Max Payne 3: No Payne, No Gain

[Andy Chalk]

Max Payne 3: No Payne, No Gain

When is a sequel not a sequel?

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[Aqualung]

I couldn't agree more, mate. This simply, from everything we've seen so far, is not Max Payne. And while I'm happy that Remedy has decided to set their focus on Alan Wake, which I strongly anticipate, I wish that they had either kept the license for future use with what they've learned from Alan Wake, and made MP3 later on.

This feels like Michael Bay stepping in and re-directing the Lord of the Rings. Wrong much?

 

[Tdc2182]

A few things, either they are trying to cash in on Max Payne being a memorable name that everbody knows, or they are trying to expand as much as they can on the series. Rockstar is pretty good with messed up stories so who better than Max Payne. I have the feeling they will do pretty good and they have so much room for an entirely new story and characters, seeing how most of the fanbase was back in the day so it will appeal to an entirely new generation of fanbase.

 

[Jon Etheridge]

Alright! Finally a game where I can play as Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

This does seem like a strange thing to do with the franchise. However if they somehow tie in the old Max Payne story into the narrative it could be interesting. Feels weird but I guess we'll have to wait and see with this one.

 

[Razorback0z]

Picture a sponge with half an atom of water left in it. Picture 15 guys in suits squeezing that sponge till the veins bulge in their temples.

Welcome to gaming sequel mentality.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

You have to hit rock bottom before you can climb your way out.

I bet the 3rd in the series is about the redemption of Payne, through the course of the game you have to get max out of the dumps and work him back in to a usable member of society. Losing the weight could be handled like the exercising mini games of GTA:SA. It's also set in Brazil because they needed a reason to have gratuitous shots of tanned girls in thong bikinis.

 

[Nitpicker of the Wastes]

Picture a sponge with half an atom of water left in it. Picture 15 guys in suits squeezing that sponge till the veins bulge in their temples.

You can't have half an atom, that would cause an atomic explosion, silly!

While this doesn't sound like a Max Payne game should... it's still Rockstar; they're good at games! In theory, this should still be a decent game...

Right?

 

[Slycne]

While this doesn't sound like a Max Payne game should... it's still Rockstar; they're good at games! In theory, this should still be a decent game...

Right?

I don't think he is making the point that the game is going to be bad per say, but that it's only a Max Payne game to try and cash in a little on the name.

 

[varulfic]

Ugh, why would anyone want to continue this series? The gameplay was solid fun but the real heart of it was the story. And pretty much every single thread of plot was tied up in the second game. If they had to, couldn't they have made a spritual sequel instead?

I'm gonna consider this one non-canon off the bat.

 

[DrTrevelyan]

You hit the nail on the head.

Maybe Rockstar wants to purge all the Max Payne fans so they will never be interested in the game again, something I thought the movie took care of quite well.

And not bringing James McCaffrey back as the voice of Max Payne must surely be seen as blasphemous and unforgivable.

 

[Doug]

But it seems to me that if we've reached the point at which sequels are being made for no better reason than because it's easier than trying to convince people to throw their money at a new and unknown IP, then we have a rather serious creativity crisis on our hands.

True, but the blame doesn't lie wholy with the publishers who prefer sequels and only new IPs if a trilogy is preplanned; the fact is customers have been shown to be somewhat hard to motivate to buy new IPs; we all know the story of Pyschonauts, after all. Partly, its a cost issue on the developers half, and partly is an issue of fear/suspecion/bloody mindedness on the customers half. Hence, yeah, sequels are easier (i.e. cheaper) and as such they are less risky to publishers. As such, publishers are more likely to go for developers who go for sequels.

Fortunately, things do seem to be slowly turning around. Brutal Legend, and Dragon Age are the latest new IPs to come about, and hopefully they'll be as successful as they look like they are going to be.

Hmmm...

I've just had a thought; With movies, good actors often mean a movie can pull a large crowd because if nothing else, that actor should be good. With games, 'actors' only do the voices, and as such there is little in the way to visually link the same actor between 2 IPs; hence sequels mean an actor can be reused to the best effect. I only really noticed this when I thought about Jack Black who, right or wrong, is a well know celebrately when it comes to movies about music, and had that band for awhile. And when we look at Brutal Legend, we see the main character is practically Jack Black in a game.

 

[dwoo21]

When its being reamped after its good turnout.

 

[Noone From Nowhere]

Sequels are easier? That isn't much of a revelation. That's why we have Street Fighter 4 (with an update coming later on), Tekken 6 and Virtua Fighter 5 yet BlazBlue is having a tough time getting recognition.

It's why we get sequels and remakes to games only us youth of the 1980s will even remember and care about playing such as Bionic Commando and Rygar (even though God of War sort of stole Rygar's thunder as well as his chief method of attack).

Rockstar should probably stay out of the direct sequel biz and go back to the non-sequential form sequels they know fairly well. Then again, this could give them some much needed practice in that area. That won't comfort diehard Max Payne fans much, we can be pretty certain of that.

 

[MrBrightside919]

The first time I saw Max's new look I instantly stopped caring about the series...

I'll stick with the first two games if you don't mind...

 

[hansari]

When is a sequel not a sequel?

I don't think he is making the point that the game is going to be bad per say, but that it's only a Max Payne game to try and cash in a little on the name.

Ain't that the sad truth...

Personally...I wish Max Payne would have gone down quietly with the other greats...instead, he is gonna be milked for all he is worth.

(and it will work...I am too big of a fan of our gloomy cop/narrator to let this go unplayed...)

 

[Joshimodo]

The article pretty much summed up how I felt, and I wasn't even a big Max Payne fan back then.

Alright! Finally a game where I can play as Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

Congratulations sir, you made me laugh and choke on my drink.

 

[kibayasu]

You know, I have nothing against the new look of Max Payne. I have nothing against the game moving to a new location. I have nothing against the thought of someone who went through what Max Payne went through ending up in a similar situation, though generally less blood soaked.

The problem I have is that at the end of Max Payne 2, both the "normal" and the "good" ending, its quite heavily implied that Max is going to be okay. He's settled his scores, killed his demons, and blown away his tormentors both physical and emotional.

"I had a dream of my wife. She was dead, but it was okay."

That's not the thought of a man who is going to become an alcoholic, get addicted to pain killers, and go bald and muscle bound.

 

[Bigeyez]

So normally when sequels pop up we here cries of "milking", "beating a dead horse", and "same ole crap, different year", but when someone truly tries to make a sequel different and evolve a stagnant, aging franchise it's all of a sudden "too different" and "not Max Payne enough"...give me a break.

You know what makes a Max Payne game? The story and narration. Seeing as how we know next to nothing about either one of those right now it's far too early to go around crying about how the game is soooo different.