The PC version of Max Payne 3 is every bit as savage and satisfying as its console predecessors.
Max's vulnerability, and the feeling of danger that accompanies it, makes combat much more nerve-racking than it was in earlier Max Payne games, but it does come with a downside: Max's signature shootdodge has suffered. You can still leap through the air in slow motion like a John Woo action hero, attempting to blow your foes away before you land, but because your enemies also make good use of cover, there's a good chance some of them won't be vulnerable to your airborne assault, and as you get up from the ground after a shootdodge, you're something of a sitting duck. The result is that you may end up using shootdodge from time to time not because it's a particularly effective tactic but because, risks be damned, it just looks so cool.
There's a great variety of guns to use in Max Payne 3--all manner of pistols, shotguns, rifles, and submachine guns. Max can still dual-wield weapons but, in a great touch, any larger weapon you grab is carried in his left hand, and if you opt to dual-wield your smaller weapons, he has to drop the bigger gun. (After all, where is he going to put it?) Max also has a number of terrific, hard-hitting melee attacks at his disposal, which knock enemies helplessly to the ground and then let you fill them full of lead. Great sound design supports the impact of the action. Gunfire sounds as fierce and deadly as it looks, and simmering percussion comes to the forefront in battle, a fitting accompaniment to your escalating pulse.
The campaign deftly avoids falling into a rut by frequently putting you in situations that fall outside the standard action. You might find yourself blasting enemies in bullet time as you hang from a helicopter, sliding down a sloped roof into a swimming pool, or in any number of other action movie situations. The campaign also includes just enough periods where you get to catch your breath and simply walk from one place to the next, taking in your vibrant surroundings before the next firefight begins. Optional clues you can search for and collect throughout each level give you an added incentive to look around and give you the sense that Max is good at more than just killing, that he has the instincts of a detective. It all adds up to an immensely exciting, expertly paced campaign that's lengthy enough and varied enough to leave you satisfied.
Where the campaign is tight and focused, the multiplayer is fast, freewheeling, and a little goofy. Though you start with just a handful of loadouts to choose from, you eventually unlock an impressive variety of weapons, attachments, gear, and abilities, called bursts, to choose from. Unlike in the campaign, in which Max fills up his bullet-time meter rather quickly on the standard difficulty, the adrenaline that fills up your burst meter in multiplayer takes time to collect, ensuring that these powers are not overused, and requiring you to choose carefully: Do you cash in your trigger-happy burst at level 1, enjoying the benefit of armor-piercing ammunition for 20 seconds, or do you hold off until you have a full meter and reward yourself with a devastating grenade launcher?
Bullet time is one of the available bursts in multiplayer, and it works well, affecting enemies in your line of sight rather than slowing down enemies all over the battlefield. But it's not the only standout burst. Paranoia is great for causing mayhem on the field, making members of the enemy team see each other as enemies. And big dog, which gives you and your teammates a health boost, can help turn the tables when things are looking grim.
There are standard deathmatch and team deathmatch games, but Payne Killer and Gang Wars are much more interesting. In Payne Killer, you become Max Payne or his partner Passos by killing them, and then earn points for staying alive and killing the attacking players as long as possible. Your bullet-time bursts and life-restoring painkillers give you an edge over your opposition for a little while, but you're heavily outnumbered in these roles, and it's only a matter of time before you're overwhelmed.
Gang Wars is a five-round team game in which objectives vary from round to round. In one round, your team might need to plant bombs at sites that the other team is struggling to protect; in another, there might be a VIP you need to kill on the other team, whose identity and location are revealed only after you kill a certain number of other members of the team. The frequently changing objectives and the uncertainty of what's next make Gang Wars an exciting mode that keeps you on your toes.
In the context of the campaign, shootdodging typically looks like a stylish way to kill people. In multiplayer, however, you might see people belly flop gracelessly onto the ground, which can make things a bit comical. The action is wilder in multiplayer than in the campaign, as players scramble to kill each other, using their various bursts to aid their team or to wreak havoc on their opponents. It's all chaotic fun, and the option to start vendettas against players who have killed you twice in a row, which earns you more experience points for the next kill if you get them before they get you, brings a dynamic and personal aspect to the competition as you're often trying to seek out and kill one player in particular.
