Max Payne, what a gem, even the name's clever! (Max Payne (PS2))

Member Name: andy343

Product:	Max Payne (PS2)
Date:	30/03/03 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: innovative gameplay, great storyline, groundbreakingly original

Disadvantages: repetitive at times

I think it’s safe to say that Max Payne is one of the most atmospheric games I’ve ever played. Set in a cold, dark and rather grim world Max Payne employs a whole new approach to gaming. This isn’t just your average shooter, this is a game that you’ll never forget and that’s a guarantee. Max Payne is essentially story based although the gameplay is nothing short of revolutionary.

The game starts with Max standing on top of a skyscraper holding a sniper rifle and looking rather pleased with himself. At first you think; what's going on here then. Then you realise its going to be one of those stories in which the character recalls the past and you have to play through it. You are taken to Max’s house a few years before. It’s a normal day, you go into your house, everything is fine. Then you realise that something’s a bit wrong. Furniture has been thrown about the room, there is a mysterious mark on the wall and the phone’s ringing. You hear noises from upstairs and you run towards them. The screams of your wife and child echo throughout the house. You can’t reach them.

First you find your baby lying motionless beside the fallen cot. After capping the bad guys you continue towards your bedroom. You burst in only to find drugged up gangster laughing at your wife’s corpse.

From here you are plunged into a world of undercover policing, Mafia gangs and corporations bent on making vast sums of money in any way possible. Max is torn up from his loss and he’s determined to find out who is responsible and anyone who tries to get in his way will soon end up with a bullet in their head.

Graphics

The graphics on Max Payne are probably average for a ps2 game these days. It certainly doesn’t rival Metal Gear Solid 2 or Final Fantasy in this category. The environments are well detailed but not very interactive. They sometimes look a bit flat but most of t
he time the urban setting combined with underground laboratories and shipyards never ceases to amaze.

The characters, on the other hand, aren’t as impressive especially Max. The first time you catch a glimpse of his face you’ll have to laugh as he looks more like a cop in need of an urgent trip to the toilet rather than a cop in need of revenge. His coat fluttering in the wind looks surprisingly good though. The enemies are fairly well done but for the most part you’ll be too bust ducking and diving to get a good look at them.

The frame rate sometimes changes in a rather noticeable fashion but that’s quite rare and not a major problem. Overall the game is very colourful and atmospheric in terms of graphics. Outside there tends to be a lot of grays and whites but once you get inside everything changes. Instead of the snow stricken roads and buildings you get to see a completely different side to Max Payne, the whites and grays are replaced by reds and yellows and the whole game looks polished and nicely done.

16/20

Sound

The sound effects in Max Payne are absolutely amazing! Everything from footsteps through to gunshots are perfection. Never have I heard gunshots so realistic even when you go into bullet time they’re brilliant. Even the soft crunch of snow as you walk through the icy streets is nothing short of groundbreaking.

However, the music isn’t quite as impressive as the sound effects. It’s very repetitive and sometimes out of place. Generally it compliments the storyline quite well but there are a few minor niggles which should have been sorted out. The music could have been more upbeat in places and more atmospheric rather than just the repetitive beats that the game contains.

Despite this Max Payne still sounds great and the pros outweigh the cons by far. Even the sound of a hookers bed vibrating is perfect and with that in mind near perfect marks a
re in order.

18/20

Gameplay

Max Payne really does bring the gamer into a different world and the bullet time feature is a perfect example of this. In most shooters you get to do the same old thing; run, shoot, get hit, run, jump, shoot, get hit. Well Max Payne alters that trend to such a degree that it almost makes the game worth buying just for the bullet time feature. In Max Payne you can literally manipulate time to your advantage. You can use this to dodge bullets, execute matrix style dives while firing off your twin Uzi’s and take out multiple enemies in just a few seconds. Basically you can move in slow motion and aim you weapons in real time making it not only easy to win fights but also extremely cool to experiment with. There are two degrees to which you can use this function; bullet time which is when you dive and shoot and slow mo which is when you dodge bullets more effectively; this slows time down much more than in bullet time.

Now this feature isn’t unlimited; there’s a bar which goes down every time you use the function. The only way to up the bar is to kill more enemies. So if your bar is depleted you’ll find yourself in the middle of a deadly firefight in which you have to use sheer muscle and power to defeat your enemies.

Max Payne is split up into three different sections each with its own individual charm and perks. Max Payne’s story is told in quite a unique way. It uses drawings and pictures rather than cutscenes in an attempt to make the game fast paced but it doesn’t work particularly well. It’s a bit of a love hate thing really. During the sections you encounter nightmares that you have to play through. They’re quite disturbing in a way and very repetitive. In fact the whole of the first chapter is repetitive, once the charm of diving around in slow motion has worn off you find yourself a little bored. Well don’t fear because this all chan
ges in the second and third chapters where you’ll get more weapons, different enemies to fight and more variety in environments.

In the first chapter you’ll have to be content with pistols and shotguns for the most part but in the other two chapters you’ll have access to loads of different weapons including machine guns, grenade launchers and sniper rifles.

Throughout Max Payne you’ll be shocked and amazed by the incredible and revolutionary gameplay. It’s nothing short of a masterpiece and once you’re past the first chapter you’ll definitely agree otherwise maybe you should see the doctor and get that dillusion sorted out once and for all.

There are also some interesting characters to meet in Max Payne, these include Don Punchinello, Mona, Jack Lupino and the strange women who is responsible for the drug which killed Max’s family. Max Payne has a general feeling of futility which means you’ll feel great when you’ve completed it.

The controls are simple and easy to get to grips with and all in all the gameplay is almost perfect, almost.

23/25

Lifespan

This is an average game in terms of length. If you play it non stop you’ll probably get it done over the weekend and there’s no real replay factor once you’ve done it. It couldn’t really have been much longer when you think about it though, there was nothing else to put into it. If they had decided to make it longer it would seem to drawn out and people would get board so its probably about the right size for a story based game.

Some extra features after completion of the actual game might have been nice though. Perhaps some extra missions which took place while Max was a policeman. Just something to add to the overall lifespan really would have helped. Unfortunately Take Two didn’t come up with anything for the ps2 version so we’re stuck with the m
ain story and nothing else. Mind you, considering the quality of the game, it’s not really a big deal.

19/25

Originality
Well what can I say? I don’t think there’s ever been a game quite so original. The bullet time, the way the story is told and the general atmosphere of the game make Max Payne highly original.

Perhaps bullet time was nicked from the matrix; well not perhaps more like definitely! However, the fact that its never been done by a game before makes this obsolete. If you’re looking for an original game to get your teeth into then look no further because you have it right here. This is a real gem and even the most critical and cynical of games journalists couldn’t call Max Payne unoriginal.

10/10

Overall

Overall this is a great game and, despite some minor faults, it seems to have panned out very well. Problem is no one seems to be able to keep Max still. He always seems to want to dive around everywhere. If the doorbell rang he’s probably execute a 360 degree dive all guns blazing before finding out he just capped the delivery boy. He must have a lot of bruises by now; it must be very painful diving around everywhere.

I’m definitely looking forward to Max Payne 2 and if you haven’t already got this beauty then I’d definitely advise you to go out and get it!

86%

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