• Experience a relentless, story-driven game as Max fights for justice while uncovering plot twists and twisted thugs in the gritty bowels of New York during the century’s worst blizzard

• Photo-digitized textures, radiosity lighting, hardware T&L and painstaking detail combine to create super-realism

• Play It Your Own Way puts the most powerful, easy-to-use game editor ever released in your creative hands

• Blood and violence

Let's start out with the storyline. Max Payne takes place in the grimy streets of New York with crime happening all over the place. Three years ago, Max came home to his house finding his wife and infant son brutally murdered. Essentially the murderers were looking for Max, but when they broke in they decided to seize the moment and make his life a living hell. After this horrific experience Max dedicates the next three years of his life to get hunt down and kill the murderers and any cost, even if it means that he'll be the most wanted man in America.

The graphics and the atmosphere in Max Payne are simply amazing and very realistic. Max and all of the enemies that he encounters all have their own unique details including mustaches, different colored eyes, scars, their clothing, etc. Everything looks like New York with graffiti all over the walls, trashcans on fire, and cars, subways, doors, and buildings drawn in exceptional detail. From the blood of your enemies to the fire from the Molotov Cocktails, everything is done perfectly. Plus you can interact with the environment in numerous ways. For example, you can turn on a vibrating bed, play a piano, get a drink out of a soda machine, turn radios and televisions on and off, look through hidden cameras, etc. Plus with a sniper rifle you can zoom from great distances and there is a camera where you follow the bullet until it reaches your enemy.

The play control of this game is very smooth. Moving around, aiming, and shooting in this game is a sinch. I got used to the controls in about 10 minutes and as you use them more and more they become second nature. Plus with an innovative slow-motion feature called Bullet-Time you can move at the speed of a bullet which is very effective in situtations where you are heavily outnumbered in a room or if you just want to surprise an enemy from a short or long distance.

There are several weapons you can collect in this game yo use against your enemies and they all of their own unique feature. Some of the guns are a Leadpipe, Baseball Bat, Pump-Action Shotgun, Sawed-Off Shotgun, Desert Eagle, Beretta, Ingram, Jakhammer, Colt Commando, Molotov Cocktails, Gernades, AK47, and a Sniper Rifle. Not only can you find these guns from dead enemies, they can be found in cabinets, display cases, inside of boxes, and in other hidden places. Plus, if you are low on health you can pick up Painkillers which reduce about a third of your damage. You can hold as many as 8 and you should use them wisely because they are sometimes hard to find.

There are over 60 diverse, mission-based levels in Max Payne that are very complex and fun to explore. Some if the missions include jumping off a building onto a subway, escaping from a flaming restaurant, sneaking onto a boat from an abandoned shipyard, eliminating 3 mobsters in a mashion, etc. Not only are these missions well-developed but they are fun and challenging as well.

The cinema in Max Payne is the best I've ever seen in a game. There are over 200 different scenes with excellent dialouge and superb voiceovers that it will seem like Max Payne is a well-made movie. Cinema scenes usually are between levels but sometimes if you find an interesting object in a level or if you encounter a devious mobster, you will get a short cienmatic dialouge. Watching these scenes builds and builds up suspense to for a show-stopping climax at the end of the game.

The A.I. of this game is so incredible that I was blown away from their superb reaction. The enemies get smarter and smarter as you progress through the game. If you are the type who runs down hallways, don't expect the enemy not to hear you around the corner. Plus if an enemy is all alone and you have a more powerful weapon than they do, they will call their friends for backup. If you decide to snipe someone from a long distance, they will immediately react but either shooting back at you or they will run and hide behind boxes to get a better shot at you.

The music and special effects in Max Payne does a very good job with blending in with the atmosphere. If you are duking it out with a mob boss or in a room with a lot of enemies with powerful guns you will most likely hear fast-paced music that will keep your heart racing and adrenaline pumping. But if your just walking through the snowy streets looking for weapons you'll hear a calmer beat.

All in all, Max Payne is one of the greatest PlayStation 2 games ever made and it has endless replay value. I've owned this game for about three months now and I still play it everyday. And to my surprise, it hasn't become boring at all. My recommendation is to buy this game as soon as you can. You'll become hooked very quickly, and you'll love it for all the reasons that I still do today.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:


KILLER GAME  Jan 01, 2002 By Kathryn L. Bakken "Audiobook addict."
Oh. My. God.

Max Payne is one of the best game I have played in years.

It's full of surprises, has this amazingly elegant combat engine, darkly funny film noir attitude and gorgeous Bullet Time mode. Great writing and voice talent kept me watching the segue film, or rather, comic book clips, for the sheer entertainment value -- I was actually almost shocked at how sophisticated and clever some of the writing was. I 'm not used to this in a video game. And what a blessed relief to play a game with an adult story line and a no-apologies somber 'Silent Hill' back story. I really dug the Max Payne character, he's fleshed out, he's vital and worth spending your time with. This could be a movie easy.

I have played alot of these Action games, it's my genre of choice, and MP is cream of the crop, top of the tops. I rank this game right up there with Metal Gear 2. And I have to admit, since getting Max Payne, Metal Gear 2, as much as I love it, has been sitting idle.

I cannot recommend this game enough. I'd give it ten stars if I could. Max Enjoyment!

