April 2021 – Dublin

Max Payne has been named as one of the best games ever made. What is more, it was the first game that used bullet time (slow motion) and until today it is a highly regarded game, especially in the FPS genre. Reason enough to play Max Payne.

Unfortunately, as you might have guessed the game has aged pretty badly when it comes to graphics. As a result, I will leave entirely out this component. However, in terms of gameplay and story I am of the opinion that a lot of writers and gamedesigners can still learn a lot from Max Payne.

In fact, Remedy themselves isn’t capable of making a game that is quite as good as Max Payne.

”DESPITE MAX PAYNE VISUALLY AGED BADLY IT STILL A GAME TO BE ADMIRED OF”

Story

The story is plain simple as it is a revenge tale, however the way its fleshed out leaves you astonished. Sometimes you feel so superior when gunning down hundreds of enemies, but then the story sucks you into the nightmare: ‘‘no matter how many enemies you gun down, you won’t get back what you hold most dear: your wife and kid.” Everytime, you hear your kid and wife screaming, but you are always too late to safe them. Finding the way out of this nighmare makes you fragile and mortal again.

In the second game there is a little twist as it as more focussed on Max Payne impermissible relationship with Mona Sax. However, in my opinion the underlying theme stays the same; Max Payne is just a man not capable of stopping the inevitable. Trying to do so drives Max Payne insane. Also, the line between good and evil are becoming more blurry as the story progresses. But, this time not only the nightmare is driving Max Payne insane. It is also, the events. Max Payne is just a man not capable to save those who are in need of a hero…

In the mid story I started to wonder how far can you go to protect those who you love? This question was quite a struggle to answer as every character was well fleshed out. That is to say, every character had a justification for his/her actions, making the line between between evil and good quite blurry.

”SUCKING YOU INTO NIGHTMARE IS A CLEVER WAY TO MAKE MAX PAYNE MORTAL AND FRAGILE”

Gameplay

Despite being, a seasoned gamer and playing a lot of new gametitles, I must say that this game has left me astonished and hungry for more games that play like Max Payne. The only games that cross my mind that use bullet time are Tomb Raider, Red Dead Redemption, GTA and Mad Max. However, according to me Max Payne is the only game were bullet time can be connected and strengtening the story. The only moment that Max Payne can find peace is when he is delivering the final bullet to the enemy.

What is the secret of the immortality of Max Payne story and gameplay?

Max Payne immortality can be derived from the bullet time and how well written Max Payne is. By slowing time you are given the fake impression that you are more than just a man. As soon as you feel immortal the nightmare settles in making you mortal and fragile again. Fighting the nightmare and knowing the motivations of the other characters makes the line between good and evil so blurry and confusing!

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