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Could you give this anything other than five stars?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: February 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The answer is no, you could not. These are some of the reasons why this game is so addictive, so fun, and so brilliant:

Payneful Wait Pays Off

Finnish game development company Remedy Entertainment has been working on their Max-FX game engine and the Max Payne game title since late 1996, following the success of their Apogee published 2D Racer, Death Rally. From fall 1996 to fall 2001 is a long road to take from concept to finished product, and despite a seemingly endless development cycle, Max Payne has weathered the long winters and burst onto the PC gaming scene with both guns blazing.

Noir to the Max

One thing you don't find much of in today's action games is story. Usually the developers just give you a gentle push toward the enemy and substitute state-of-the-art graphics and level designs for things like plot and characters. In Max Payne you play Max Payne, a New York City cop whose life is torn asunder when his wife and baby are killed by psychos drugged out on a new designer drug called Valkyr. Max joins the DEA and goes undercover with the Mob hoping to discover the source of this new killer drug. Just when all the clues are starting to fall into place, Max is betrayed -- framed for killing his contact at the DEA. Now both the police and the Mob are after Max. With no place left to go and nothing left to lose, Max wages a personal war on crime, along the way uncovering a tangled web of street thugs, Mafia crime bosses, and secret government cover ups in the dank underworld of a city clutched in the grip of the century's worst blizzard.

At first glance the story may seem a little trite, even cliché -- framed cop seeks vengeance on the Mafia underworld only to uncover secret government conspiracy -- however, Remedy Entertainment brings it to life using comic book style story boards for the bulk of the tale. These detailed Photoshop-modified images give the story in Max Payne a gritty stylistic feel that matches the dark mood and stark realism of the game's levels. Blending these story boards more seamlessly into the game, these sequences are often triggered by a television broadcast, a clutter of loose paperwork found on a desk, or even a radio left playing in an empty office cubicle. They help bring the game's environments to life while moving the plot along at the same time. The voice acting in these sequences is top-notch, matching the noir mood of the game perfectly.

Payneful Dreams

Satan was here.
Moving the storyline along with comic book style cut-scenes is one thing, but Max Payne takes storytelling to a new level weaving together scripted events and storyline themed levels. First you play out the opening sequence where Max's wife and baby are murdered by Valkyr-addicted drug fiends, and later in the game Max experiences two hallucinatory dream sequences. These dreams bring Max's torment to life and let the player "live" the painful memories and horrific moments that have driven him to the edge. While a few players may be put off by the mazelike quality to these levels (and that fact that you can still die -- even in a dream) they add recurring themes to the game and add depth to a character who would normally be nothing more than a gun-toting, one-liner spewing cliché -- like in most 3D action games.

Maximum Graphics

Max Payne uses the 3rd person point-of-view perspective. This allowed the developers to pull off two shrewd special effects: the Matrix styled slow-mo "Bullet Time," and the John Woo style jumping effect known as "Shootdodge." These two effects can also be used together in one action-movie slow-motion acrobatic "Bullet Dodge Combo." Max can run into a room full of thugs and deftly dodge incoming fire by flying through the air and shooting in slow motion. While Bullet Time slows the game down -- to the point where you can see individual bullets and shotgun pellets whizzing by -- it doesn't slow down your mouse pointer -- giving Max superhuman reflexes and pinpoint accuracy. These effects have to be seen to be appreciated as they take the game to a whole new level. It really is like a John Woo movie on your PC screen.

Max Payne lacks nothing in the graphics department. Levels are highly detailed and full of interactive objects that can be shot or blown up. Toilets flush, bar taps spit beer, and you can even find running water in a [cheap] flophouse. With photo realistic textures the game looks run down and gritty -- like a seedy corner bar on the bad side of town. Adding to the realism, guns have the proper bolt actions and spit out shell casings when fired. Enemy characters will react to the environment when killed, slumping over chairs or falling over tables without clipping through walls like in most games. Corpses, bullet holes, and shell casings stay in the environment for the duration of the level. No ghostlike fading away for enemies in Max Payne. The dead stay dead.

