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Developer: Rockstar | Publisher: Rockstar |
| Release Date: May 15, 2012 | Available On: PC, PS3 and Xbox
360 |
Rockstar Games and I do not have a good
history together. I am not a fan of sandbox
games (a couple of exceptions do exist for
example Sucker Punch’s inFamous and Radical
Entertainment’s Prototype 2), for the most part,
I cannot play them. Unfortunately, a large
majority of Rockstar’s library includes such
sandbox titles; but the developer has
nonetheless taken over the Max Payne series from
its former team, Remedy. Frankly, they’ve done
an exquisite job, breaking free from what they
are typically known for: Max Payne 3 delivers a
gripping narrative, pummeling players with an
emotional freight train, breaking through all
the barriers that Rockstar had confined itself
to within the sandbox.
A Dame, a Dork, and a Drunk
After popping in the first disc and starting
up the game, the very first thing I noticed was
the amount of style in Max Payne 3; the game
simply overflows with it, breaching to the brim,
starting with the basic introduction sequence
that transitions into the main menu. A short
scene plays, immediately giving you a glimpse of
the state that Max is currently in; an addict, a
drunk, his work taking him away from his haunted
past in New Jersey to Sao Paulo, Brazil. As the
scene concludes, Max pours himself a drink and
walks into his apartment, with the Max Payne 3
logo and main menu fading into view.
The events of Max Payne 3 take place nine
years after the second game. The slaughter of
Max’s wife and daughter in the previous
installments has taken quite a huge toll on our
alcoholic ex-cop protagonist; even on the job,
Max spends his time drinking and numbing his
mind with his other vice, painkillers. The game
takes place largely in the present time, with a
number of flashbacks scattered throughout to
give some detail about how Max ended up at rock
bottom. Chronologically, the game starts off in
a Hoboken bar; Max has an altercation with the
son of a local mob boss – a friend named Raul
comes to Max’s aid, but the encounter leaves the
young man dead. Raul convinces Max to join him
in a private security business, and ends up
working one of his biggest protection jobs,
looking after the wealthy Branco family. A
series of events eventually sets into motion
when Rodrigo Branco’s wife, Fabiana, is
kidnapped – Max is thrown into a whirlpool of
deceit and corroption that would rightfully
leave any man second-guessing anyone speaking to
him.
Despite the bright and sunny setting of
Brazil, the “noir” style that defined the first
two Max Payne games returns. This game is gritty
and dark; the city streets have been abandoned
in favor of loud nightclubs, depressing favelas,
and Brazillian docks. The cutscenes have an
interesting effect that splits the screen, with
important bits of dialogue flashing on the
screen. These graphic novel-style ideas that are
expressed in the cinematics help Max Payne 3
reach that “ultra-stylized” feel the developers
were going for, and helped to immerse me even
more into the story. Without these little
extras, the game could have just been another
cinematic shooter. Aside from a few instances
where I thought the textures could have been
smoother, I was mostly impressed with the
overall style and the high level of detail
contained in the environments and the character
models.
A Fat Bald Dude With a Bad Temper
Max Payne 3’s style is not the only thing
going for it; more importantly, Rockstar did an
incredible job of putting players in Max’s shoes
with the gameplay. The controls are tight and
the slick combat really brings the whole package
together. Max Payne 3 is absolutely brutal, and
moving from firefight to firefight, there is
plenty of carnage to be had, but it all starts
with the solid mechanics.
Bullet-Time has always been the one huge
gimmick in the Max Payne series, and having the
ability to access it without the loss of even a
split-second was genius. Often the intense
firefights will put you on the verge of death
unless you use the mechanic liberally. Now, a
lot of others that I have spoken to have had one
major complaint regarding Max Payne 3’s control
scheme – the default button mapped to activate
Bullet Time (clicking the right trigger). I
actually think it’s in the perfect position;
clicking the right joystick saves you from
having to move a finger to another button,
resulting in those precious milliseconds that
mean the difference between life and death.
Admittedly, there are some control options
available – for example, upon starting a new
game, players have the choice of “free aim”,
“soft lock”, or “hard lock” targeting modes.
