Bring the Payne! (Max Payne (PC))

Member Name: Ian Proudfoot

Product:	Max Payne (PC)
Date:	01/08/01 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sublime Graphics, Engrossing gameplay, Good story

Disadvantages: Too short, Need a decent PC

“One day a hard rains going to come and wash the scum off the street” and that rain seems to be one Max Payne, undercover cop caught in a vast conspiracy involving gangsters, an experimental drug called V and a multinational corporation all within the confines of blizzard bound New York city. Max Payne is also the latest release from Remedy and 3D Realms. The later the home of another infamous gun toting anti-hero and everyone’s favourite All-American muscle man Duke Nukem.

So after many years in development and delays a plenty, Max Payne has finally arrived on the streets and armed to the teeth with more dazzling reviews and gushing praise than an exploding dam full of tinsel. So is all the praise granted to Max Payne by the Video games press justified? Well hell baby, it certainly is! Although not the most grounding breaking game released recently, it does what it does with more style, grace than it’s rivals whilst throwing in some unique touches that clearly put in the premier league.

First of let’s talk about Max Payne’s game play style. To put in simply Max Payne is a 3rd person shoot em up in the same vain as other 3D Realms games such as Duke Nukem: Time to Kill and Zero Hour as well as the MDK and Tomb Raider series of games. Which for those not familiar with this time of game, involves you controlling the protagonist of the game from behind via a 3rd person perspective with the computer controlling the viewing angle. The game in simple terms is about getting from the start of one level to the start of the next, shooting any moving/stationary thing that gets in your way. Sound simple? Well to a certain extent it is, however Max Payne adds a few extras to this equation, which creates a more complex and interesting gaming experience.

The first of these is a stunning feature called ‘Bullet Time’. Anybody who has seen a John Woo film or The Matrix will know what this is. However for thes
e of you not familiar with these cinematic masterpieces let me explain. ‘Bullet Time’ is a technique used to slow down action scenes and create speculator movements from the actors/characters during gunfights. In Max Payne this works by having a Hourglass of time which counts down during which you can pull off stunning jumps and somersaults whilst shooting your weapon in gorgeous slow motion. When the hourglass runs out or you deactivate the ‘Bullet time’ ability you are shot rudely back into real time, with whooshing sound effects announcing your arrival.

The ‘Bullet time’ ability is not all cinematically impressive to watch it is also an essential part of the game, as it allows your to dodge enemy fire whilst returning fire and heading for cover. Try playing Max Payne without using ‘Bullet time’ are your being dying faster than the members of Boyzone (who are not Ronan Keating)solo pop careers.

The next original feature about Max Payne’s game play is that it auto adjusts the skill level and difficulty of the game.If your'e storming through the game like a hot knife through butter and the game will become more increasingly difficult. The enemy's AI and shooting accuracy becomes increasingly tighter. On the flip side if you’re playing like a sack of potatoes with the reactions of a sloth then the game becomes easier to play. Enemies became stupider and can't hit an elephant with a blunderbuss even if they were standing next to it. This is all done so smoothly that it is incredibly hard to notice any real changes in game play.

The next strong factor of Max Payne is the graphics. Not only are the graphics nearly photo realistic (especially on higher end graphics settings) they are also incredibly fluid and dynamic. All the characters from Max to the massive variety of enemies ( including suited gangsters, street thugs, men in black and special ops teams) move in a hig
hly realistic manner. This is really highlighted when you move into ‘Bullet Time’ where the smallest of movements are perfectly mapped and visualised. Add to this scenery that not only is scared by the mass of gunfire and bomb blasts, but also it some cases can be destroyed and Max Payne offers eye candy that Willy Wonka would be proud of.

Talking of weapon damage. The weapons in Max Payne are again supremely well executed. You get a variety of guns which include the simple berreta pistol to the M-16 combat rifle to the sublime Sniper rifle (which when fired the camera follows the bullet to it’s target). Add to this hand grenades that can be bounced around corners (a nasty trick used by the enemy characters a lot) and a grenade launcher than really packs a serious punch and Max Payne is blessed with a serious impressive set of firepower. You will find you need to use all of it to get anywhere in the game.

So far Max Payne may sound like a mindless shoot ‘em up and in the main it is. However the game is held together by having an intriguing and involving story line. I’m not going to give away the plot but I just say it’s full on nasty twists and turns and also has a strong adult content. The story line is carried by the use of a comic strip story board device which adds detail and explains the reasons behind Max’s murderous slaughter through New York. There is also some frankly strange dream and drug in game sequences that confuse and beguile.

If there is any criticisms I can level at Max Payne they would centre on the lack of variation in game play and the fact it is seems fairly short in full playing time. The game as becomes easy to read as well. By this I mean that you soon learn to expect that every time you enter a new area or room you will come under attack, so you automatically use the ‘Bullet time’ ability before entering to give you an extra chance to locate the enemies and ta
ke them out. However these criticisms are minor and the game shines brightly on all other fronts.

If you looking for an graphically exquisite game which is highly playable and enjoyable then Max Payne is a must buy. All though highly violent and adult in content the game has a good plot marked by a lot of dark humour. You will also need a Mid to High end spec PC to be able to play Max Payne as well to get the most out of it. Go on feed the Payne within yourself.

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