Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by the Finnish company Remedy Entertainment, produced by 3D Realms and published by Gathering of Developers in July, 2001 for Windows. Ports later in the year for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 were published by Rockstar Games. A Macintosh port was published in July 2002 by MacSoft in North America^[1] and Feral Interactive in the rest of the World. There were plans for a Dreamcast version of Max Payne, but they were cancelled due to the discontinuation of the console.^[2]

A sequel called Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne was released in 2003.^[3] As of March 12 2008,^[4] the Max Payne franchise has sold over 7 million copies according to Take-Two Interactive.^[5]

Overview

The Max Payne series has a major cinematic influence: the Hong Kong action movie genre, particularly the work of director John Woo, which features a great deal of slow-motion violence and gunfights, almost resembling ballet. "John Woo" is in fact the password that the mobsters must recite to enter their laundromat hideaway.

The game's stylish cinematography and choreography is combined with heavy film noir, pulp noir, and pulp fiction influences in characters and dialogue. Rather than employing rendered or digitized cinematic movies for cutscenes, the story is told instead with "graphic novels" and narrated in the heavy-handed style of radio detective dramas such as Pat Novak for Hire. The games are dark and noir-style, following Max Payne, a troubled cop with internal and external conflicts in a dark, sinister New York City.

Gameplay

The prime emphasis of the series is on shooting. Almost all of the gameplay involves utilizing bullet-time to gun down foe after foe. Levels are generally straightforward, with almost no key-hunting. However, some levels do incorporate platforming elements and puzzle solving. Ammo is in virtually constant supply, as all enemies drop some ammo when killed.

The game's A.I. is heavily dependent on pre-scripted commands. Most of the apparently intelligent behavior exhibited by enemies, such as taking cover behind obstacles, retreating from the player, or throwing grenades, is pre-scripted. Thus, when replaying a level, enemies perform exactly the same behaviors each time. The only enemies who would dodge and roll are the Mercenaries (operatives in black ski-masks), Aesir Security Guards, and Killer Suits (men in sunglasses and business suits).

Higher difficulty levels are extremely challenging; the "Dead on Arrival" level limits the player to 7 saves per chapter, and the "New York Minute" level forces the player to complete each chapter before the allotted time ? replenished by killing enemies ? is exhausted. Upon completing the game on "Dead on Arrival", Max is transported to the "Final Battle", where the player then fights in perpetual bullet-time against 20 Killer Suits ? each armed with the Pancor Jackhammer automatic shotgun. Upon completion of this task, the player can view a secret room with various photographs of New York locations used by the developer, Remedy, as well as a picture of the development team.

On the highest difficulty setting, Max is (from a game perspective) extremely fragile and dies after suffering only 5 pistol bullets, 3 assault rifle bullets, or 1 accurate shotgun blast. Most enemies have more endurance than the player character, with later enemies being able to survive 2 or 3 times as much damage as Max. The player can heal Max by consuming "painkillers", which the player collects and carries, until he/she decides to use them.

Bullet-time

The gameplay of Max Payne revolves heavily around bullet-time. When triggered, bullet-time slows down the passage of time to such an extent that the movements of bullets can be seen by the naked eye ? it is a form of slow motion. The player, although his movement is also slowed, is still able to aim and react in real time, providing a unique advantage over enemies. This makes avoiding being shot easier and enables Max to perform special moves, such as shootdodges where Max leaps sideways through the air while continuing to fire his weapon.

Occasionally, when the last character of a group is killed, the viewpoint switches to a third-person view of his falling body with the camera circling around it.

Max Payne the character

Max Payne, modeled after creator Sam Lake.

Plot

The story begins with Max Payne returning home to find several drug junkies high on a new drug called Valkyr. He also finds that the junkies, who promptly attack him and are quickly dispatched, have killed his wife and newborn daughter. After his wife's funeral, he transfers to the DEA.

Three years later, he is an undercover operative investigating the Punchinello Mafia family , who is responsible for the trafficking of Valkyr. B.B. Hensley, a colleague in the DEA, gives Max a message asking him to meet Alex Balder, another DEA agent and a good friend of Max's, in the subway. When Max arrives at the subway, Alex is shot by an unknown assassin. As a result, the police consider Max the prime suspect in Alex?s death. Additionally, the Punchinello family finds out that he is a cop and wants him dead.