Paynefully Short

Max Payne does fall short in a couple of spots. The game is almost criminally short and will take the average gamer only 10 hours to solve from beginning cut-scene to ending storyboards. At a retail price of [not too expensive] Max Payne might not offer enough gaming bang for your gaming buck. When you complete the game, the extra tough "Hard Boiled" mode and the time-limited "New York Minute" gameplay mods are unlocked. However, the game plays through the same levels again with the added frustrations of not being able to skip the in-game cut-scenes.

Maximum Conclusion

Even if Max Payne is a little short, it is still one of the best PC games released this year. When you stack up the excellent storyline, awesome visuals, stellar special effects, and pulse-pounding gunfights, Max Payne is simply one of the most fun action games on the market today. You owe it to yourself to enter the gritty noir world of Max Payne. Just be sure you take an extra clip!

[BIG DANIEL McFOOT]

best third person shooter ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 13
Date: November 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I think this game is the best third person shooter game ever. I bought my x-box on the 15th and I had a demo disk with Max Payne and it is like 100 times better than any Duke Nukem. I also like this game because when you shoot someone it looks so real, and the maker of this game also make 4X4 evolution 2 which is also a very good game.

IT'S PAYNE!!!, GET HIM!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

As shooters go,this one's at the top.Max Payne is a cop trying to find out who killed his wife and kid.He can't trust anyone but his partner.Only problem is,his partner has been murdered and Max has been framed for it.The action is relentless as Max takes on everyone from mafia thugs to corrupt officials.The attention to detail is here.Bullets whisk by and with every dodge in Bullettime,watch Max's leather jacket move with him.I've been playing every chance I get and still have levels to complete yet. I will say that so far,the game has alot of fun stages that I know I'll want to play again.The stages are very realistic.New York city streets,back alleys and roof tops are the main settings.I could've done with out the two drug trip stages.One stage I do like is where you have to make a quick exit out of this building before your engulfed in flames.The choice of weapons let you take on the feel of a John Woo movie.My favourite weapon is the sniper rifle,letting you follow the bullet to the target.I can't wait to see what the rest of the levels are.The theme of this game is not for children.It starts off with a very disturbing murder scene of Max's wife and infant child.The violence continues throughout.This game should be played by someone who can sepparate reality from fantasy.

Better than the PS2 version, that's for sure........

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Well, another PC game is ported to Playstation 2, and another dissapointment. But it is a whole new story with the Xbox.

The port turned out to be a very good game that is worth getting for every Xbox owner. The content of the game is the same as the PC but level design has changed a little. The controls are pretty good, even though there are some problems with aiming.

So, if a person has a PC, a PS2, and/or an Xbox, then the best buy would be the Xbox Max Payne - as good as the original, only no installation, incompatibility issues, or crashes. PS2 owners should give it a try but most likely they would not be very happy - PS2 once again has proven itself that it's ports are trash, so go buy original PS2 games instead. As for the PC, it is good for a mediocre system of 800 mhz, Geforce 2 GTS 64MB, and 384 megs of RAM(this is good enough to see all the details of the game and have a descent framerate w/out slowdowns). Hardcore PC gamers should definetely stick to the original.

In conclusion, if you have a good PC (P4, Geforce 3, 512 MB RAM), and an Xbox, your choices are either the Xbox port or the original, neither one beats the other.

Too quickly completed and lacks much in cinematics

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I was very excited to play Max Payne. After playing Halo until my fingers were numb, I needed a new game to play. Max Payne was that game... for a weekend. After purchasing the game on a Friday, I had already completed it by Sunday. The game was simply too easy. The "puzzles" the game makers put in the game were quickly figured out and once mastery of the controls in completed, enemies are quickly dispatched. Additionally, I was quite disappointed with the lack of cinematics in the game. With an entire DVD of space to fill up with graphics, it would have been nice to have some more motion cinematics in between scenes to tell the story. Instead, the player is inundated with interlude after interlude of comic book style still frames which are narrated by Max. With all the power of the Xbox available to show off with, the developers took the quick way out. All in all, however, the game is fun to play. Nevertheless, if I had to make the choice of buying the game again, I would not. It would make a great 3 day rental.

