Throughout the Max Payne series, you find yourself progressively becoming worse and worse at keeping people alive. Max Payne 3 brings you down to the lowest of the low on a journey of alcohol and self-loathing. The Max Payne series was first started back in 2001 with the second instalment coming in 2003, now 9 years later we get a glimpse of hope for poor Max to pick himself up and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, in the life of Max Payne, that will most probably never happen. Max has had everything taken from him in the previous games and this title takes you along the road to a new start in an old lifestyle.
The game starts off on a rooftop party in São Paulo, but it’s not what you think. Max in now, of all things, a personal security/body guard hired by Rodrigo Branco to protect the whole family. Unfortunately for Max (and the Brancos) our hero has a rather unhealthy drinking problem which can find itself getting in the way and causing some rather unwelcoming solutions to upcoming problems. The party gets interrupted with some guns for hire storming in on a mission to kidnap any member of the Branco family that they can. Unfortunately for them, Max hasn’t even become tipsy. With the use of some easy to figure out controls and some crafty manoeuvres, you will find yourself in the basement with a breadcrumb trail of bodies lying in your wake with a partial thanks foir the help to finish off the evening.
Partial to a few bumps and bruises the younger of the family, Fabiana (Rodrigos wife), Giovanna Taveres and and Marcelo Branco, escorted by Raul Passos and yourself head off into the city to celebrate not being dead. Thumping music and people dancing like idiots is just what Max needs and the only place to find him is the bar. The party gets cut short with the same goons, yet more well equipped, smash their way into the party and kidnap Fabiana. This my dear friends is when the game really starts to come into its own.
The gameplay of Max Payne 3 is true to the nature of its predecessors yet does not offer any new abilities for you to grasp. Yet with a game like this you would feel anything different wouldn't be welcome. The mechanics of the gameplay flow through with the easy of the controls, they go together like a hand and glove. The one most impressive feature I love is the slow-mo bullet cam. Upon clearing out a room full of goons the last bullet to leave you gun will get its own 15 seconds in the spotlight as the camera follows it from the barrel to its final resting place in the last enemy, and I couldn't help but pull the trigger a few more times to pump him full of lead. This feature saw me using more ammo than a civil war in a small country. One thing I did find that make the game lack was the ability to free roam a little. Don’t get me wrong it gives you the illusion of roaming around the favela for instance but I felt like it was more of a shoot out – cut scene – shoot out – mission end kind of setup. I love shoot outs as much as the next guy but I felt this is all it would offer.
The graphics are nothing short of amazing and are exactly what you would expect from todays games. I felt like the cut scenes and the actual gameplay went hand in hand and at times I found it difficult to differ between the two until I realised I was being shot. The Noir style cut-scenes were absolutely amazing, gave off the impression of a comic style cinematic feel with the addition of a few stray words being flung onto the screen. Another thing that caught my attention was the removal of the regenerative health ability. No longer can you hide behind a wall and let your health regenerate which is makes you feel more engrossed and forces the player to sus out the situation and generate tactics for survival.
Touching on a few of the other game modes now. New York Minute was a blast. Its basically the campaign with a timer and each kill earns you more time. I didn't make it too far, but I feel a well strategized plan could see someone making it to the end and this in itself would be a personal achievement and possibly something you would be proud of to stick on a resume.
The multiplayer threw me back a little bit as I was unsure if I was totally badass at it or if it was ridiculously easy. It offers many different game modes in 2 categories, soft lock and free aim. I started off on a simple death match to get a feel of what I would be expecting from the multiplayer. Boy was I impressed! Not only did I make top player in my match on my first go, I had the best K/D ratio and advanced 2 levels in the process. This to me screams easy multiplayer but I ventured into a few other modes and found other styles to be more difficult which I feel caters to all gamers.
Looking back at the Max Payne franchise I can see why it took 9 years to release this title and I am at no point disappointed with the game. The campaign is completely unpredictable and will have you on the edge of your seat for the entire game. The multiplayer delivers in every area and is a must play for any fans of the campaign. The achievements come easy and the addition of collecting golden gun parts on each level will have you searching every nook and cranny. The cinematic are amazing and the sound is brilliant.
There’s no other way to rate this game than with top marks because it caters for everything and new comers could easily find themselves engrossed into it. 5/5 and a hats off to Rockstar.