Max seeks Jack Lupino, who oversees Valkyr distribution for the Punchinello family. After killing him, he meets Mona Sax, who laces his drink with a sedative and leaves him to be found by the Mafia, who proceed to interrogate him.

Max escapes the Mafia and gains access to a shipment of guns belonging to the Russian mob after killing one of their traitors. Max uses these weapons to infiltrate the house of Don Punchinello, the head of the Mafia. Max discovers that the Don is only a puppet in the Valkyr market when the Don is killed by agents of Nicole Horne, CEO of Aesir Corp., in front of Max. Horne herself then injects Max with an overdose of Valkyr and leaves him for dead.

When he awakens, he pursues his only lead, the phrase ?Cold Steel?, heard just before he passed out. It leads him to a foundry with an old military bunker under it. He discovers that Valkyr was the result of a military project to improve its soldiers? stamina; the project was halted shortly after it began. He also discovers that his wife accidentally found out about the project while working at the District Attorney?s office, so Nicole Horne let Valkyr junkies loose in Max's house.

After leaving the bunker, Max gets a call from B.B., who asks Max to meet with him at a garage lot. There, Max realizes that B.B. was the one that shot Alex, framing Max for his murder. A brief gun fight ensues in which B.B. is killed. Max then gets a phone call from a man named Alfred Woden, asking him to come to the Asgard building. Alfred is part of a secret society called the "Inner Circle". Woden informs Max about who Nicole Horne is and says the Inner Circle cannot pursue Horne because "their hands are tied." They ask Max to kill Nicole Horne in exchange for ensuring that any criminal charges against him are dropped. After the meeting, the room is stormed by Horne's agents. They kill every person in the room except for Max, who manages to escape, and Woden, who pretends to be shot.

Max enters the Aesir Corp. main office, where Horne is located. As he makes his way past security guards and mercenaries, he runs into Mona Sax again. She is shot by mercenaries after refusing to shoot Max. Max confronts Nicole and states that this whole thing started after Max's wife found out about the Valkyr project. Horne runs to the roof of the building, boarding a helicopter. Racing up to the roof, Max shoots the guy wires of the building's antenna; the Antenna snaps off the roof and comes crashing down on the helicopter.

The NYPD arrive at the scene, arresting Max. As Max is being led out of the building by the SWAT team, he sees Alfred Woden. Knowing that Woden will ensure his safe passage through the judicial system, Max smiles genuinely.

Allusions

Max Payne takes place at night during a seemingly endless snowstorm, and contains many references to Ragnarok, the Norse end of the world, during which the world is swallowed by snow and darkness. One of the levels takes place in a night club called Ragna Rock. While inside of Ragna Rock, Max comes across a book entitled The Age of Murder and Storm, which mentions "Norse mythos and Ragnarok". Max himself wears a Sun cross pendant, the symbol of the chief Norse god Odin, known for his prowess in battle.

Many of the characters and objects in the game are named after Norse gods; the drug that forms the basis of the plot is called Valkyr, after the goddesses who bring slain heroes to Valhalla, a name given to another location in the game. Max Payne's partner is named Alex Balder (Baldr), while the Senator Alfred Woden is named after W?den, the Anglo-Saxon version of Odin. The chief corporate villain in the game is Aesir Corporation (after the Æsir), while the headquarters of the Inner Circle is the Asgard Building. The secret network used by the creators of Valkyr is called Yggdrasil, after the great ash tree believed to support the world.

Also, there is a reference to the famous painting, "Mona Lisa", found in the names of Mona Sax and her twin sister, Lisa.

Reception

Max Payne was well received by critics with the PC and Xbox versions both scoring 89% on Metacritic.^[6][7] A BBC review said the game "is an atmospheric third-person shooter, clearly inspired by the cinematography of John Woo films and The Matrix, with captivating graphics and edgy, action sequences," and praised the graphics, game play and detail in the game.^[8]

The PS2 version suffered from reduced detail and occasional slowdowns. While reviews were not as good as the PC and Xbox versions, its reviews were still positive.