But while the multiplayer is enjoyable, the single-player campaign is a knockout. There's incentive to return to the campaign and conquer it on higher difficulty levels, or to tackle the leaderboards in Arcade mode and in New York Minute mode, in which you race through levels, earning time for each kill. Times change and people change, too; Max Payne isn't the same man by the end of this game that he is at the beginning. It's fitting, then, that the gameplay has also evolved, that Max needs to proceed with a bit more caution than he did in his younger days. They say the more things change, the more they stay the same, and one thing remains true: you can still count on the Max Payne name to deliver some of the most stylish, distinctive, pulse-pounding shooting around.
Carolyn Petit has been reading GameSpot since 2000 and writing for it since 2008. She has a particular fondness for games of the 1980s, and intends to leave the field of games journalism as soon as she hears that her local Ghostbusters franchise is hiring.
i love max payne 3 it is what i will call a legitimate fast paced action shooter with a good story,well crafted cinematic and boy o boy excellent shooting with the addition of bullet time.only problem i had with the game is it lack variety in game play okay shoot some bad guy bullet time,shoot some more bad guys bullet time and that pretty much it.regardless it a great game that every one should play.
I don't understand people whining that this is the end of Payne. This game, by all means, deserves it's 9/10. The atmosphere, dialogs, graphics, everything is done in a very good level, R* doesn't disappoint. Max Payne 2 is nothing compared to this, those who say this game is carp - grow up, stop being so stubborn. The only drawback is that the shoot-dodge can get a bit clumsy.
1 Like Gamespot Start Doing Realistic Reviews.You People Hire Non Gamers to review a game.
Max Payne Series Dies At MP 3.This is a piece of Crap.
Max Payne 1 is the Best.
Sadly this is the End.
Man i salute rockstar . But still i wonder why didn't they launch red dead redemption on pc ? It is such and amazing game.
Still anyways LOVE U ROCKSTAR !!
1 Like Too much gun fights and pretty much linear.Graphic, Sound and other stuff are Great tho. :)my score 8.5
1 Like It's a great game. In fact, I wasn't interested in Max Payne 1-2 but this game is one of the best games on its type. I think it should take it's place in people choice voting.
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Great game, and the new cut scenes on steroids are not epic noir comic book, but its still hell of a lot better then looking at generic normal cut scenes with people talking in standing animation for the past decade in gaming. This game would be perfect, if only its AI weren't programmed by god himself, as they can see you through walls and are in synch with every other AI in the map as if one even smells you the entire chapter zones in you. I also learned that random thugs in brazil have gone through godlike training to never miss their target? Damn those sneaky poor bastards, how did they afford gun training with a robot?
The game is great, despite its few flaws. Some chapters are longer that it should be, there's some problemas with the voice acting (Passos' voice, specially, is not good. That is not a Brazilian accent. he looks like an American or some latin person trying to speak Portuguese).And be prepared to die a lot. Sometimes there are so many bullets on the screen that you don't know whose are yours and whose are from the enemies. This is challenging and rewarding.
@expeditopaz2008 *Spoilers* Its because Passos wasnt Brazilian lol. didnt you follow the story o_0
how will crack or get pass through activation code in social club??>>
plz help me in this its a humble request!1!!
@subhamagarwal85 @nabeelbeing @gfavour
this is not the place for piracy,,
losers, get the fuck out,,
@Ladiesman17 @subhamagarwal85 @nabeelbeing @gfavour
I agree with the top comment. Though the bottom comment was quite a random rant, how do you know they are losers?
it is a good game but there is almost nothing new in this one,overall it's 8.5 ~9 of 10. but the most annoying thing is when max lay on the floor for any reason,it almost takes years for him to stand up again which some times makes you cry (besides he moves so slow all the time) maybe it's the time for the old man to retire.
1 Like The game is great in style and substance while offering substantial length hardly seen anymore in FPS games. That said an I cannot fathom how any legitimate review could possibly not discuss some glaring flaws. Flaws such as the game changing you back to the default pistol after EVERY cut scene (and there are many) rather than allowing you to stay with the weapon you choose. This includes when that pistol has no bullets. Just wonderful to come out of the cut scene only to be holding a crappy gun with no bullets and standing in the middle of a room filled with enemies. It is inexplicable that this could make it into the final product. Additionally there were some areas with checkpoints too spread out and occasionally making you leave an area before you ready (haven't finished exploring but happen to press on the next section's door) is annoying. Moving quickly is not possible and going from one cover location to another is awkward and clunky.
This is a great game that I recommend but to leave out any discussion of the flaws above, or really fail to say much of anything about the controls, make this is an incomplete review.
1 Like The graphics and art style will give you a headache.. The drunk thing that they try to do, should really have been mentioned in the review.. Come on guys.. You don;t work for them.. You should inform us about this stuff.. Awesome graphics they certainly are not..
