Max Payne (2001) (VG)

Writers:

Sam Lake (story)
Sam Lake (screenplay)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Max Payne. A man with nothing to lose.

Plot:

A troubled NYPD cop is framed for murder and finds himself being hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation.

Plot Keywords:

Framed | Murder | Nypd | Corruption | New York

Awards:

1 win

Cast

James McCaffrey	...	DEA Agent Max Payne (voice)
Haviland Morris	...	Michelle Payne (voice)
Chris Phillips	...	DEA Agent Alex Balder / Mercenary / Killer Suit (voice)
Jane Gennaro	...	Nicole Horne / Valhalla Project Computer Voice (voice)
Adam Grupper	...	BB / Policeman / Mercenary (voice)
Peter Appel	...	Deputy Police Chief Jim Bravura / Boris Dime / Announcer (voice)
Tye Alexander	...	Joey Finito / Virgilio Finito / Mobster (voice) (as Tye Reign)
Joe Dallo	...	Vinnie Gognitti / Pilot / Chemist (voice)
Chelsea Altman	...	Kyra Silver (voice)
Joe Ragno	...	Angelo Punchinello / Mobster (voice)
Joanie Ellen	...	Candy Dawn (voice)
Ricky Ashley	...	Captain Baseballbat-Boy (voice)
Victoria Pontecorvo	...	Bicycle Helmet-Girl (voice)
Joe Maruzzo	...	Rico Muerte / Transit / Joe Salem (voice)
John Randolph Jones	...	Alfred Woden / Butler (voice)

Country:

USA | Finland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Germany:18 | Ireland:15 | UK:15 | USA:M

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Remedy Entertainment

Trivia:

Max Payne kills literally hundreds of people in this game. In one official count, the death toll stood at 625.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The entire game takes place in New York, yet at least twice in the game we can see safety signs that say "no unauthorised persons beyond this point" (the common UK spelling of "unauthorized").

Quotes:

Max Payne: [narration] She was a nice girl, not really a stone-cold killer, and now she was stone-cold dead.

Movie Connections:

References The Usual Suspects (1995)

Outstanding. I can't say enough.

It took four long years in production, but Max Payne has lived up to and beyond all expectations and earned the rave reviews it deserves. First of all, the whole game is visually stunning. When you first load up the tutorial, trust me, you'll just be sitting there staring. When you first pause the game and watch the camera circle Max's virtually photo-realistic body, you'll keep on staring. When you first launch into slow motion and watch the bullets actually flying past, you'll stare some more. Basically, the graphics are fantastic; I've never seen better in a PC game.

But that's not all that makes Max Payne so remarkable. The story is really intriguing, and I think calling it cliched is missing the point; it's supposed to have that film noir, crime novel feeling, and it pulls it off creatively through the graphic novel scenes that pop up throughout the game. When you're not tearing through gangsters and junkies and suits, you may find yourself listening in from around corners, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, even wandering through Max's actual nightmares. The use of the graphic novel is great; it's wickedly written and a nice break from the action sometimes.

Which brings me to the action itself. Wow. Playing against such amazing graphics and animation, gunfights in Max Payne are *intense*. The slow-motion feature is a wonderful addition; you start to feel so cool sliding past bullets in midair that you're able to suspend disbelief. As with any other game, you learn to ration your resources and deal with confrontations more efficiently, but the awesome thing is that this game learns along with you. Max Payne actually adjusts to your skill level, making the game challenging without being impossible. And it's about time someone made a shooter like that!

So combine all that with really good voice acting and blessedly infrequent load times, and you really do have one of the best PC games ever made. Inevitably, there are a few problems; the weapons interface can be a little difficult at first, and enemy AI can be kind of questionable, but those are common glitches. The only significant drawback is only that the game doesn't last long enough! For most, it won't take longer than ten or fifteen hours to complete. However, what it lacks in quantity, Max more than makes up for in quality, and it's very replayable anyway.

All in all, this one is a landmark game and a masterpiece -- super-innovative, compelling and beautifully made. Deservedly, it's sure to land more than one Game Of The Year.