Max Payne 3 review

[rmoxon]

Rmoxon has got a head of steam up here, so it's going to be a very tough thread. For me, though, as far as 3rd person cover-/time-dilation-based shooters go, this is top notch. Every bit as enjoyable as Vanquish. Not as tight gamplay-wise, maybe, but then, Max is meant to be pissed...

Dont worry it's not actually this game that caused the last 5 pages of this thread, EvilBoris was reacting to another thread.

Its cool if you like the game. As I said earlier I probably do sound like I have been harsh on it, but I really just feel that itcould have been a lot better.

[EvilBoris]

I think they've done a pretty admiral job of bringing the gameplay into the modern age, it's similar enough from a gameplay perspective to be max payne, but they've brought it in line with the 3rd person shooters of this generation.

I still don't rate the signiture Rockstyle style.

I'm liking the really varied locations though, much better than the countless warehouses of the older games.

[EvilBoris]

As I said earlier I probably do sound like I have been harsh on it, but I really just feel that itcould have been a lot better.

*cough* Change it to easy *cough*

[Jimmyboi]

For once I agree with rmoxon. It is cheap and clunky in many respects. The levels are poorly designed, scenery constantly blocks or interrupts bullet time dives, enemies are too far away with too high an accuracy, the aiming target is too small, enemies are spread out on all sides and take random amount of bullets to kill without any consistency. Its a weird game to play really, Max is kind of a wimp yet he's expected to be a bullet sponge. I still don't fully understand how the game is expecting me to play it - should I stick to cover and pop out and shoot? Should I run in and risk some bullet time action but keep in mind that if Max's wrist watch grazes a wall then that's it, he's a sitting duck - No intelligent Nathan Drake-esque brushing off the scenery for Max. Underneath all the glitz it just seems really very dated to me.

[EvilBoris]

Get out!

[Herbalizer]

This is fast becoming a chore to finish, I'm nearing the end, but in all honesty I've lost all desire to play it. It's just another generic 3rd person shooter. I feel like I've played this game a dozen times before.

[MrMarbles]

I actually *hate* the presentation of this. There's clearly so much budget that's been pumped into it, and for what? Hideously directed cutscenes that reek of an obsession with Tony Scott, with some atrociously over-choreographed mo-cap/animated gestures, a bloody awful broken CRT-effect that's used constantly for no reason, and a rubbish split screen offering that's presumably meant to be a nod to the graphic novel panels of old. They seem to be targeted at people with ADD and it comes across like a trailer that never ends.

I do like how they segue seamlessly into the gameplay, though. Speaking of which...

The game itself is pretty one-dimensional but mostly inoffensive, bar some ropey checkpointing and curious design decisions. Rockstar really needs to employ some user-experience designers, though - again, their methods of tutoring players are poor, there's some inconsistency in base game mechanics and some of the controls are a bit dodge; although games like GTA and RDR are utterly amazing despite these shortcomings, for something like MP3 they end up harming the overall experience a little more.

I get the feeling it'll be an enjoyable enough playthrough while it lasts, though.

[EvilBoris]

Lol I've just got to a certain section where every single one of rmoxons complaints have all come into play.

[nonny]

What chapter is that? and incidentally what difficulty are you guys playing this on?

I dont think anything I've come across is "unfair" at all this far but I am up to chapter 4 and playing on normal. I think the whole reticule issue is silly because it was like that in the earlier games and it changes depending on what weaponry you have. It's only a small dot for the pistols and even then it highlights red when you're on target and I honestly havent found it hard at all getting headshots. Plus it shows an X marker when you do get one so you instantly know they're dead and move to the next guy.

As for cover. I've found cover to be pretty much pointless bar taking a quick breather, reloading and then moving back out to keep shooting. If you're sitting still on one place and ducking out to shoot a la Gears of War you're going to die repeatedly. It's the wrong approach completely. Even if you are in cover the best way to exit is either to press X to detach as its quicker OR even better hit bullet time and shoot dodge out of it. Depending on whether you want to use adrenaline or not. As far as I can tell the roll is pretty much useless unless you just want to buy yourself some precious time getting to a same cover, not trying to dodge grenades.

