Reviews from the Backroom: Max Payne

Skorpyo

Average Person Extraordinaire!
May 2, 2010
2,284
0
0
Reviews From The Backroom: Max Payne

Recently, I've been going on a nostalgia rampage when it comes to ordering my games. I've decided that, not only can I enjoy my childhood by reliving it through my favorite hobby, but that I could also introduce some users of the Escapist to some long-lost gems of the past. These are reviews of games that shaped, not only my attitude of the pastime, but also the industry in one way or another (Well, sometimes). These, are reviews from the backroom.


It is an almost universal rule that games don't translate well into movies. There's Super Mario Bros., DOOM, Tomb Raider, even this game. The overall feel just doesn't translate through the adaptation process, and the story and characters are usually given a whole different feel. But I'm getting off track.

So, what if a game has the FEEL of a movie?


[Img_Inline Width="380" Caption="Somtimes, hilarity ensues." Align="right"]http://www.beastwithin.org/temp/truth-of-max-payne.jpg[/Img_Inline]

The 2001 release Max Payne is the most notable attempt at doing just that. Set in "current Day" New York City, Max Payne is the story of a detective who's wife and child are murdered by junkies, causing him to go undercover in the DEA to try and hunt down the source of the designer drug that caused the death of his family. The game takes mulitple twists throughout, but never loses the feeling of being fast-paced and exciting, and is always easy to follow. The game was designed with an overall Noir feel to it, and it carries throughout the game-play and story quite well.

Everything in the game is presented with a dark, dirty, grainy feel to it. Considering that it mostly takes place in <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell%27s_Kitchen,_Manhattan>Hell's Kitchen; the environments, which go from abandoned subway stations to slums, all generally seem to flow together. All of the cut-scene's are presented in a graphic-novel approach, with full voice overs reading off the panel-by-panel dialog. Truly, presentation is the strongest point.

When it comes to game play, Max Payne also has one of the high-points in the industry. Not only are the enemies multiple and the locations varied, this game was the first notable attempt to do the now bemoaned "Bullet-time" mechanic. Many games have since tried to incorporate or re-invent it, but Max Payne is still one of the few that does B.T. well. The controls for it are not only easy to master and use fluidly, but are also customizable, and thankfully so. This game is very, very challenging and fast-paced, and requires that the player use bullet-time in almost every encounter. This comes through the most towards the end of the game, where enemies are multiple, weapons are powerful, and the targets can soak up more bullets than Godzilla.

Besides that, the approach to weaponry was a relatively new idea. Instead of registering the gunfire as "Where the cursor is is where the bullet lands", the bullets in game are fully rendered objects. When a gun is fired in game, the bullet originates from the players weapon, and is displayed as flying through the air, with any objects between the player and their target effecting where it lands. Besides that, all the bullets fly at different speeds, and weapons are given individualistic shot groupings.

But, when it comes down to environment and game-play, sometimes there is a slight breaking point.

There are times when this games' age does show through. While the feel is presented well, the literal environment often falls through. Environments tend to show clear surface textures, but the size and shape of it don't always hold up. Objects that are placed in to make a location feel proper and complete often appear to be blocky or incomplete themselves, as if they were thrown in only to be seen at a distance or out of the corner of the eye. Besides that, the locations often include so FEW objects that when things such as item crates and boxes show up, they are too obvious; giving the player no challenge in finding them and giving the location a cluttered, unfinished feel.

[Img_Inline Width="325" Caption=Yeah, they put in a sewer level. Align="left"]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/pc/act/maxpayne/maxpayne_screen002.jpg[/Img_Inline]

Besides looks, the locations vary so often and in such a short amount of time that sometimes, one has a hard time believing in the presented game world. This is most evident in the final part of the first act, where the player goes from running across multiple roof-tops and through several buildings, only to end up in a Gothic nightclub in the next scene. That last transition in particular is made with an almost perceptible clunk.

The strongest points displayed in this game are not real locations at all, but consist of two dream sequences after Max gets knocked out with drugs. These consist of environments that twist perception and speed at an alarming rate, and end up being completely unpredictable joy-rides through the guilt-ridden psyche of the main character.

