Max Payne 3 review

Rockstar’s task with Max Payne 3 was not an enviable one. Beloved of PC gamers and old school Xboxers alike, Remedy’s Max Payne games blended OTT bullet-time gunplay and noir storytelling to compelling effect and, to this day, still inspire a loyal following. As Rockstar transitioned from publisher to developer, it was undoubtedly under pressure. The goal, it would seem, was to inject its own DNA into the Max Payne franchise, while at the same time remaining faithful to its origins. Quite the balancing act. The result, fans will be glad to know, is a success - although perhaps not quite what we all expected.

If Max Payne 2 saw the fall of the titular hero, in this latest instalment we find him having sunk even lower. No longer welcome in his New Jersey home, Max is transplanted to the rather sunnier - though no less hostile - climes of Brazil. Police work has made way for private security duties as he guards Rio’s wealthy Branco family, apparently prime targets for the seedier elements of a very seedy city. Any hope that a bit of sun might have cheered up poor old Max are quickly dashed as we find him once again at the bottom of the world’s biggest bottle. Still unable to overcome the loss of his family, Max trudges on through a haze of booze and painkillers, protecting a cast of privileged clowns in what is supposed to be an easy gig. However, it’s not long before he’s dragged into another sinister tale of corruption and violence as the Branco family finds itself under attack from forces unknown.

While Payne purists may bemoan the rather different approach to storytelling in Max Payne 3, the narrative is undoubtedly the game’s highlight. Sure, the comic book stylings and dreamy allusions to film noir may have given way to a more gritty, modern affair but the game is no worse for it. After all, it’s easy to don the rose-tinted glasses when looking back on the earlier games which, to be fair, were frequently as much clumsy pastiche as clever homage to film noir. Those expecting GTA-style caricatures may find the developer’s more subdued approach in MP3 surprising, although that’s not to say there aren’t some dark comic moments to be found, usually in Max’s brilliant narration.

Reprising his role as the damaged crime-fighter, James McCaffrey puts in a star turn as Max and writers Sam Houser, Michael Unsworth and Rupert Humphries clearly understand what he should be – a man who so desperately wants to feel nothing but can’t achieve it. It’s impossible not to like him, even during the many, many scenes of him staggering around his grotty apartment reliving his every failure. As the story progresses, and Max is dragged deeper into his most dangerous case yet, the writers do a good job of portraying a man standing on the slimmest of ledges. This is still the Max Payne we know.

And, thankfully, the game still plays like a Max Payne game, albeit a more modern version. The biggest change comes in the form of –gasp- a cover system. Yes, a cover system. Now, some may balk at the notion of Max Payne cowering behind pillars but it makes sense in Rockstar’s more gritty take on the franchise. It not only looks cool to see masonry chipping away as enemies send volleys of bullets in your direction, it will also give you time to regenerate some bullet time - still a necessary and welcome feature in the game. The AI is so impressively aggressive that you can’t stay behind cover for long and you’ll have to utilise the bullet time and shoot dodge features if you have any hope of surviving, especially on the higher difficulty levels (which, I can confirm, are brutally and brilliantly hard).

And it still feels great to dive across a room in slow motion, picking up a few headshots along the way. The shoot-dodging feels even better than before thanks to the wonderful Euphoria physics engine. Dive into a wall and Max will crumple convincingly, eliciting an “ouch” from me on numerous occasions. Euphoria also adds a real visceral element to the combat. Enemies react believably to bullets, adding an unmistakeable sense of weight to the gunplay that was previously missing from the series. Those fearing that the heavy, and at times clunky, approach to combat seen in GTA (and somewhat refined in Red Dead Redemption) might ruin the Max Payne experience can relax. Max Payne 3 marks a highpoint in Rockstar’s take on gunplay, with a character that feels more responsive and manoeuvrable than Niko Bellic or John Marston, although if you’re like me you may have to fiddle around with the aim sensitivity and assistance to find a setting that feels ‘right’.

However, once the combat clicks, you’ll relish almost every flashpoint and feel a ludicrous sense of satisfaction at the brutally violent, slow motion conclusion to every gunfight. Nevertheless, sometimes that satisfaction may give way to relief after some of the harder sections, especially thanks to checkpointing which seems occasionally silly and, every now and again, like the work of an evil mind. But then, Max Payne games were never meant to be easy, were they?

There will be a few moments throughout the single player game when fatigue sets in, however. Perhaps after the billionth time a Branco is kidnapped, or we see Max alone and drunk in the narrative, perhaps after a tough combat section you’ve replayed to exhaustion. Some may level an accusation of one-dimensional gameplay at Rockstar for this, but then what more do they want from a Max Payne game? Driving sections? Bowling mini-games?

In fact, in this writer’s view, the single player story game is all but unassailable while it’s the other modes that occasionally disappoint. The score-centric Arcade mode – and the timed New York Minute mode – for example, make a case for replayability thanks to their online scoreboards and links with the multiplayer crew system (in which you can form/join a persistant ‘gang’ of friends), but their mechanics can frustrate. The biggest problem is the conflict between game modes which rely entirely on repetition and trial and error and cutscenes which can almost never be skipped (as they hide some pretty hefty load times). Sure, the cutscenes are frequently good, but when you’re trying to beat a friends’ score for the twentieth time, you don’t want to have to relive the dialogue all over again.

The multiplayer fares better, although still has its problems. Rockstar has evolved its online formula to take in classes, unlocks, killstreaks (or Bursts as they’re known here) and bullet-time and they add a welcome level of depth to the multiplayer. As does the impressive Gang Wars mode, in which games centre around a series of team-based objectives, with some welcome narration from Max himself tying it into the main storyline. However, issues remain. For one it seems like the visuals take a slight hit in the multiplayer and neither player models or environments look quite as sharp or detailed as in the single player game. It also feels as if Rockstar has overlooked some of the more impressive locales from the story mode in favour of some fairly bland environments which do take the edge off the experience somewhat. Perhaps DLC may solve this, or perhaps I’m just a bit cynical. Nevertheless, it is still proving popular on Xbox LIVE and you won’t struggle to find a game.

As a package, its hard to argue that Rockstar has under-achieved with Max Payne 3. While things have certainly changed, thankfully it still feels like a Max Payne game and that, perhaps, is its finest achievement. Because be it in Brazil or New Jersey, leaping across furniture and shooting bad guys in the face in slow motion still feels cool. As it should.