Max Payne series

I haven't updated in a pretty long while, I know, but I have been playing some great games. There are two games in particular that I would like to share with you: Max Payne and Max Payne 2. I have a story about both of these wonderful games and I would like to share it with you. It goes a little something like this . . .

A few years ago - several years ago, in fact - I was given a copy of the original Max Payne as a gift. I remember thinking the visuals looked so incredible on the back of the box and thinking, "There is simply no way this game has a slow-motion mode in which you can dodge bullets and see them coming at you!" Yes, this was back when the concept of Bullet Time was still fresh and not often seen in many, if any games. I also remember not being able to install it on my old computer and having to wait a year or so before I could even see the game in action.

I finally got around to playing Max Payne, but it was when I rented it on XBOX. It was fun while it lasted, but when I returned the game, I never really rented it again or played through it. As time passed and I spent more time upgrading my PC, I installed it a couple times every now and then but never managed to make it past the first level or two before throwing it out the window. It isn't that the game sucked; I just didn't really feel connected to it at the time.

With Max Payne 2, the story is quite similar. I purchased it not too long after it was released and, like the first game, didn't spend a whole lot of time with it before uninstalling it. I remember playing through the first couple levels then getting caught up with other games and simply letting go of it. Just like with Max Payne, I never saw the glory of the second game. It was yet another game I purchased and wasted money on without even giving it a true chance.

Until now!

Just recently, I'd been extremely bored with what the PC gaming scene had to offer. As we've been fed the same ol' same ol' time and time again, I figured I would take a trip into the past and play through Max Payne and its sequel, Max Payne 2.

I would like to say that both games were absolutely amazing all the way through. I never knew they were so fun to play and held up so well today, but it's true: If you've not played these games yet, you can do so even at this time and still have fun. They remind me a lot of the Grand Theft Auto series, especially GTA 3, in terms of how well they hold up today. The gameplay mechanics and storyline are just so well designed, they can't be shunned and still work together marvelously years later.

The original Max Payne was where I began, obviously, and I couldn't stop playing until I'd finished it. The level design is pretty straight-forward, but each set of enemies poses a challenge. Because your Bullet Time (slow-mo) ability goes down every time you use it and replenishes only when killing enemies, this major aid must be used conservatively and effectively if you want to make it through some of the tougher segments without being killed. Being able to slow down time and approach foes, especially groups of them, more effectively made combat much more satisfying and added more depth to the experience. Rather than running-and-gunning, you had to do so with a strategy in mind before-hand as to avoid taking too much damage in the process. The "painkillers" system works out well, too. To refill your health, you can have up to eight painkillers in your inventory. You use them by pressing the TAB key and your health goes down a bit. I had no complaints about this and thought it worked great and also made searching through rooms more interesting in hopes of finding more of the painkillers or even more ammunition for that matter.

The difficulty level was also nearly perfect. I found that using quick-save (F5) and quick-load (F9) were almost essential to get past rough spots without losing too much health, and that some enemies were tougher than necessary, but overall it played well and was never too easy or too hard. If I remember correctly, the difficulty in the game is actually set up so that it gradually adjusts to your playing style. In other words, if you're mowing down enemies left and right, the game will slowly get tougher. If you're sucking, it may let up a bit to allow you to regain your composure and to, well, stop sucking! I did notice that as I got further into the game, individual bullets from enemy weapons started taking out more and more of my health so that I had to play more and more cautiously as the game went on. I thought this was awesome and constantly kept me aware and on my toes.

Last but certainly - and I mean certainly - not least, is the storyline. I saved this one for last because it's perhaps the most important component of the game next to Bullet Time. The story is told so well that even non-video gamers will become immersed in it. It is told as if you are watching a comic strip. Comic strip-like panels show up and contain dialog, which is spoken by voice actors that fit great with their parts. The illustrations look almost like watercolor paintings and are beautifully done. There's just something special about seeing a story develop in this manner rather than the typical cutscene-laden approach most games seem to take these days, and the story will sometimes drive you on more than the gameplay itself will. The characters are developed very well and you'll always be wondering, "What will happen next?" Until the very end, I was captivated.

And then comes Max Payne 2, which is another fantastic game that improves upon the original in almost every way imaginable! After playing through the original Max Payne and having such a blast, I immediately ripped through my closet and threw the Max Payne 2 disc into the drive just to see how the story of Max Payne would continue and to see how the plot would unfold and undoubtedly thicken. Sure enough, I wasn't disappointed!

Max Payne 2 isn't a whole lot different from the original, so almost all of the things I said above hold true for the sequel. (You know what that means. If you played the original, you absolutely owe it to yourself to get this game.) But there are some differences that are worth noting and that make this one a little more unique.

The main difference is that the gameplay has been more streamlined with the new way in which Bullet Time functions. Rather than slowing down the game to a snail's pace to allow you to see practically everything that happens, in Max Payne 2, Bullet Time puts the world in a dark shade of yellow and slows down things just enough so that you have a slight advantage over your enemies. In other words, it's not near as slow as the original. This was sort of a downside for me, but it still works great and there's even a kicker: Bullet Time energy refills automatically, even when not killing enemies. Unless I'm mistaken, killing enemies refills it even faster, but in Max Payne 2, you can sort of sit back and allow it to refill before you move on to the next segment. It doesn't refill quickly, but it's an advantage over being forced to kill enemies just to get more of it back, especially in low-health situations as found in Max Payne. Also worth noting is that using the SHIFT key still makes you dive but slows down time even more and doesn't use Bullet Time energy. Who made this decision? I'm not so sure, but it still works. I guess the downside is that, after diving in a direction, you're left vulnerable after you hit the floor and must take time to get up, so perhaps that's where the trade-off comes? It still felt weird that I was slowing down time at will and not using any of my energy in the process with this move, but it is what it is, and I still have no complaints even if it doesn't make too much sense!

The level design in Max Payne 2 was every bit as good as the first. In fact, it was often better. Some stages had more than one approach and even more variety than in the original. The "funhouse" level was very creepy and memorable, for example, and the segments in which I controlled Mona were also interesting and well-done. These kept the game fresh and added a change-up to the typical office-building and mansion settings found all throughout the original game and also in the sequel. I also thought enemy placement was well done and the dialog always made me aware of where enemies were before I reached them, allowing for more strategy and getting rid of cheap shots or being hit from enemies I'd never even seen or heard beforehand. As you approach a group of enemies, for example, you'll generally hear them talking and babbling on about different things. Not only does this make you aware of where they are, but it also adds to the atmosphere and helps advance the story line. You can hear them sometimes saying things along the lines of, "Get ready, guys. Max Payne is coming!", which was just bad-ass to the max.

The sound design in Max Payne 2 and its prequel, for that matter, was just as well done as anything else. As mentioned above, the voice-overs and dialog added a lot to the experience, and ambient sounds such as dogs barking, police sirens in the background, television shows, phone calls, and even rain pelting the roof above you were always making me feel immersed in the game world. At some points, I actually thought it was raining outside my house because it sounded so real in-game. The musical score, as in the first game, was also awesome and made it that much more cinematic. Overall, they did an excellent job with the sound design on all fronts!

I really don't have much more to say. Max Payne was released in 2002 and Max Payne 2 was released in 2003, but both of these games still hold up well today and are certainly worth playing if you haven't played them before. Even if you haven't played them in a long while, it would probably be a good idea just to do so because the experience is so well done and is rarely done so well in today's PC gaming scene.


"Death is inevitable. Our fear of it makes us play safe, blocks out emotion.
It's a losing game. Without passion you are already dead."

- Max Payne, Max Payne 2