Max Payne 3 - It's Bullet Time!..

[hollywooda]

It does have that old school trial & error punishing gameplay, at times I've been furiously cursing at the screen!, but then when you get passed a tough section there
is a real sense of achievement, plus not having a real safe haven during fire fights really gets the heart pumping & the adrenaline rushing.

The sad thing here is (and I knew this would happen) we have spent this entire thread discussing the mechanics, when MP3 has so many other glorious elements to it.
The Graphics, the environments, the atmosphere, the music, the narrative, the characters its all so brilliant.

[The-Marb]

The sad thing here is (and I knew this would happen) we have spent this entire thread discussing the mechanics, when MP3 has so many other glorious elements to it.
The Graphics, the environments, the atmosphere, the music, the narrative, the characters its all so brilliant.

See my full review from the other thread mate (posted below) ive got nothing but praise for all that stuff.

Max Payne 3

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In which case, Tony Scott should be feeling all warm, fuzzy and flattery inside, as Max Payne 3 is basically Man on Fire complete with John Woo gunfights. Forget the pants Stranglehold (come on, its not a guilty pleasure, its just hopelessly mediocre), this is where the slow mo-shooting under-educated petty criminals in the face action is at...bitches.

In all honesty, Max Payne 3 may well be the most cinematic game of recent memory. Its combo of hard boiled dialogue (ripped from the first 2 games), flashy quick cut graphics and shaky cam, is pure cinema. Rockstar even go down to including small little idiosyncrasies for Max, like the way he rubs his head or the way he strokes a photo. I suppose its predictable as this is another Rockstar title, the video game developer equivalent of Pixar. A company who haven’t made a bad game and take pleasure in the little things, and its often the little touches that show the level of quality. As a cinephile this is the most important thing about this game for me, its makes it ultra-immersive.

The story is generic but well executed, the setting fresh and interesting (rather than another completely New York set story, even though the odd section there is a nice change of scene). The characters are as you’d expect from the developers of Red Dead:Redemption, fully fleshed out (in game terms anyway - this caveat is entirely in place for Mr Clown Trousers) and morally complex beasts. Max makes for a compelling lead but interestingly he’s not a great guy to be around, hes grumpy, hes got substance abuse issues, he grumbles and anyone he meets usually gets murdered, but it doesn’t matter, he feels real. Plus sorry to mention it again but the dialogue is pretty awesome, excerpt. “…I wouldn’t know right from wrong if one was feeding the poor and the other was banging my wife…”.

Gameplay wise, it’s hugely enjoyable. The bullet time mechanic never really gets old, even after 13 hours, it’s still a joy to pull off the perfect string of shots to a group of bad guys.

That isn’t to says its perfect, as controls wise it sometimes feels a little sluggish (the cover system isn’t quite as polished as modern gamers have come to expect) and due to the faintly clunky controls Max can do unexpected /slightly unfair things. The last man standing mechanic doesn’t really work all that well also. Id go as far as to say as id have removed it completely from the game, as I am not sure what it’s actually adding. THis is my experince of this, but i know other esteemed gamers havent found this.

The check-pointing can sometimes feel a little unfair also, and 15 minutes progress can be lost for a bad decision or dive that went the wrong way. Feel free to disagree.

However none of this game-breaking and I enjoyed almost the entire thing, bar a few annoyances.

The SP clocks in at around 13 hours or so and it’s a good value punt, even at £35. Played a few games of MP and it was forgettable functional fun, but certainly not essential.

Overall, Id heartily recommend this to gamers who love action games and action cinema.

**** and ½ /*****

[hollywooda]

Nice review there Marb, cant say i agree with the "Last Stand" part, i think its a brilliant mechanic & balances some of the mayhem in your favor, also its saved my arse
on more than one occasion!..

And Yer there are some brilliant lines in the game, its probably got the best written script I've heard in a game, makes Gears of war's attempt at being heartfelt & epic seem
like a 3 year olds, "what I did this summer" done in crayon!.

[Dan Howdle]

IT'S LIKE BAGHDAD WITH G-STRINGS

[hollywooda]

"IF YOU'VE COME HERE TO SHOOT ME, HURRY UP!, I GOT A BUSY DAY".

[ClownTrousers]

Why does my Brazilian partner have a Mexican accent? Why is the script written by a ten year old who once played Max Payne? Why are the screen "effects" so intrusive and annoying?

So far the game's good, mind.

[hollywooda]

Why does my Brazilian partner have a Mexican accent? Why is the script written by a ten year old who once played Max Payne? Why are the screen "effects" so intrusive and annoying?

So far the game's good, mind.

because it rockz & its like totally amazeballz!!!11

[Palerider_GB]

"I've got a hole in my second favourite drinking arm"

[hollywooda]

"I've got a hole in my second favourite drinking arm"

love that one, i tell you what there is a fucking great drinking game to be had in Max Payne 3, everytime he has a drink you have to take a shot!.

[ClownTrousers]

Weirdly the character models and faces are worse than Red Dead, made two years ago by the same company.

On chapter 5 or so, a solid 7 so far.

[biron_w]

After getting past a certain point that was making me rage and making me hate the game,I'm quite enjoying it now. Emptying a clip of an AK47 into somebody's penis in slow motion was a highlight for me. MP is utter shite however.

[Palerider_GB]

After getting past a certain point that was making me rage and making me hate the game,I'm quite enjoying it now. Emptying a clip of an AK47 into somebody's penis in slow motion was a highlight for me. MP is utter shite however.

I've had a couple of points like that...

I've spent some time on the MP and it's ok. It's certainly nothing special though I wouldn't go so far as to say it's shite.

[ClownTrousers]

I don't like to be a Disagreeing Minnie but this might be the worst script I've sat through in years.

[Dan Howdle]

I think it's brilliant. It sounds like a graphic novel. Like Watchmen or Wanted. It's not a movie-style script, it's supposed to be comic book. I respectfully disagree and suggest that it accomplishes that excellently.

[biron_w]

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's shite.

I would. It's terrible. It has the worst spawn system of any game i've played,it's even worse than MW3! Had a go last night and the first game I played I spawned in front of somebody 3 times.