The broad story of revenge in the games betrays the series’ deep plots and interesting characters. The third especially has excellent gun audio and realistic enemy reactions, mixed with Rockstar’s excellent animations. Every level, if played well, feels like a John Wick film. Every game’s tight controls and breakneck pace demand split-second reactions and accurate aim above all else. There is a reason why people still play the first one today.
Max Payne’s gameplay has always managed to be excellent.
The third game, developed by Rockstar Games, sees Max escape New York to take a new job in Brazil, and deal with the destruction he seems to bring about wherever he goes. Remedy has gone on to create Control, considered to be one of the best games of 2019 and a game whose roots you can see in Max Payne. The first two are relatively distinct to the third – developed by Remedy Entertainment, and featuring a cold and dark New York City as a background to Max weeding out a criminal conspiracy in his quest for revenge. All three games are punchy and violent third-person shooters. The games focus on the titular Max Payne, a former New York police officer hellbent on vengeance for the death of his wife and child. It would not be too far a stretch to call the first game one of the most influential third-person shooters ever – fluid controls, fun gameplay and the game’s use of a slow-motion mode called ‘bullet time’ was near-revolutionary for 2001. The Max Payne franchise began in 2001 with Max Payne, a sequel in 2003, and a third installment in 2012.