New York City is a cold place, especially for the likes of Max Payne. He's forced to go rogue after his wife, daughter, and partner in the DEA are all killed. He has to stare down death just to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
1. Gameplay
I was never really a fan of film noir. Having grown up in a time where “noir” is more commonly associated with wine than with film or television, it never really had much appeal. I thought of film noir as old, black and white, melodramatic tales about a private detective sitting at his desk when one night a beautiful dame brings him the case of a lifetime. He then kisses the dame, which solves the case. The end. To me, Dick Tracy and Humphrey Bogart were the same man. Then Max Payne slow-motion dove out of my computer screen. I had no idea what I was missing. Those dark, angsty teenage years I spent wondering when a game developer would have the courage to have the mob bury Mario six feet under were finally answered. Max Payne is a dark, depressing tale about a detective whose life falls apart. The gameplay in Max Payne is fun, but nothing special. It’s the first game to properly include slow-motion mechanics, which is excellent. The transitions from real-time to bullet time are amazing and definitely help in the game’s progression. But that isn’t what makes this game amazing. Max Payne is a work of literature unparalleled by few other games. Max’s constant monologues, depicted in graphic novel form, are written in a way that includes so many historical and literary references, metaphors, and similes that even your cranky, aged English teacher would give it an A. If there were a book that came close to how well written Max Payne is despite the dark and depressing nature of the content, I would go out and buy a first edition. That’s the best praise I can possibly give.
Max Payne took me a little under 8 hours to complete, but this was hardly my first playthrough. I have played the campaign numerous times and enjoyed it thoroughly each time. Max Payne doesn’t have a multiplayer mode, but it does have some extra difficulty levels for gamers that want a challenge. Still, even with a great story, the replay value is fairly low.
There was one aspect of this game that was a constant frustration throughout the entire game. The enemies were always deadly accurate and could deal massive amounts of damage very quickly. I found that the only way to effectively make it through a level alive was to quick save before moving into a new room, clearing the room of enemies, then immediately quick save before repeating the process. If I did not adhere strictly to this process I would quickly find myself at 90% damage, praying not to get hit by any stray bullets or explosions. Playing this game at anywhere near maximum damage is an easy way to get frustrated at how accurate the enemies are and how quickly you die. There are at least two sections where Max will have to follow a very narrow maze-like line in order to get from one point to another. It is extremely easy to fall off this line, especially at points where Max has to jump from two disconnected parts. I died a number of times trying to follow that line. 2. Parental Notices
The violence in max Payne is surprisingly mild for a shooter of this nature. The player will use a number of different firearms to shoot hundreds of enemies. Shots will result in a small spurt of blood, but it'd only really obvious when the player enters bullet time. The amount of blood will only increase when the player uses a weapon that shoots rapidly or that shoots many fragments. The most obvious of these is the Jack hammer shotgun, which shoots rapid fire birdshot shells. Explosions send enemies flying into the air. There is no gore of any kind. Occasionally the player will find random signs of violence. At worst these are blood streaks leading to dead bodies.
Sexuality in Max Payne almost exclusively floats around prostitution, and even then it’s only included to add to the overall depravity, lawlessness, and dirtiness of the “Noir York” setting. There are some instances when the sexuality goes beyond this though. The most obvious is when Max walks in on a serial killer receiving oral sex from a woman. The game never says that she’s a prostitute, so I can only assume it’s some sort of girlfriend or admirer. It’s a bit of an awkward scene. You end up having to shoot the guy while his pants are still around his ankles. Softcore pornographic pictures can be found at various times in the mobster’s “hotel” (aka brothel). At one point the player finds the diary of a woman who had videotaped her having sex with some of her higher-profile clientele. The tapes were sold to the main antagonist for future blackmail.
At the very beginning of the game, the graphic novel depicts Max smoking his last cigarette. He decides to quit the habit because of his new baby. After that, other characters are seen smoking, but Max never joins them. Health in the game comes in the form of bottles of “painkillers”. These nondescript bottles can be found all over the place. There is no animation of the player taking the pills, but sometimes the player will have to use a few bottles in order to regain enough health to continue on. One of the central elements of the game is the drug known as “Valkyr”. The drug is always taken via syringes and unstable Valkyr-addicted druggies can be found throughout the game. Late in the game, the main antagonist ends up poisoning Max with a near-fatal overdose of Valkyr. The substance ends up giving Max hellish nightmares. This drug isn’t portrayed in a positive light. When Max wakes up from the overdose, he is lying in a pool of his own sweat and vomit. A bit earlier in the game, a woman named Mona slips Max some sort of rohypnol-esque drug in a glass of whiskey in order to knock Max out. It’s very effective.
Very early in the game, Max’s friend Alex asks if Max is still on for poker night. Max seems to acknowledge. In some levels, the player can also find poker tables and slot machines. These are pretty rare and no one is ever seen gambling at them. 3. Other Factors
There are no modding tools available for this game.
While no particular religion is featured in this game, elements of many religions do make an appearance. This is especially true when the player enters the club “Ragnarok”, where one of the antagonists is performing dark rituals to many demonic figures from different religions. Max will also make many references to religious elements. Most of these are simple similes that, again, are not attributable to any religion in particular.
As is common with many hard-boiled detective stories, anti-law is a fairly common factor. The player will have to fight many mobsters, murderers, and other forms of urban scum. The specific crimes of each individual are usually painted in flowery language. The mafia is particularly prominent throughout the game. The player will end up having to kill numerous high-profile mafiosos in order to find out who is really pulling the strings. Towards the beginning of the game, the player is framed for killing a member of the D.E.A. The player will end up having to go rogue and break almost every rule in the police code of conduct in order to solve the case.
There is no multiplayer game mode for this game.
The only real example of extreme sports comes in the fact that the players will end up diving while shooting hundreds of times over the course of the game. Time slows down during a bullet dive, which allows the player to better aim and shoot any nearby enemies. It’s a pretty impossible feat and the player is never injured by hitting the ground.
One of the less-sane antagonists was trying to make a faustian deal with any sort of devil or demonic entity that may have existed. He performed a ritual where he signed a contract in his own blood with the various evils. In exchange for his soul, he would get power and fortune in life. It didn’t end well for him. Other than this, magic was not a factor in this game.
Torture The mobsters in Max Payne have a nasty habit of torturing the enemies that they capture. Max gets a front-row seat at one such event. When he is captured, a mobster ends up beating him up with a baseball bat and nearly killing him. Prostitution
Prostitution is prominent in the hotel level. The player will never meet a prostitute and is never able to hire their services, but they are mentioned a few times.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Like what we do? Want to see more? Donate to the site using the button below!
Not sure what a term means? Read the definitions!
Not sure what a review section is about? Find out more information!
|