Unfortunately, the environments also feel as if they go a bit unused. While they vary to a large degree throughout the entire game, there is very little interaction with the environs or even other characters. Game-play ultimately boils down to shooting, shooting, and even more shooting. The puzzle sequences in-game are so simplistic and tacked-on that they feel almost laughable. Kill a room full of dudes to get a key for that door. Run from the fire. Find a way downstairs. Do an escort mission. Hide behind a statue. Use this crane to lift the box we've already tied to the end of it. And my personal favorite: Use three switches to move back-stage backdrops to get to that other door.

As for weapons and items, simplicity is also the name of the game here, but it's more of a positive than anything else. Weapons go into one of six groups: Melee, pistols, shotguns, automatics, incendiary/explosive, and the sniper rifle. These groups all differ greatly from one another and have variances within the weapon group. This aids in, not only being more capable of taking on a given situation, but also in assuring that the player is able to fight progressively more powerful enemies with progressively more powerful weapons, preventing the need for the addition of character modification. When it comes to items, you only really have one: the painkillers. Not only can the player pick up and carry up to 8 at a time, but they are easily identifiable and scattered around the world in a way that's believable.

Overall:

Max Payne is an older game, and unfortunately carries that feeling, but the game-play, story, and overall size of this game makes it a unique foray into just how a movie-like game should feel. Besides that, it is available for just about any platform you care to name. As for a recommendation, all I can say is that this kind of game may or may not appeal to just about anybody, so check out a demo before going and putting down money on a copy.

P.S.

If you enjoyed this review, please tell me! And if you have any suggestions for future games to get for my back-room, let me know!

Thanks go out to Marter, Cleril, and the Moderators for making posts and reviews that I was able to take image/video format information from.

Images used from:

www.wikia.com
www.beastwithin.org
www.gamespotcdn.net
<a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.259037-Reviews-From-The-Backroom-Dune-2000#9762526>Dune 2000 - <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.260724-Reviews-From-The-Backroom-EarthSiege-2>EarthSiege 2 - <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.262850-Reviews-from-the-Backroom-Deus-Ex>Deus Ex - <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.264365-Reviews-from-the-Backroom-Descent-3>Descent 3
 

Skorpyo

Average Person Extraordinaire!
May 2, 2010
2,284
0
0
Courtesy of myself, another bump.

Happens every single time...
 

Gildan Bladeborn

New member
Aug 11, 2009
3,044
0
0
Ah Max Payne, that game provided me many a joyous hour of bullet-fu. The sequel is pretty darn good as well (a bit shorter though). I'll admit I'm a bit surprised to see you rate the dream sequence segments so highly though, because as I recall it they had obnoxious platforming elements that involved following a thin trail of blood through an infinite blackness, and the thin trail of blood was actually a ledge that was barely wide enough for you to stand on it and oh no you just fell off BETTER REPEAT THIS SECTION AGAIN FOR THE 5TH TIME!. While a baby loudly cries at you, seemingly coming from everywhere.

Moving away from that niggling annoyance, I strongly urge anyone who picks this game up/has it sitting on a shelf somewhere to go find the Kung-fu mod - running up walls, spin-kicking dudes in the face, and stick fighting are extremely awesome, and I got a kick (ha!) out of playing through the game with those new mechanics in place.
 

s0m3th1ng

New member
Aug 29, 2010
935
0
0
I remember when this came out...people made it out to be the second coming of Christ.
Which it was.
So totally was.
My computer at the time choked on the incredible graphics(For the time) but damn is it a good game.
 

JohnnyDelRay

New member
Jul 29, 2010
1,322
0
0
Wicked game this was. I remember honing my bullet time skills to the point where I could turn it on and off between shotgun blasts with the pump action. Diving into a room shooting people in the head, and spinning back and hitting someone next to the door before hitting the ground was one of my favourites. Yeah I also played with the Kung-fu mod, that was insane! I liked how Max even got the white sneakers to go with it, and the fluttering sound he made with the no-handed cartwheels (forget what those are called).

Apart from the drug sequences, which are trippy the first time round, the game had a great noir feel to it, and the narrative was so private-eye crime fiction era it was hilarious, some of the metaphors had me laughing myself outta my chair.

Nice review! I always bring this up as one of the best shooters ever played, the best 3rd person game at the time, also with pretty realistic graphics as s0m3th1ng said above. The muzzle flashes blew me away, literally