In short, you need to be going for headshots to conserve ammo. You may want to switch out pistols for rifles for longer range battles and you will want to use adrenaline on/off quickly for those headshots to keep that meter ticking over. If you're spraying bullets and running out of ammo then you will die often.

I guess its fair to say the game rewards you for killing in bullet time and actively punishes you if you dont?

As for multiplayer. Yeah its not perfect but christ I am having a laugh with it. The larger matches open up the levels and have longer range battles where I'm finding weapons like the Mini-30 rifle to be proficiently better and free aim makes it tough but its rewarding. I've just unlocked the bullet time burst/perk which makes it play a lot more like SP when equipped and that is bloody good fun. The controls arent brilliant but equally I've got used to the weapon switching, grenade throwing and so on. It just takes a bit of practice.

Only thing I would suggest with free aim in multiplayer is to turn on the two assists which slow your reticule as it approaches a target. Forget the name of them but they do make it slightly easier for tracking enemies but still very much free aim overall.

[djtickle]

Im playing this on w/e the hardest setting is you can choose on 1st play. Some sections dont half punish me though, but its a great feeling to get through them. I dont find the cursor to small at all, it clicked with me last night and headshots are no longer "hard" to get. I do agree though coming out of cover is a pain for sure.

I like how it looks, and didnt know how much I missed the tones of Max Payne talking why im playing through a level.

[BaronSqwelch]

finding myself agreeing with rmoxon pretty much completely has left me scared and confused trying the mp last night on the ps3 was quite good tho tbh but makes all my hates of the sp worse! Luckily the game doesnt give you any easy early achievements so I can delete its existance and go back to Akai Katana.

[Neon Ignition]

Up to chapter 4 and Im enjoying it but more as a decent shooter rather than as a new Max Payne. The stylings and setting are such a disappointment and ill fitting of the series

[SkilloChris]

Spent the morning dabbling in multi-player, and it's great! I had no intention of playing it but was curious about the implementation of bullet time, so colour me suprised that I'll be going back for more!

[ezee ryder]

Finished the single player last night on medium, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved the blend of cutscenes and gameplay, very cinematic. Great to watch too. No surprise really, as it's something Rockstar do really well.

At its core, the game is essentially a glorified shooting gallery, but an incredibly fun one thanks to the mechanics. Reading opinions of others and a few reviews, it seems like some people issues with the game's difficulty and the shoot dodge mechanic, but can't say I found either to be a major problem. Difficulty wise, sure, the game gets harder and you encounter more resilient enemies as you progress, but isn't that how it should be? Maybe I'm "strange", but I certainly think so. If in trouble, go into slow-mo (dive or normal) and take down enemies with headshots. Simple really.

In regards to the shoot dodge mechanic, I used it quite a bit and found it to work just as I expected. You dive into a wall or another solid object, Max will hit it, drop to floor and the slow-mo effect will disappear. Simple. I used it quite a bit (mostly used in open areas) and tried my best to land behind decent cover after. Didn't always work to plan, but even when it didn't I got myself out of a "bad" position by the using normal slow-mo whilst swiveling around on the floor to take down enemies (love that mechanic). When it all comes together (did quite a bit for me), there's no better feeling. Slow-mo dive, kill two guys to your left, land on the floor, stay there and then swivel around to kill the final two guys in the area. Awesome.

Will definitely be going back and attempting to complete it via the New York Minute mode. That should be fun, being up against the clock and all. Haven't tried out multiplayer yet, so will be giving that a go this evening before jumping into single player again. But, yeah, love it.

[ETC]

What a pile of junk this is. Picked it up today with the shopping it's like the bastard child of kane and lynch 2 crossed with the worst of uncharted. Complete mess going to the store tomorrow with this rubbish