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Usually when a game
gets delayed for quite some time, the interest in the product wanes.
The screenshots that have the magazines and the internet buzzing are
suddenly not so fresh anymore. Remember Duke Nukem Forever?
Well, hoping to follow in the footsteps of “whatever happened to…” game
survivor Black and White, which, in case you haven’t noticed, has gone on
to sell a boatload of copies, Max Payne was recently released on an awaiting
public.
It was worth the wait.
This third-person shooter will no doubt take its place as one of the most
innovative and perhaps successful game in years. Especially with movies like
The Matrix and assorted John Woo films getting immersed in popular culture.
Max Payne takes a page |
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directly from that style of movies, with a heavy nod toward the old-school cliché of the
pulp fiction novels dealing with gangland good and evil. Payne is always quick
with a quip about his lifestyle or even a Nukem-ish line once in awhile.
The game features strong subject matter, so expect lots of violence, sexual content
and implied drug use. But there should be no surprises. With a name like “Max Payne”,
you should know you’re not going to be playing hoyle card games.
Max is a New York cop who had the unfortunate event of coming home from work one day
to find his wife and infant son murdered by some local gang members high on a new-wave
drug called Valkyr (one of many norse mythology references in the movie). So, as one
would expect, Payne is out for revenge - however, not in the typical vigilante-style,
but in the “transfer to drug enforcement to clean up the streets” way.
A few years pass and Payne finds himself again in the thick of another mess. A seemingly
routine call goes wrong and now Payne is in the middle of a frame-job on the murder of
a fellow cop. He tries to clear his name and ferret out the truth the only way he knows
how – get the head Mafia kingpin in the area and kill as many people as it takes to get
there.
The game play is surprisingly easy to get into. Control Payne’s movements with the keyboard
and aim with the mouse. Because of the Tomb Raider-ish third person view, you get a good
view of the camera’s surroundings, which is a great feature to have when shotgun-toting
baddies are hiding behind every corner.
But where would this game be without its bullet-time?
This is the feature that perhaps makes the game. Bullet-time, made famous by “The Matrix” is
a new feature in gaming that is activated by hitting the right mouse button during combat.
Once activated, you enter the “shoot dodging” aspect of what gives Max Payne its lifeblood.
Everything around you slows down to milliseconds. You hear your heart starting to pump as
you glide through the air, trying to maneuver away from the computers’ shots while trying
to get a bead on his whereabouts. You still aim and shoot as fast as you do in real-time,
so you do have the advantage. Bullet time is a big advantage, but you can’t use it too much
because it is limited in use (noted by an hourglass on the bottom of the screen). This balances
out the game in a way that the more baddies you gun down, the more the bullet time glass gets
replenished.
Aside from that superhuman-style advantage, payne has at his fingertips a wide array of
weapons to use as he pleases. desert eagles, berettas, shotguns, sawed-off shotguns, sniper rifles,
submachine guns, grenades, molotov cocktails and a few others can be used to dispatch anything
in your path. Also, you can use Woo-style double berettas and submachine guns if you wish for
extra damage and effect.
While damaging opponents is one thing, the AI is more than capable of damaging Max as well.
If payne catches a bullet in the head or stands a little too close to a grenade, game over.
So it’s not like he’s invincible throughout the game. He takes on damage, and while a
point-blank shotgun blast in the gut will kill him, a few miscellaneous clips by a beretta
would just qualify for a quick hit of painkillers – the health pickups in the game found in
various bathrooms and closets.
Another cool effect in this game is the debris damage. If it’s in the game, chances are it can
be shot to hell. There was one scene where I encountered a bunch of thugs playing cards behind
a row of shelves. I blasted them with my double berettas, sending blood and glass from the
canisters on the shelves everywhere. Very cool effect – especially in bullet-mode.
Aside from the graphics features, the graphics itself in the game are excellent. While faces
don’t really animate much, Max himself looks very good in his duster and pulp-style attire.
The assorted Mafia guys are rendered well – aside from some occasional clipping in cut-scenes.
The lighting effects are superb, especially when seen off a muzzle of a firing gun. Payne
looks like he jumped out of a hong kong-action film with the shoot dodging and the like.
In my second run through the game I was addicted to using molotov cocktails and grenades a lot –
just to witness bodies flying head over heels over tables and running around in flames.
Sadistic, but fun.
One of the things I enjoy is something very minute in the game. Games like "No One Lives Forever"
triggered the run on inane chatter with the minor characters in the game. You’d walk near some
characters and they’d be chattering away – just like normal people. Talking about seinfeld-level
stuff like one conversation between homeless people about the ongoing blizzard in the game
(“It seems like it’s the end of the world,” says one. “Yeah, but I feel fine.” Replies the other).
You almost hate to off a guy after he makes you laugh, but that’s the hand Payne is dealt in
life.
The AI in the game is better than most games. Enemies will flush you out with grenades and try
to double up on you whenever possible. They’ll take cover and be more of a pain than normal to
kill. It’s not impossible to kill these guys – but it’s not a walk in the park, either.
It’s hard to find a gripe with this game, but if I had to choose, it would be too short. Not
saying the game isn’t satisfying at it’s current pace, but when you beat the game, you’re left
with a “Huh? That’s it? I’ve been playing it for 15 hours” kind of feeling. But I quickly
got over it when I realized it was a great 15 hours. The more times you beat the game, the more
features you unlock, such as different modes of play only allow certain saves in each level
and such. Also, the New York minute where you get one minute to finish a level, and the more
people you kill, the more time you get added to that mark.
There’s no multiplayer mode, either. However by the time you play the game, you’re not really
hoping for one. The game is good enough to forgive any shortcomings that it may have. If you’re
a fan of the shooter games like half-life, I don’t know why this game isn’t in your library now.
This is one game where the delay in making it certainly went to producing great and revolutionary
features. Usually a long delay means an outdated game with passé features. Max Payne is quite
simply a top contender for not only game of the year, but a nod for one of the top shooter games
of all-time is possible. Its visuals are stunning and well done, the game play is extraordinary,
and the accomplishments this game achieves makes it earn its rightful place in gaming history.
Kiss your free time goodbye.
Jim's Rating:
5 out of 5 Planets
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