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:


Definitely not Crash Bandicoot  Jul 06, 2002 By Ben Rowland
Max Payne is a cinematic, film-noir type game that mixes you standard action and intrigue. The story is as cliched as they come: a rogue cop framed for murder must fight against incredible odds to survive. This is from the same people who made Grand Theft Auto, the PS2's crowning title. Here is my impressions of Max Payne.

The Pros:

1. Cinematics. The story sequences come in two forms: as an on-screen graphic novel, and full motion sequences. They highlight the important points in the game quite well. Despite what others say, I don't think the voice acting is that bad. Believe me, I've heard much worse. The cinematic cut-scenes make the game much more enjoyable.

2. The details. What else would you expect from a PS2 game? The graphics are similar to Grand Theft Auto III, in that the city, the buildings, the rooms, and the enemies are very intricately detailed. Unlike GTA3, that is almost no pop-up in the background, and the rendering is amazing. But it is the little details that will strike you. You can turn lights on and off, move boxes, and even make drinks come out of the coke machine in the hotel (this is early on in the game). Note that I have layed both the PS2 and Xbox versions, and have noticed no difference.

3. The automatic save. There is nothing more frustrating than getting killed before you've had a chance to save your game. At the beginning of each new segment, your game is saved. It does the work for you. I like that feature a lot.

4. The A.I. The enemies are tougher to beat here, since the difficult levil changes according to your progress. If you are having a hard time in the game, the enemies will lighten up, slightly. But if you are having a ball, they will get tougher on you. They are also very good at evading your attacks. The improved A.I. (artificial intellegence, in case you didn't know) gives the game more challenge.

5. Storyline. Though it has it's ups and downs, the story is classic film-noir. I didn't get Max Payne looking for an innovative storyline (though I wouldn't have complained if it was). It is a good, old-fashioned caper story.

The Cons:

1. Loading time. It seems that Max Payne has a longer than normal loading time, wich can be very frustrating if you get killed off a lot in the beginning. Since the game is so well detailed, I can only assume that is why it takes longer to load. The game takes about 2 minutes to get the game up and running, so patience is a vitrue you must possess to play Max Payne.

2. Control. Though this becomes less of a con as you get used to it, the controls are tough. Unlike most games, Max Payne requires use of BOTH analog sticks, so it take a bit of getting used to. People who have played Silent hill before will probably know what I mean. Also, the targeting system is tricky in the begining, since all you have to aim with is a white dot on screen.

3. Sometimes you cannot skip through the cinematic cut-scenes, which is frustrating is you get killed and have to sit through the same bits over and over again.

I bought Max Payne on the recommendation of a friend who is pickier than I am when it comes to video games. I am very impressed with Max Payne, and am now addicted to it. Some games are like that. Anyone who liked GTA3 or Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty will love Max Payne.

9 of 11 found the following review helpful:


Very cool game!  Dec 16, 2001 By Jason Colucci
You're a cop in New York! They killed your wife and daughter and now you are mad! This is a very cool action "Syphon Filter" type of game! The story is great and the effects in this game is what sets it apart from being a syphon filter copy! The "bullet time" effect is the coolest thing I have ever seen in a video game. The slow motion matrix style action scenes, the blood and violence, and the story line make this video game play like a movie! The best way I can describe it is syphon filter meets metal gear solid! Once you get use to the controls, and I must say the only reason I didn't give this one 5 stars is because they are a little complicated, you will enjoy this game!! I can definitely see sequels coming down the road.

Cool stress relieving kill everyone and ask questions later game, check this one out!

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:


"One of the greatest games ever made"  Oct 14, 2002 By moviefreak "moviefreak2003"
Max Payne, from Rockstar and Remedy Entertainment, isn't just a great game. It's a compassionate and suspenseful drama with plently of killing to satisfy any action fan. Payne, a lonely-do-nothing kind of man is surprised to find out the gangsters who murdered his wife and child in cold blood three years ago are smuggling a very addictive drug into the country. Armed with such weapons as Dual Ingrams, Desert Eagles and Pump Action Shotguns, Payne starts his own one man war against these gangsters with several people helping him. The game is a fast roller coaster ride and keeps you glued to the screen. Bullet Time, which is perhaps the greatest part of the game,allows to kill the gangsters in slow motion and watch as their blood sprays all over the wall. With Bullet Time, every minute you feel like you're in the Matrix. The game features a wide variety of weapons and a lot of levels and gangsters. The game offers hours and hours of gameplay and is incredible. However, there are several cons I'd like to address.

1. The game is way too easy and could be beaten in half a month. There's no extremely hard puzzles and it's a basic shoot-em-up game. For example, out of five doors only one opens and all you have to do is climb staircases to other floors and shoot the bad guys there.

2. The voice-acting is horrible.

3. There is a cutscene in the beginning of every Chapter. If you die and start over, you have to watch this cutscene over and over again and you can't skip it.

4. The blood doesn't look as realistic as it does in other shoot-em-up games.

5. When you shoot at bad guys, they all lose blood the same way. After they're dead, you can still shoot em and get new blood but the old blood will disappear.

6. Graphics are OK, not horrible but not great.

7. Though this is a dark and violent game, I just don't seem to liek games where you only play in the dark. There's not one level of daylight and you got to wonder: What's Max doing during that time?

Despite it's cons, the game is a must buy for fans of action and adventure game. There's hundreds and hundreds of gangsters to shoot up and you can do some stuff you can't do in other games such as turn on TVs, listen to the radio, and get sodas from vending machines.

Max Payne is a must get. It's an awesome drama and deserves to be in the hands of every good gamer.

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