Review: Max Payne (XBX)

In the beginning life wasn’t about guns, blood, revenge, life was good and for Max (then a detective with the NYPD) the highlight of the day was stepping into his own home saying “honey I’m home.”  How much things have changed since that fateful day. The game kicks off with Max returning his typical suburban home were his wife and child are being murdered by a group of junkies high on a new drug called Vakyir, V.   Being unable to prevent their deaths Max soon becomes haunted by dreams of the slaughter and the never-ending screams and cries of his family.  

"That was 3 years ago. Everything ripped apart in a New York Minute. The killer junkies had been high on a previously unknown designer drug:  Valkyr, V.  After the funeral, I told Alex I would be transferring to the DEA.  It took us 3 long years to get a break in the Valkyr Case.  Then finally, two months ago, a dime dropper tipped us off that Jack Lupino, a mob boss in the Punchinello crime family was trafficking. I went undercover and infiltrated the worst crime family in New York."

And so it begins. Max becomes totally submersed in the crime scene of New York’s seedy underbelly, so deep that only a few within the DEA know of his existence. Driven by his desire to extract revenge, the man has no morals and no life outside his job. Mad? Insane? It doesn’t matter because all hell is about to break loose with every gang and cop gunning for Max Payne. Prepare for a one-way ticket to oblivion.

Max Payne the game is a straight, no holes barred, third person blast from beginning to end, rarely pausing long enough for your weaponry to cool. This has been done before, several times, however the game does contain one unique feature combined with its gritty approach. The story itself could come straight from an X-Files episode but to delve further would spoil what outrageous twists await. The story is handled well, driven by photographs rather than cut scenes in a gritty graphical novel style, complete with speech bubbles that match the cartoon violence on offer.   Surprisingly it works and the voice acting is passable with the appropriate Jersey accents. For an action game there is a surprising amount of information and dialogue to digest. I would suspect that if the developer had included cut scenes this would have slowed the game down dramatically.     

Rather than solve a series of puzzles to progress in the game you simply need to blast your way past anything that crosses your path. Few games could survive on a staple diet of violence and to Max Payne’s credit it manages to pull it off, just. This is mainly due to the satisfaction gained and variety offered by the bullet time feature. For those who cannot picture the effect, it is lifted straight from the Matrix, allowing Max to aim and fire in real time whilst his enemies are in slow motion. Without such ability Max wouldn’t make it through the first chapter because your enemies are heavily armed and rarely miss. I expected that after the sixteenth time of diving into a room, slow motion, twisting and taking out three goons it would become boring. Instead I had become Max Payne, feeling the power surging through my veins and my trigger finger itching for more. Before entering a room and taking everything out stand back and listen to the conversations. The game is full of clichés, film and music references with its own sense of humour.

When Max Payne was released for the PC it demanded a high specification machine which contributed to the poor Playstation 2 version released earlier this year. This version featured a reduced bullet time feature, long loading times and poor resolution. Those who have experienced the game have not experienced the true Max Payne. Those able to play in Dolby Digital will experience a game devoid of music but rich in detail, warfare and sound effects.

I’m pleased to report that the Xbox version is just as slick and fast as the PC equivalent, short loading times and an uncensored bullet time. However after Halo you know what your Xbox is capable of, the environments are static and contain little life or objects. As your trail of destruction leads from seedy hotels to night-clubs and a power station, more consideration could have been given to the minimalist environments. There are some nice touches contained, radios and televisions can all be switched on and off, water and drink dispensers operate and telephones can be left off the hook.

Controlling Max is a joy, yet again despite criticism the Xbox controller shines on this game – just who needs a mouse? My only complaint here is that switching weapons in the heat of battle can be fateful, as you need to use the D-pad, which wastes valuable time. Max Payne is a one trick pony and for those looking for variety or a break from the action will be disappointed. The game is linear with a predetermined path for you to blaze but as the action rarely ceases you might not care. Multiple routes to achieve a goal would have added some much-needed depth and replay value but it wasn’t to be. The nightmare sequences in the game are very important to the story, providing information on the character you are controlling however they are without question the weakest and most annoying aspect of the game. The two segments in question brought back memories of Acclaim’s Shadowman, cries for help and a trail of blood to follow. Precision jumping and treading carefully along a trail of blood slow the game dramatically and represent points where many will throw down the controller and give up. I identify with the need to explore Max’s dark side however this was not the best way to do such and it simply mars the game.

Those looking for action and little else will find Max Payne a must have purchase but once completed in around 6 hours you will have little need to return unless you want to let off some steam. Max Payne combined with Grand Theft Auto 3 would have been a classic but you’re left feeling that you’ve only got half a game here but a good one at that.

Rating: 6 / 10

Words by Jason Julier