Rockstar Games is continuing the story of the popular action game Max Payne. Having played the first two Max Payne's on the PC nearly a decade ago, this is my first console experience with the series.
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, the game revolves around Max Payne, an ex cop from Jersey. In the first game his wife and child were murdered. In Max Payne 2, his love interest was killed. Let's just say Max Payne is a broken man, addicted to pain-killers and booze. This is dark and gritty story, and you can’t help but feel sympathy for Max.
With nothing left to live for, he finds himself in Brazil, working as a bodyguard for a wealthy Portuguese family. In fairly short order, Max finds himself smack dab in the middle of a war zone. The story is top notch, and the cut scenes are one of the best I've seen in a single player action shooter. The art style, narration, and voice acting pull you into the dark world of Max Payne.
Sometimes it’s hard to understand the purpose of fighting since Max has nothing left to live for, but you continue on anyway--even if it’s to justify your pathetic existence.
Max is not a quitter, and with the odds stacked against him, he finds the will to carry on.
The series is well known for it’s Matrix style bullet time feature. As you are playing, you build a meter that you can use to slow down time which results in crazy slo-mo action sequences. You will feel like Neo as you dive in the air, mow down enemies, and watch some of most intense and violent death animations.
One thing I hated about the previous games, was how the action sequences dragged on. They sent hordes of enemies at you for an extended period of time, with no break in the action. Max Payne 3 has much better pacing this time around up until the last quarter of the game.
Towards the end of the game, Rockstar pounds you with overly difficult and unnecessarily long action sequences. The pacing was perfect up until that point.
Terrible controls are a known weak point of the franchise, and most Rockstar games, but not in Max Payne 3. Rockstar tuned up the engine and it feels rock solid.
I haven’t even scratched the surface of multiplayer, but from what I have played so far, is a lot of fun. They even managed to incorporate bullet time, but adjusted it so that it only works on an enemy within your line of site.
Max Payne 3 is the best game in the series. Although it’s got a few rough spots, Rockstar Games successfully managed to create a dark, violent, and action packed video game that will immerse you to the bitter end.
Review is a segment about my opinion on things. I like things, and you like things too. Before you run off and buy something, you should check out my review. Chances are if I like it, it’s probably awesome.
