I'm not the type who normally goes for your average first person shooter. But every so often I'll buy one, especially if it's been well received as a whole and recommended by many. Half-Life was one, Deus Ex was another, and then along came Max Payne.
Max Payne combines intense gameplay with stunning visuals and a gripping plot. A feat many games previous have failed to achieve.
The Gameplay
First off, as many of you are already aware, Max Payne's crowning achievement is what has been labeled as "Bullet Time". "Bullet Time" is Max's capability to slow-down the progression of the action, a la "Matrix", yet still be able to aim as quickly as before. The counter-part to "Bullet Time" is "Shootdodge", which allows Max to dodge in any given direction and enter "Bullet Time" for a short while as well. This allows you to send off 3 or 4 four rounds whilst dodging, and then return to real time to re-engage in battle.
A small hour-glass in next to the Max's health meter allows you to keep track of how much "Bullet Time" you currently have left available. Every time you land a kill, you regain a bit more of the hourglass.
To get through the game without "Bullet Time" is nearly impossible as one quickly discovers. Especially later on when your enemies have much better aim and reload much more quickly.
The arsenal of weapons at your disposal is pretty much standard for most first person shooters. There are a few different types of handguns, including Dual Berettas and the Desert Eagle, the Sniper rifle of course, a couple different types of Shotgun, Molotov cocktails, grenades. The list is extensive and allows for a varied level of gameplay depending on your weapon of choice. I personally enjoyed using the Dual Berettas as there are several rounds in one go and reloading is quick. But if you need a single shot kill, obviously a shotgun or sniper rifle would be your better choice.
The A.I. in the game is average in most cases. Most enemies seem to have a set parameter that they'll follow no matter what you do. For example, at one point you run into three bad guys at once. One will follow you to try and kill you, the other two duck through a doorway and wait in the next room until you come through. Granted, to maintain a sense of continual action and movement through the plot, some of this type of programming is necessary. But one would think, if one waited long enough, they'd eventually come back to see what happened. But they don't.
The sound is wonderful as well. A lot of ambient noise and music underscoring the action draws one in in a hurry. If your computer is capable of environmental surround sound, you're in for a real treat! I was constantly amazed by the sound of ricocheting bullets as they collided with walls and objects behind me. The music shifts effortlessly as one moves in and out of the various gunfights.
The plot is well-developed and well thought out. It takes a bit to wrap your brain around the whole thing, but that, in my opinion, is a very good thing. It indicates that work was not only put into the great graphics and gameplay, but also the plot which moves the whole story along very successfully.
The Graphics
Of course I could go on and on about how fabulous the graphics are in this game. Every texture is finely detailed and one does not have the sense that they've been used over and over as one progresses through the various locales. The pyrotechnics are fabulous as well. One level is almost completely made up of fire and explosions, and it's difficult to watch where you're going while you stare in awe at the rippling flames and breaking glass that surround you.
The graphics generally look their best during bullet time, as the explosions from gun barrels appear and bullet trails fly by you as you dodge out of the way. All of these graphic effects are there in real time, but they go by so fast it's difficult to appreciate them until things slow down.
One graphical disappointment are the characters, including Max. Max was obviously one of those children whose mother would chide, "Don't make faces like that or eventually your face will freeze that way!" Max looks eternally constipated throughout the game, and his face and everyone else's don't even move during spoken cinematics.
Speaking of cinematics, that is one of the games highest points. The gameplay is fast-paced, and a pitfall some other games fall into is the storyline moves too slowly. Not so for Max Payne. The ingame cinematics along with the graphic novel that follows the progression of the plot help to intensify the experience on the whole. If anything, the graphic novel portions let you catch your breath before you are plunged back into gunplay.
The Pitfalls
Which are relatively few.
First, the game is just too short. From beginning to end, the game is only three or four hours. Very short for a game in this genre. Luckily the game as a whole is jam packed with action and a riveting plot, so the finish is still satisfying enough.
The game does have some replayability, in that the increased difficulty levels become available after you complete the previous one. Another setting, called "New York Minute", also becomes available after the first completion of the game. It involves running through the levels as quickly as you can, starting off with only one minute. Each kill adds time to the clock, and obviously the clock stops during any cinematic interludes.
Granted, the access to increased difficulty is interesting, but I was quickly bored with going through the same actions all over again.
The voice acting in the game is mediocre. At times, one is fully aware that the lines are being played for melodrama, but the consistent droning of Max's voice will have you quickly pressing the stop button during the graphic novel portions and simply reading through it for yourself.
Overall
Max Payne is an intense, plot-driven roller coaster of a game. A little too short in the end, but flawless cinematics, superb graphics, and a satisfying finish make it one of the best choices out there in first person shooters.
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