Max Payne 3 review

[rmoxon]

Played the first few chapters of this now and have enjoyed have have seen so far despite a few niggling flaws that are apparent from the offset.

One thing is for certain, this is the most cinematic shooter that has ever been made, the way cut scenes blend into the gameplay is fantastic and you feel like you're taking part in a hard boiled crime story. The story seems pretty good and it's great to have one of the best video game characters ever back.

Having said all that things don't go as well while you're actually playing the game, the shooting mechanics are solid, and this plays very much like you want max payne to play only, well frankly it seems to have been designed by a bunch of people who have ADD and then not play tested it afterwards. Theres more cut scenes than a MGS game and although, as I said, they are really well woven into the gameplay, the gameplay it's self often feels very sparse and seems to be throwing the Player all over the place. Also, and perhapse the worst element of the gameplay stems from the fact that some genius thought it a good idea to create a third person shooter that has a smaller aiming reticle than you would see even in a first person shooter. In fact the aiming reticle is so small that about 75 percent of the time I can't even make out where it is. This means that you either have to play with auto aiming switched on or you can prepare for a lot of frustration, and considering that some achievments require you to have auto aiming off, I can imagine this will annoy many people.

Overall it's a solid game so far, but the negatives are getting in the way of my enjoyment of it, it feels like a great game hampered by some ridiculous design decsisions, which is a shame, as in some ways it is brilliant, while in others it's a frustrating experience.

[dvdx2]

should have mine today - so i'll post some impressions later

I havent played the MP games in years, but wasnt the reticule always tiny and the aiming difficult to control, outside of bullet time?

the game physics look amazing though

[rmoxon]

should have mine today - so i'll post some impressions later

I havent played the MP games in years, but wasnt the reticule always tiny and the aiming difficult to control, outside of bullet time?

the game physics look amazing though

As far as I can remember the PC games never had auto aiming (or even if they did I never played it with it switched on) but they were still relatively easy to play, the bullet time was simply a complement to the gameplay, not a necessity. If you play this with auto aiming off it is nearly impossible when out of bullet time and not much easier when youre in it becuase its still ridcuclously hard to hit anyone due to enemies often being smaller (a lot smaller and far away than they usually where in the previous games) and the fact that you're recticle is very hard to see.. I've switched to having it on now becuase it was too much of a frustrating experience, it means I won't get the achievements for playing it on hard, but at least it will be more fun now.

[Golgo]

Can't wait to get stuck into this. I guess the arcade modes and multi should alleviate the too-much-story criticism, rmoxon?

[rmoxon]

Yeah, Maybe, I haven't tried either yet to be fair. Having said that I don't really know anything about arcade mode, Is it just the campaign chapters without story bits? Becuase if that's the case each level will probabaly only be about 2 minutes long.

[JU!]

Good impressions above. IGN review of this is also really good seems an interesting game with as rmoxon said a great cinematic feel, with some small problems.

[Golgo]

Yeah, Maybe, I haven't tried either yet to be fair. Having said that I don't really know anything about arcade mode, Is it just the campaign chapters without story bits? Becuase if that's the case each level will probabaly only be about 2 minutes long.

Think so, yeah, tbh. Hence one mode is called 'New York Minute'. Very short time trials for hi-score multipliers, etc. Anyway, I don't mind how short it is. I've got RPGd to hell recently so I'm all for some quick, intense blasting.

[rmoxon]

New York minute was a mode that was unlocked in the previous 2 games..... The levels in those games were nowhere near as short as the ones in this though.

The series has always been full of cut scenes, but part 3 is less a game with loads of cut scenes and more like cut scenes with a bit of game attached to them, though that could change as thing go on I suppose.

Having said that Im still enjoying it, a lot more so now I've stuck the auto aim on.

[Golgo]

I've still got a virgin copy of MGS4 on the shelf. Might make sense to play the together lol!

[crocky-chocky]

I really like it.

I was never mad keen on Max Payne as a character and never even tried the sequel. But I do love Rockstar, and they've made Payne himself infinitely better and given his world some much needed colour, I think. Everything about the old games felt so monotone and they've really fleshed the world, characters and action right out. There's a touch of Breaking Bad's Walt in the new Max, which is great.

Each location so far has had at least one outstanding moment attached to it, and it's all executed really well and with ambient detail that matches Red Dead Redemption. I especially loved Max's

->Open Spoiler<-

entrance into the nightclub

, they did a really good job of making the player feel what Max was feeling.

I quite like a lengthy cut-scene, so I can't say I've noticed an off-balance gameplay/cut-scene ratio. I also die a lot...maybe that's why.

Off to play more later.

[EvilBoris]

I've done the first few levels and here are my initial impressions.

As I'm not a fan of Rockstars games, I was going to give this one a miss, but I have a soft spot for the first game so I thought I'd use some gamestation credit up.

My fears kinda have come true, so far the game has been almost entirely cutscene, not enjoyable cutscenes either. Mostly people just standing around talking about gangsters n crime n stuff. Lots of exagerrated gesticulation as is a main feature of Rockstar mo-cap.

Every once and a while you get to run through an impressive looking beautifully lit environment. To shoot as many as 4 enemies, they aren't too much of a challenge as they will die from a body shot pretty much anywhere on their body, occasionally you get an on rails slow mo section where you get to shoot at as many as 8 enemies at once. Good times and fun for all.

Once you've killed all the 3 guys in a room, you run to the next one, if you are lucky you get to shoot some more, otherwise you have to watch another few minutes of uninteresting cutscenes with some Latino fellows gesticulating wilding and using familiar words like 'gringo'.

They've ditched the gritty graphic novel visual style in the favour of a Michael Mann movie style. Max does almost constantly narrate the game in the same film noir style of the first games, although I feel that the dialogue actually feels out of place without the dark humor that remedy had running throughout the games.
Rockstar by numbers.

I'm playing on hard, with no auto aim (there are cheevs attached to that) and its not really difficult. Having unlimited bullet time in the form of the dives means that you can almost literally spend the entire game in slow motion.

There is a really annoying faulty CRT tv screen effect that is almost constantly flashing and going wonky in every cutscene , I'm not sure why. It gave the first 15 seconds of the game a cool look but has become quite tiresome.

[BaronSqwelch]

played the first few chapters and absolutely hate it. posting on a vita and off out so only a brief post but its just been unskippable cutscene (still loading it says on pressing a button, if true it has neo cd-esque loading times ) followed by brief fight with near invisible reticule making anything but the left trigger lock on pointless. Its less fun than kane&lynch and only slightly better looking too! awful

[EvilBoris]

I've not noticed any loading at all, it loads at the first menu, but after that there is no loading at all. Even dying at one of the many many checkpoints only has you waiting a few seconds to retry. 360 with HDD install here.

Funny you should mention Kane and Lynch, Max Payne is doing some Kane and Lynch cosplay throughout the game, looking like both Kane and Lynch at various different times.

[BIG EDD]

I'm enjoying it just played though the football stadium,loved the music and atmosphere of this level

[BaronSqwelch]

I've not noticed any loading at all, it loads at the first menu, but after that there is no loading at all. Even dying at one of the many many checkpoints only has you waiting a few seconds to retry. 360 with HDD install here. Funny you should mention Kane and Lynch, Max Payne is doing some Kane and Lynch cosplay throughout the game, looking like both Kane and Lynch at various different times.

It says "still loading" if you try to skip a cutscene. Wether it be the first second or the 6th hour of the cliche ridden ****e it is dishing up