Max Payne
by Rockstar Games

List Price: $19.99
Category: Video Games
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Product Summary

• Max Payne is a fugitive undercover cop, hunted by both the cops & the mob. There is no hope for Max to win in this cat-and-mouse game -- all he can do is take as many of them as he can. How he does it is up to you.
• Unique 3rd-person perspective takes into the darkest parts of New York
• Shoot it out with thugs and crooked cops in the worst blizzard in a century
• Play in Bullet Time -- slow-motion timing that lets you dodge shots
• Dark and gritty just went to a whole new level!

• PC Gamer (1-year)

Video Game Reviews of Max Payne

Customer Review: It works good...for the most part.
Summary: 4 Stars

Description of Max Payne

Aside from its inspired use of photorealistic graphics and unique graphic novel (comic book) panels to further the plot, the game also features something called Bullet Time: a slow-motion toggle, usable for a limited time, that re-creates the awe-inspiring diving maneuvers made popular by director John Woo and, of course, The Matrix. At the touch of a button, Max can go into slow motion and leap forwards or back, and side to side, while pumping generous amounts of lead into his enemy's bodies. This toggle isn't just eye candy, it's a strategic device that evens the sometimes staggering odds the game throws at you. The action is made even more visceral by the interactive environments (glass shatters, plaster puffs into dust, and wood splinters) and generous amounts of blood.

The game carries a Mature label, and this should be taken very seriously. The game doesn't pull a single punch, whether in flashbacks showing Max's reaction to his gunned-down spouse, or even, somewhat tastelessly, flashbacks that include his slain infant daughter. And he mows down a virtual army of hackneyed Joe Pesci-style Italian mobsters or ski-mask-wearing terrorists with extreme prejudice. The plot is predictable, the script is humorously bad (intentionally so?), but the action will definitely make a shooter fan drool. Max Payne is the ?bershooter, and as such, it should be kept out of the hands of kids. But mature action fans will love it. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Fantastic graphics and unparalleled action
• The slow-motion Bullet Time is The Matrix or Hard Boiled come to life

• It's a little on the short side
• The script is, at times, hilariously bad

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