My favorite game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I absolutely love this game. It took me awhile to get through the game the first time I played it. But with any game, it's relatively short when you replay it. A week doesn't go by that I don't pop Max Payne into my X-Box and play for a few minutes. I just really love this game. I have all three systems (Gamecube, X-Box and PS2) and this is my favorite game for any system - and yes, I even like Max Payne a tad better than Halo and GTA3. Of course, Mario Kart 64 will always be my all-time favorite.

A NEW ERA HAS BEGAN AND ITS MAX PAYNE

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: December 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

WHEN I SAY A NEW ERA HAS BEGAN I MEAN THE ERA OF MAX PAYNE HAS JUST BEGUN. WITH IT BEING THE ORIGINAL FOUNDER OF BULLET TIME THERE WILL BE MANY TO FOLLOW AND COPY FOR INSATNACE ENTER THE MATRIX ALREADY IS FOLLOWING IN THE PATH OF BULLET TIME .MAX PAYNE IS 100% ORIGINAL IN ALL ASPECTS AND WILL HOOK AND SINK YOU RIGHT IN ALL THE WAY TO THE ENDING CUT SCENES WHITCH TOOK ME ABOUT 10 HOURS OF GAMING THAT INCLUDING SHOPPING IN ALL AREAS THROUGHLY NOT JUST BLASTING MY WAY IN I WANTED TO SEE EVERYTHING MAX PAYNE HAD TO OFFER AND BELEIVE ME THERES PLENTY.THERE IS 3 ACTS AND SOMETHING LIKE 26 CHAPTERS TO SHOOT UP AND TONS OF BADDIES ALL THE WAY FROM THE RUSSSIAN MOB TO THE ITALIAN MOBO MENTION BEING FRAMED FOR MURDER YOU HAVE THE BOYS IN BLUE AFTER YOU.TRUST ME THERE IS ADDICTION INVOLVED IN THIS GAME YOU YOURSELF THR GAMER WILL BE ADDICTED JUST AS MUCH AS THE JUNKIES ARE TO THE DRUG CALLED VALKYR WHITCH IM NOT GONNA SPOIL THE ENDING AND TELL WHOS BEHIND THE OPERATION BUT LET ME TELL YA ITS A SURPRISE. I ONLY HOPE REMEDY AND ROCKSTAR MAKE 10 SEQUALS TO THIS GAME ITS THAT GOOD.THERE ALSO IS GREAT CINEMATIC SEQUENCES
THAT TELL THE STORY JUST LIKE AT THE MOVIES.THE GAME IS SET IN THE WORST WINTER STORM EVER AND THE SNOW EFFECTS AD TO THE GAME THE GRAPHICS ARE STATE OF THE ART AND THE WEAPONS ARE FANTASTIC
ALL IN ALL A COMPLETELY PERFECT GAME
MAX PAYNE DESERVES GAME OF THE YEAR ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: December 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is the BEST game I have EVER played. The controls: tight! The graphics: amazing. The gameplay: HOLY ... Kudos to Rockstar and Remedy. The bullet time feature is extremely cool when fighting against enemies. For all the people who say the controls are hard they are [wrong]. If you have an Xbox GET THIS GAME!!!

Rent it!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: March 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Max Payne is fun. The plot and dialogue are lame. Bullet time is pretty cool. But the game gets kind of old quick. There isn't much challenge to it. After beating it once, it felt anti-climatic and I didn't enjoy playing the tougher levels. I traded it in after holding onto it for a month. I should've just rented it and played it through once.

The plot is stupid. You don't even care about the characters you just want it to roll through the lame graphic novel style so you can back to the shooting. This would be okay, but the game spends so much time trying to construct a plot. It could be sort of campy, but as Enid said in Ghost World "This is so bad, it's gone past good and back to bad again."

Max Payne is repetitive. Max Payne is repetitive.

Will there ever be another game that can top HALO? I can play it again and again and haven't yet tired of it.

I am waiting. . . and not so patiently.

Too quick to complete

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I wish this game lasted longer. Just when you get the jackhammer or grenade launcher the game is right at
the threshold of conclusion. This would make for a superb 3 day rental otherwise it will sit on your shelf after completion. If you find it challenging to play the game at a
higher difficulty rating then it might have some replay value. Sadly this New Zealand software company should have had the inclination to add a few new levels for each port but that simply wasn't the case.

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