Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Ambitious"

Max Payne was originally a 3D third person shooter on the PC, Xbox, and PS2. The GBA version is a third party isometric shooter, and is a remarkable translation of the PC game.

Max Payne is a technical wonder for the GBA. It's impressive how similar the game is to its original version. The developers have faithfully recreated the game levels in 2D, and the similarity is striking.

The original game presented the story in graphic novel cutscenes with voiceovers, and even these are present in this version, complete with full voice dialogue. The HUD maintains the look, with the same bullet time hourglass and health indicator. The original weapons are back, such as the shotguns, ingrams, and M4. The distinct sounds, like the painkiller sound, is the same. The interactivity with game world objects which had no bearing on gameplay is also in the GBA version. You can flush toilets, turn on faucets, and damage objects, like desks. The piano and drums in the original game which you could play are also in the game. The bullet time feature which was so essential to gameplay, works the same in this version. You can shootdodge just as easily.

Max Payne for the GBA keeps the plot of the original game intact, and maintains the three act structure, but it does omit some levels. It's a short game, not more than a few hours long. It's not particularly difficult the first time through. Upon completion, a few things are unlocked, such as harder difficulty levels, and the New York Minute timed mode, also from the original game.

It's amazing how much of the original source material the developers were able to put into this handheld version. Overall, if you liked the original Max Payne, you'll be impressed with this version of the game.