Bullet Time. Painkillers. Yes. It's Max Payne 3!

A tougher, balder, paunchier Max. 

Max Payne, after a nine year absence, reappears as a tougher, scotched-soaked, gun-wielding, destructive force that still lays waste to any enemies in or out of Bullet Time. The long years spent of  substance abuse have taken its toll on the ex-cop's personal life, but Max's vices do not stop the slow motion hero from achieving his well known level of lethal brutality.


Immediately, the fluidity of the controls are what secure Max Payne 3 as an extremely solid third-person shooter. Hovering the target reticle over an enemy and pressing the trigger has never been so satisfying. The physics applied to Max Payne are to thank for that. An enemy, whether struck in the forearm, leg, groin, or neck, will react differently depending on the angle of the bullet and the type of weapon used. Feel free to peruse through the video below to get a visual sense of Max Payne's excellent shooting mechanics.

The frequent and excellent gun fights play an essential role in creating the themes within the Max Payne universe. These calloused tones of bullets and blood sing the cacophony that his life has become; he is the man with nothing to lose and almost nothing to gain, becoming the ideal representation of the "Noir." Now, it's this combination between the darkness and visceral game play where Rockstar Games sets the ambiance.

Unlike the first two games, Max Payne 3 is set in Brazil's Sao Paulo. Years of drinking alone have finally convinced the painkiller enthusiast to trade in the dirt and grime of New Jersey for the sunny tropics of the Brazilian city. The grime, unfortunately, sticks closer to Max than a crusty dollar in a stripper's g-string as he and his associate, Raul Passos, play bodyguard to the rich, entrepreneurial Branco family. Life quickly takes a turn for the worse when a band of favela hoodlums kidnap Fabiana Branco, wife of Max's boss. The first half of Max Payne 3 follows the drunk, ex-cop hellbent on living up to his promises up to his promises as a body guard. However, the dynamic of Max's motives and character are rattled on the discovery of the murderous truths buried in the corrupt city.

"I stood out in this place like a streetwalker in a monastery." 

Max Payne 3's tropical environment bears few resemblance to the the Jersey neighborhoods in the first two games. Players are, however, treated, to a few flashback missions that visit the tragic hero in his moments before his Brazilian career. So, rejoice. The grey tattered tenements of Hoboken do echo the poverty of Sao Paulo's slums and the AK-toting gangsters are as dangerous as an American mafia. But, as Rockstar Games claimed, the change in scenery, from dark ghettos to sunny South American neighborhoods, is not meant to convey a change in mood. Max Payne 3 carries the unlit torch of noir its predecessors heavily bore. Max, himself, is grim, sardonic, and is as witty as a clown on an executioner's block.

While Rockstar managed to keep the gritty themes and savagely finesse shooting mechanics, the popular company also added a new feature never seen in the Max Payne series. The newest addition is the multiplayer component. Like the previous Rockstar titles, Max Payne 3 multiplayer imitates the likes of Grand Theft Auto 4 and Red Dead Redemption without free-roaming. Death match and team death matches are available, but gang wars and Payne killer are the two multiplayer modes that offer something different. In gang wars, two teams of eight are pitted against one another in objective-based scenarios, such as capture the bag and protect the v.i.p, while Payne killer is a deathmatch/juggernaut variant. The first person to score a kill becomes Max Payne. Outfitted with extra painkillers, guns, and Bullet Time, the other players must work together to bring down the current Max Payne. The first person to kill the Max Payne-player then becomes the new Max.

The Gang Wars

However, as addicting as the multiplayer is, the servers often show a low number of players. The shelf life for the this aspect of Max Payne 3 seems like it will be short lived. It'd be a surprise if the servers could survive til the end of August. 

Rockstar Games has managed to beautifully re-imagine and craft the precision of the old games and implement them within their newest iteration of the series. Even with what feels is a slowly dying multiplayer, Max Payne 3 shootdodges its way as one of the best games to have been released this year. The shooting mechanics are tight and fluid, the plot bring out a better nuanced version of Max's character, and Rockstar quintessentially captures the film noir genre the past games perfected. Max Payne 3's single player campaign may only clock in around ten to twelve hours, but every moment is filled with anxious, engrossing action that leaves players with a feeling of precise brutality and the urge to press forward.
Max Payne 3 = 4.5/5