Free Aim felt difficult to me, but made the game
seem more realistic and smooth as well. Soft
lock and hard lock automatically “snap” the
reticle onto enemies at varying intensities;
this makes the game easier, but I also didn’t
have as much fun with this turned on.
The actual combat situations in the game are
pretty intense; enemies will approach each
scenario uniquely, and will even react
differently if you die and restart from a
previous checkpoint. Your opponents will flank
you, throw grenades in an attempt to flush you
out, and so on…basically, the A.I. is
impressive. When you manage to thin out the
groups of enemies, your last bullet fired to
kill the final enemy activates a nifty “bullet
cam” that follows the path of the shot to its
target. Even cooler and more unique to Max Payne
3, you can continue to pull the right trigger
and squeeze off extra bullets, pummeling your
enemies with lead. Blasting an opponent with the
remainder of your clip, even when you’re low on
ammo, can be extremely satisfying. Another
interesting and unique concept; if Max is
holding onto at least one health-recovering
Painkiller when he’s shot down, he can enter a
“last stand” mode. If you manage to get revenge
on the bad guy that shot you down, Max can get
back up at the expense of the remaining
Painkiller. Sometime’s it’s a good idea to stay
on the ground, as Max can rotate and aim with
360 degrees of movement, with detailed
animations for bending, stretching, and rolling
around to shoot in different directions. The
detail is pretty amazing, really.
Max Payne 3 also has some of the coolest
interactive scripted events I have ever
experienced in a video game. My favorite of
these takes place in a factory, as Max blasts a
gear and grabs a chain, hurtling three stories
upward with Bullet Time automatically activated.
Max blasts away at the enemies as he’s vaulted
upward, and it’s really exciting, to say the
least. When I play video games, I tend to
restart certain checkpoints if a segment isn’t
executed perfectly. However, I’ve never played a
game that caused me to restart checkpoints five
or six consecutive times just because I thought
the portion of the game was so awesome. Max
Payne 3 pulls this off, and sets a new standard
for third-person shooters in my eyes.
After completing the game there are several
extra game modes to tackle. First, Score Attack
rewards headshots and bullet time kills with
bonus points, but also deducts points for things
like getting shot, going into “last stand”, or
using Painkillers. New York Minute and New York
Minute Hardcore are the most difficult modes in
the game; New York Minute gives you a minute on
the timer, and rewards you with extra time by
pulling off headshots or various violent acts,
but you must complete the entire level before
the time runs out. If you die at any point, you
restart from the beginning of the chapter. New
York Minute Hardcore takes the idea further;
most of the same rules apply, but dying forces
you to begin the entire game over from the
beginning.
Gang Wars
On top of the extra single-player modes, Max
Payne 3 features an extensive multiplayer
component – a first for the series. Players can
fully customize load-outs and character
preferences to their liking, with weapon
attachments and hundreds of different possible
combinations. There are eleven different
multiplayer modes in total, some like the
standard team deathmatch and its variants, and a
few that are unlike anything I’ve played before.
For example, “Gang Wars” puts players in the
role of a local gang, with each gang occupying a
spot on the map. Players must complete
objectives such as defending territory and
sabotaging rival gangs. “Payne Killer” is
another unique game type; one player starts the
match as Max, another begins as Raul. Any kills
earned by these players results in extra points,
but coordinated attempts to kill Max or Raul
result in the role being passed from one player
to another. Basically, it’s a “VIP-style” game
type, where you try to remain the VIP in order
to earn more points.
In conclusion, I think Max Payne 3 is the
cinematic experience of the summer. Being put
into the role of the belligerent, beaten-down
detective is a treat. There was a point that the
frequent cut-scenes started to become
frustrating, but after some thought I realized
that this game would not be as rewarding if it
wasn’t so absolutely engrossing and
aesthetically stylish. The single-player is
insanely well-done, and the multiplayer
impresses as well. With the extra game modes and
the robust competitive component, I can only say
that I wish every $60 game offered half as much
high-quality content as Rockstar’s Max Payne 3.
| Graphics: | 9 |
| Sound: | 8.5 |
| Gameplay: | 9.5 |
| Creativity: | 9 |
| Replay Value/Game Length: | 10 |
| Final: | 9.2 out of 10 |
| Written by Drew Meadows | W |
