Youll Be All Hooked From Payne (Max Payne (PC))

Member Name: kornkid2001

Product:	Max Payne (PC)
Date:	07/03/02 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bullet time, graphics, story

Disadvantages: to short

After a long await, gaming fans all over the world will be happy to see Max Payne finally released after a long wait for the game to be finished. Max Payne is a 3rd Person shooter which looks like its been inspired by John Woo movies, or parts of the Matrix because it’s rife with gunplay which is highly associated with these movies. The game isn’t a long one to tell you the truth, neither does it have any multiplayer capabilities, but it’s the originality which will keep you playing this game for ages.


Story
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You play as a modern Undercover New York cop called Max Payne. He comes home one day to find his house raided and his wife and baby daughter killed by a gang. Also Max has also been framed for a crime that he did not do. He begins his blood filled battle to wreck revenge on the people that did this, thus transporting him to a lot of places in New York looking for the thugs that did this to him. Along the way he will meet various gangsters, some will be after him and some will be on his side looking to help him in return for a favour. The story unfolds through non-cinematic comic strips. Using stylish photographs to tell a story along with voices, these are made so that you can skip them but they are much better to watch. This is perfect for this type of game, Max speaks a lot himself and there are thousands of sounds by various people being gangsters, it gels well with the over the top gangster story. There are lots of twists and turns in the story so you have a hell of a ride ahead of you.


Controls
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The games controls are easy and responsive. Controlling Max is as easy as it would normally be to control a person in say a playstation game, but this time you’re using a keyboard and the mouse. The keyboard is to make Max move and to do various things like Jump, Crouch and bring up all the weapons. Using Default, The left mouse button fires the primary weapon that you
have, the left button activates the special " Bullet time " ability which puts everything into slow just like the Matrix, this has never been used in any other game before, that makes it to innovative. The controls are easy, so it makes the game more enjoyable to play rather than having awkward keys and controls.


Weapons
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Max will be able to possess a high arsenal of weaponry, which he will pick up throughout the game. Hell also be able to pick up a lot of ammo to load his weapons, there will also be a lot of enemies about in which he can let his anger out on. You must pick the best weapon for the best occasion as you have to think carefully in this game and you can’t just go into a heavily fortified workhouse guns blazing. Killing enemies is as easy as a bullet shot to the head or a grenade, but be careful because this also applies to Max, he isn’t superman as the good guys are in other games. He can withstand minor wounds, he can pick up painkillers which will bring his health up each time he takes one. Weapons Include:
Pistols (2 Types)
Baseball bat and crowbar
Machine Guns (Able to have 2 Uzis)
Shotguns
Grenades and Molotov’s
Sniper Rifle


Bullet Time
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So, I bet you are wondering what bullet time is. Once you click the bullet time button, the sounds of gunfire become distant and low and you can hear Max’s heart thumping along with a swoosh of air. This isn’t to look good, while everything is slowed down you can still control your crosshair at normal speed. Thus, giving Max superhuman reflexes. This helps you dodge bullets also, as you’re going through the air in slow speed you can see the shots of the bullets fly past you as you continue to take out the enemies. Bullet time does not last forever, as you have a time limit to how much you can use, once the limit is over you have to kill more bad guys to get mo
re bullet time. This keeps the game well balanced and stops it from feeling overused. I think bullet time sells Max Payne and is one of the main reasons people buy it. If Max Payne didn’t have bullet time, it would be just another well written 3rd person shooter which no one has seen before.


Specifications
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To play Max Payne to its full potential you will need a good top of the range machine:

Pentium 2 450Mhz Processor Or Equivalent
96Mb Of RAM
CD-ROM Drive
3d Graphics Card
600Mb Hard Drive Space
Mouse
Sound Card
Direct X 8


Conclusion
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If your looking for an innovative 3rd person shooter then I highly suggest Max Payne, As no other game in the market is capable of competing. Bullet time could sell the game alone as most people I know who have never played the game know about bullet time. This game will win awards im sure of that, I hope this review has helped you make a decision.

Summary: