Max Payne 3 Geek
Max Payne is back and he’s just as much of a badass as we remember. Diving through windows in slow motion, firing rounds into enemies as they slowly struggle to react to what is happening, Max is right at home. Rockstar Studios kept the emphasis on Max and his beautifully executed combat while adapting it to modern game design standards and it works just as expected; perfectly.Now, we will talk about: Max Is Back, Visual Effects & Cinematics.
Max Is Back
Max is older, he’s a drunk, and he can’t stop popping pills; he’s in pretty rough shape. Despite all this, the character animation does a great job of conveying just how broken Max is through subtle tells during combat and cutscenes. It’s very clear that Max’s perspective is almost as central to the game as the story itself. Sure, there’s an elaborate kidnapping plot filled with conspiracy and mishaps, but it’s almost more interesting to see how Max reacts to the situation than the situation itself. When things don’t go Max’s way –which happened time and time again during my demo– you sympathize with him, an emotion rarely evoked by action-packed video games.
Visual Effects & Cinematics
Our demo opened in the Big Apple. Due to some unforeseen issues, Max is forced to leave New York and flee to São Paulo, Brazil. Thankfully the glorious, slow-motion shooting the Max Payne series is know for is still an integral part of Max Payne 3. Not only do the bullet-time showdowns in Max Payne 3 retain everything from the first two games, the weight and wear of Max’s character has made it even better. He’s older now, so when he collides with something mid-air Max often falls on his butt, shooting as he scoots his way toward cover. This was really interesting and made Max seem more human, rather than a slow-motion bullet-sponge. Time slowed as I worked my cursor around the room eliminating enemies one at a time until none were left standing. Payne’s “washed-up cop with nothing left to lose” gig does well to explain away the absurdity of the combat taking place, and it's exciting to see Rockstar sticking to what makes Max Payne great. I have no doubts that both new and returning players will feel right at home when Max Payne 3 hits consoles and PC next month.
