Max Payne: DO believe the hype!

Introduction
I play a decent amount of computer games. Not near as much since I’ve gotten married and had a son, but I still get my licks in, albeit usually very late at night! FPS (First Person Shooters) are one of my favorite game genres, so when a new one comes out, I usually make my way to playing it. I’ve got all the Quakes, Unreals, and Half-Lifes, and the only FPS game I’ve come close to finishing lately was No One Lives Forever. Why is that you might ask? Well, to put it blunt, I get bored pretty easy, and when a game becomes too repetitive, I quickly lose interest.

Now, I’ve read all the hype about Max Payne. How it has taken many years to produce and how it was supposed to revolutionize the FPS. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t buy Max Payne for any of the “hype”. I bought it because it was a game that required some pretty hefty system resources, and I wanted to test my new setup I had built the previous week. So, if you’re interested in this game remember that you need some firepower. I wouldn’t even bother loading it unless you’ve got at least an 700mhz CPU, regardless of the “recommended” requirements.

The box tries to assure you this game can run on a 450mhz…excuse me while I try and stop laughing. Unless you enjoy trying to track people’s movements with a strobe light in the back ground, don’t bother. I played Max with all the settings set to the full hilt, so I suppose my opinion could be biased if you’re playing it on the lower settings.

The Game
Hands down, this is the most graphically gorgeous game to date. It could almost be considered photo realistic, with every minute detail looking as sharp as possible. The walls, pictures, desks, doors, lighting, streets, explosions, vehicles…everything looks stunning! The sound effects are also top-notch, as well as some well timed musical montages that help setup plot changes.

In the game, you play Max Payne, cop on the run after he’s accused of becoming a renegade cop. Max has just witnessed the dead bodies of his wife and child, and he’s teetering on the edge of sanity. All he can think of doing is going after those who caused him this misery, and no one can stop in or get in his way, and this includes the police department.

Alright, so the plot isn’t too terribly original, but it’s just a vehicle to set up the confrontations to come. The game is broken down into scenes and chapters, not unlike that of a novel, or even a comic book? Instead of using cinematic cut scenes between the action, as do most FPS, Max uses still photos that look as if they were tore from a comic book. This helps in giving the story line a much more gritty feel.

It’s pretty easy to stay on the plot line, as there’s usually easy to read sign posts or characters to point you in the right direction. Only once in awhile does the game direction become convoluted, like in Max’s dream sequences, and the difficult “escape from the exploding restaurant” scene (thank god for save game files is all I can say there!)

I really think the story continues to be interesting and engaging as you delve further and further into the nightmares surrounding the injustices done to Max’s family. He un-covers mysteries and secrets that go deeper than he ever imagined, but none of which can keep him from his vengeance.

There are also many varied environments, from the requisite high rise buildings, to the dark tunnels of sewers and subway tunnels. In the darker surroundings, you can really appreciate the superb lighting effects. Max doesn’t really have a “Boss” on every level to take out, but there are definitely a few enemies in this game that require a lot of lead to kill. This is explained by either body armor or being drugged up, or both.

Overall the game isn’t terribly long, but it does a good job of keeping you challenged. The ending may be a tad abrupt, but aren’t endings always the hardest to execute anyway? It seems it’s very difficult to please everyone when it comes to how to wrap things up, and while Max Payne could have had a better conclusion, it is still adequate.

Features
You’ve probably read all about the “ground breaking” feature used in this game, appropriately branded Bullet Time. Now this feature could’ve been rather cheesy, but Remedy does an outstanding job implementing this unique feature. When Max initiates bullet time, everything decelerates to slow motion, expect Max’s ability to aim. This can give you an added jump on your enemy who might be hiding around the next corner (as you probably found out in a previous game when you got your head blown off by the thug with a shot gun!)

You’ve only got a limited supply of bullet time, so you must use it somewhat sparingly, although you get a little bit replenished every time you exterminate a thug. There’s also a nice conglomeration of weapons to choose from, from pistols and shotguns, to automatics and rocket launchers. There’s even grenades and the very cool moltov cocktails to assault your enemies from afar. I also really liked the scope option on the sniper rifle which allows you to really take precise aim. And, after pulling the trigger, if you’ve made a sure kill shot, you get to see the “bullet-cam” view, as the bullet flies through the air to its target. Very cool!

Almost every object is usable or destroyable, and almost every location shows damage, like windows shattering, bullet hole ridden walls, and smoking televisions after they’ve been destroyed. The game also boasts a “self adjusting” difficulty setting, which will be fine-tuned on the fly depending upon how well you’re playing. I’m not sure about this feature, as I never found the game all that difficult, save for a few scene or two where I had to play it over around 20 or 30 times (like those three bastards hiding behind the overturned desk when you burst into the room!)

Conclusion
I’ve really got nothing bad to say about this game. It may not be as ground breaking as Remedy claims, but it is definitely the best looking FPS ever. I’d also say the gameplay is almost up to par with a game like Half-Life, which is known as the one of the best computer games ever. If you’ve got the system, this is the kind of game you boot up to amaze your friends. The fact that it’s a kick in the pants to play is just icing on the cake!