1 Like Absolutely hate MaxPayne3 (and I'm a long time fan) Loved 1 and 2 but this 3rd one I find to be grossly overrated. First of all the controls are just ridiculous. (i.e.: to name one If I'm crouched I have to hit crouch key again to get out of it, I can't for example hit the sprint key and automatically start running) it's just dumb. I barely see any difference between hitting the sprint key or just running. Reloads seem to take forever. They over did the slow motion thing so that now it's in the way lol. The last man standing crap that creeps up on you keeps you in slo-mo (whether you want it or not) I found the controls to be sluggish and clunky and nowhere near the smoothness of the first two games. Missing is that really cool film noir feeling you got from the first 2. This one just doesn't have that same feeling. Where are the story boards? The only thing I like about MP3 is the graphics. The game looks sensational. Soooo disappointed
1 Like Its good but not great. Its just been done so many times before. Its like Uncharted but with no platforming and gets repetitive... Story is good as well as graphics but again, repetitive...
Awesome gameplay awesome graphics and awosome story and visuals inshort maxpayne is a great game.which every gamer must play.10/10 i must say
2 Like For me, Max Payne 3 does not deliver. Good points are that it's gorgeous and 'Hey, it's Max again!' as the character was brilliant. The combat sounds are amazing from the thud as you shotgun the vested midsection of a rent-a-gun (whom Max despises for some unknown reason) to the squish of a Desert Eagle making a hole in someone large enough to walk through. Even better, environmental damage hasn't been done more realistically and evenly by any other game I have ever played.
Alas there are a few problems which for me almost ruin the game. Whilst the combat looks and sounds good, it feels horrible. Gone are the days of snapping your wrist trying to spin the mouse to anihilate a room full of bent cops or thugs as you shootdodge through the centre of a room. With cover being such a mainstay in combat one would imagine that it would be a key thing to get right, no? Rockstar disagrees. There is no fluid movement into cover as you must stand right next to it and then press a button as opposed to, say Gears of War where Marcus would dive into cover from 5-6 feet away. Also when in said cover there is no control to move onto an adjacant piece which is (for me) frustrating to say the least. In Max Payne 3, painkillers are used like the medkits of old to regenerate health and for some reason Max decides that he'll pop them on losing the last bit of health, whether you want him to or not, whilst he survives (for now) Max is now lying prone at the feet of an assailiant (and possibly his friends) that hasn't registered you put a bullet through his skull in slo-mo, which can lead to more problems than just reloading from checkpoint. Then there is the man himself Mr Payne.
The writing for Max doesn't do it for me he's still moody and dark with that dry wit which kills me every time, but to me the supposed depth of character feels very forced this time around and him feeling sorry for himself over the inevitable failures isn't anything inventive as far as characters go. At the moment I'm in a graveyard with my newfound trusty sidekick taking on 1920's dress-style gangsters, (it feels a little...corny), and by this point I'm kind of hoping Max doesn't make it through to the final credits, which I'm shocked at myself for thinking as I rate(d) Max as my all time favorite videogame character. I'm hoping for a cover fluidity patch and replacing the faux comicbook style mess (you will know what I mean if you play it) with actual comic book style like in the originals.
And he could lose some pounds. Fatso.
Rob
1 Like @Scarrd Well said. Nothing smooth about the movement in this game :( It's my biggest complaint about the game, everything seems soooo slooooow. Lousy response time and the last man standing thing is awful
1 Like Just played the real Mafia 2 after Steam summer sale, true rating is about 8.5, Gamespot is in agreement with me there, but it is also much better than Max Payne 3 by a huge margin, save for Max Payne 3 has better shooting. Keep Mafia 2 as it is, but add Max Payne 3's shooting and you have a 9.0. It doesn't need Bullet Time, just more fluid shooting. Max Payne has much more to do before it could earn a 7.0 even.
3 Like Just purchased Splinter Cell Conviction on the Steam sales and I have to say I'm embarrassed I hadn't tried it sooner. Not only are the graphics gorgeous, but it plays like a dream, like some people might have expected from Max Payne 3. In fact, I kind of see where Max Payne 3 got some of it's inspiration, but of course Max Payne 3 fails on almost all levels. It's no longer on sale, but anyone who liked Max Payne 3, isn't used to playing games like this, weren't fans or hadn't played the original Splinter Cell games (like myself), I'd bet you'll love Conviction. I can tell that just from the start it's already better than MP3 by a wide margin.