Sequels and spin-off

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

At the ending of Max Payne, he was being led away in the back of a police car, about to face charges for his two night killing spree in which he killed upwards of 600 people, even though they all had criminal records. However, Max was eventually cleared of all charges, thanks to his relationship with a very influential member of society, Senator Alfred Woden. A few years have passed, and Max has returned to work for the NYPD as a homicide detective. However, during a routine murder investigation he finds himself face-to-face with the fugitive Mona Sax, a woman he thought was dead. Max and Mona team up to solve the answers to Max's past that left his wife and child dead. Between them and the answers they seek rests an army of scum and murderous thugs in New York City's underground.

Max Payne 3

The PC version's ending to Max Payne 2 teases with a message at the end of the credits proclaiming, "Max Payne's journey through the night will continue", but the story itself seems to be over; Max has found peace with his life of guilt; out of both games, Max is one of only two characters left alive, the other being Jim Bravura, who was left in critical condition. Mona survives in an alternate hidden ending on the Dead on Arrival difficulty level, but it is not canon. The third game in the series was announced by Jeffrey L. Lapin, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive in 2004.^[9] There have been no further announcements regarding the matter ? not even a developer for the third game has been named. Remedy Entertainment's name was mentioned in the announcement. At the same time, a post on Shacknews, apparently from someone claiming to be Mikael Kasurinen, a level designer for Max Payne 2, read "FYI: We are not making Max Payne 3."^[10] GameSpot notes the status of the game is TBA.^[11]

Take-Two Interactive suggested that there will be a Max Payne 3 at some point although it didn't announce the game during its conference call.^[12][13] The team who developed The Warriors for Rockstar Games has been tapped for Max Payne 3.^[14] Rumors said that Max Payne is now under developement by Rockstar Games.

Max Payne (Game Boy Advance)

The Game Boy Advance version of the game was developed by Mobius Entertainment Ltd, now known as Rockstar Leeds. Since it was developed on a far less powerful platform, the GBA version differs greatly from the PC versions and its Xbox and PlayStation 2 ports: instead of a 3D shooter, the game is based on sprite graphics and is shown from an isometric perspective. The gameplay features have remained mostly the same, however, and is actually very similar to the original, the perspective change aside. The story also remained the same as in PC and console versions, though some levels from the original are omitted. The game even includes quite a large part of the original's graphic novel sections, complete with voice-overs.

Film adaptation

Early in 2003, it was confirmed through The Hollywood Reporter that 20th Century Fox had bought the rights to bring the game to film.^[15] The Max Payne movie is being directed by John Moore. Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis^[16] have been confirmed by Fox to play the roles of Max Payne and Mona Sax. Production began in 2008.^[17] The movie will be produced by Collision Entertainment and Firm Films in Toronto,^[18] and began filming in the Toronto Transit Commission's unused tunnel. Beau Bridges and Chris O'Donnell are also confirmed to have roles as B.B. Hensley and Jason Colvin, respectively. Rapper Ludacris, according to Yahoo! Movies, will be playing the role of Jim Bravura, this has been confirmed with his appearance within the Max Payne Teaser Trailer^[19] According to Fox Movies website, the film will be released on October 17, 2008. The movie has been reportedly stated to go for a PG-13 rating, contrary to the game's "M" rating.^[20] On July 10, 2008, an official teaser trailer was released, featuring the Marilyn Manson song "If I Was Your Vampire".^[21] It has officially been rated R on September 5, 2008 for Strong Violence, some drug content and for brief language. ^[22]

References

External links

• ''Max Payne''
• ''Max Payne 2''
• Max Payne at DasGamer.com

ca:Max Payne cs:Max Payne de:Max Payne et:Max Payne el:Max Payne es:Max Payne fa:??? ??? fr:Max Payne ko:?? ?? it:Max Payne he:??? ???? (???? ????) lt:Max Payne hu:Max Payne (videojáték) nl:Max Payne ja:??????? pl:Max Payne pt:Max Payne ro:Max Payne ru:Max Payne fi:Max Payne sv:Max Payne tr:Max Payne zh:???? (??)