payne? The prognosis looks grim; but wait! Read on my friends.

If you digest nothing more in this review, please, understand this; Max Payne is different! Oh so very different! Lets move on as this is one reviewer who is certainly not experiencing any 'payne' with this gem.

Part Two: Introduction & Background.

The game begins with a brief and semi-interactive insight to Max's past. This dark introduction into Max's version of New York sets the tone nicely for the game. You also get a glimpse at the other little intricacies within Max Payne, primarily the graphic novel story boards. These semi-illustrated story boards provide links between the scenes and form an essential narrative technique, shared in part with the gravely voice over from Max himself.

The basic story to Max runs like this: Max was, and in many ways still is, a cop. Two years previously, Max's wife and child are murdered viciously by New York junkies. Following his tragic loss he moves to the DEA to hunt down the creators of the drug whom his families assailants were hooked on. He gets close, to close for the liking of some and is framed for murder by a corrupt partner. Thus the trail of justice and revenge begins. Sound familiar? Part of Max's charm is it's none to subtle wink in the direction of just about any mindless action movie you have ever watched. Lets remember no one promised this would be mentally taxing! What we do have already though is non stop action with a welcome injection of dark humour. Max starts the game by agreeing to meet one of his trusted friends at the tube station. It's from here on, as you can no doubt imagine, that the real 'fun' begins.

Part Three:The Main Attraction? Bullet-time.

If you are reading this review then I would hypothesize that most of you have at least heard a little about this innovative feature. I would also suggest that more of you than not have seen the movie 'The Matrix'! Do you remember the amazing cinematography involving the slowing down and almost rotational like aspect of time? Remember the bullets rippling the air as Neyo dived in slow motion to avoid the oncoming onslaught? That's all now possible to access. Max can effectively slow down time yet still target enemies extremely effectively. No explanation is offered for how Max is able to use such techniques but we could suggest it's actually his memory recalling what has happened. (Remember the game is set in the past with Max guiding himself though how he got to this point of no return.) This effect and control mechanism is executed at a level of near perfection! I remember watching various game demos prior to this games release and wondering how I was going to be able to pull of those commands on my humble keyboard and mouse, I needn't of worried at all. There are several 'bullet-time' options available to Max. You can initiate standard bullet-time which basically allows you to slow down the action and effectively dodge bullets while still shooting the enemy. The effects are spectacular as bullets flash past your head and guns eject every single cartridge and muzzle flash. Secondly Max can use a bullet-time combo, this allows the action to be slowed down as before but Max makes an incredible diving leap. As the action is so slowed he can also twist and fire at multiple enemies on a single leap. It's a very new and rewarding gaming experience to be able to pick of the 'badguys' with such unerring precision. A truly great feature made all the better by it's simple yet amazingly affective implementation. Suffice to say bullet-time(or Max Payne for that matter) will not disappoint you at all.

Screen Shots Part One (click on thumbnail for the larger image)

 

'Max Payne' - Page Two