2 Like @Kryptonbornson Splinter Cell Conviction is an under appreciated gem of a game. I loved it. Deniable Ops is fun too. Overall, Splinter Cell games are fun and you could tell that every time a new Splinter Cell game came out they'd do something different, and better! Max Payne 3 unfortunately took a step backwards!
1 Like @HybridExtreme I've only played bits of the other Splinter Cell games, but it's good to know a fan could appreciate Conviction, seeing as how it's a radical departure from what I've heard.
5 Like The story really disappointed me and there was not any likeable characters(except for Max).
Max Payne 1&2 are still my all time favourites.
1 Like This is one of the best games i have played in years it controls perfectly and the story is so intense everyone should go and buy it NOW!!!!
UPDATE: after my last comment here, the folks at Rockstar found it in their hearts to reply to my support request. They addressed the problem of the game not starting. Too little too late, because I'd already got it working by trawling the internet for solutions.
Multiplayer is still buggy as hell. I've tried all the solutions listed on the Rockstar Tech Support site and I still get kicked out of games midway. Can anybody here help me out? It is very inconsistent. Sometimes I am able to play, but mostly I get kicked out mid-game with a Lost Connection message.
i forgot say to someone who wrote this " having confirmed that my system could handle it " before buy some game (new ) you have to read about system request or go to this( www.systemrequirementslab.com/) and test your pc for that game
1 Like i want to say some thing to some one who don't like Max Payne game . it is good game for who like it , if you did not play this game before or Max Payne 3 is not good enough for you it is not Reason to write bad word for all people . ittt issss not good
Buuut game is good for me if you like it or not don't caaaaare about that .
This game maybe have some problem but you have to know about that ,all of the team worked hard to make good game after many years .
2 Like 1st of all, English isn't my main language so sorry for that :/
Guys this game is just awesome, i made the account on GameSpot just to review this game!, i always focus on the details! the story of this game its so good that you will want to finish this game just to see the end as soon as possible. they can make a movie out of this series!.
There are details that made this game awesome for me
1)he can't equip a rocket launcher, 2 guns, and a rifle in the same body like other games it's unrealistic so Max Payne can only have 2 guns and a rifle but he cant use the rifle if you equip the guns on both hands so realistic!!,
2)the graphics! the details of the face, the blood, the gunshots, they are JUST PERFECT!, the way the gameplay start after the cut scene! and NO WORDS for the dialogue it's beautiful it makes you feel the scene, and the music when your in action its amazing.
3)i hate when i'm playing any 3rd person game and there's no explanation of why i can't go to a place, max Payne always try to open the doors with a realistic animation and even if it's closed he gets hit back by the door, the one that already played this game will notice and understand my point, when you press VAULT button he will get up on whatever part in a realistic way.
4) the way he smash windows, he kills with some melee attack and a shot very realistic
5) the gunshots on enemies when you target their heads, if you hit the head he's dead (obviously) but if you hit the chest and they have bulletproof they won't die, unless you shoot to their limbs many times!.
Thing is this game has no errors for me. story and gameplay it's just amazing ill give it a 10/10!. Seriously i don't know what the other persons think this is a bad game, in what way???
This thing doesn't have an online verification system i hope. Like everybody else i go nuts when a crucial part of the game is reached and the whole thing just cuts off
@btrex No, I had no serious technical difficulties, again, and I emphasize, there is no crucial part of the game. It is skippable entirely!
1 Like It's a great game, but it's funny how GameSpot and all the other gaming info sites out there rate this game so high and not one - NOT ONE - mentions the installation issues. I bought this game, having confirmed that my system could handle it. It took an hour to install and patch and then all I got was a black screen.
I checked with RockStar support and got no reply, not even an acknowledgement. Finally after checking out a lot of forums I discovered I had to uninstall certain Windows updates to get it working and even then it's touch and go. Every once in a while the game will go berserk on me.
Also I'm sure a lot of you have been getting kicked out of multiplayer for no apparent reason. I checked it out and apparently you have to manually open certain ports in your firewall.
I don't mean to rant, but a game that requires you to mess with your OS - and this is a legally bought retail version by the way - is in no way ready for marketing. And GameSpot, cut the damn hype and give us the information that matters. Shame on you RockStar. I'm hitting up PirateBay when GTA5 comes out...
2 Like @payne_killaz Didn't have any major installation issues. Simply verify game cache and it re-downloaded a corrupted file. It's an awesomely huge download. That's to be expected. The game just sucks.
