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Taiche
France1963 Posts
Introduction
Continuing the series of articles about the games I loved, here is one about Max Payne. I will especially discuss the second game because it is the one that anazed me the most.
The first Max Payne was released in 2001 while the second was in stores in late 2003. Both games were developed by Remedy, which is a Finnish game company and is now working on Alan Wake (for those who know about it). They are third-person shooters involving the Matrix's "bullet-time" technology, meaning you can slow the game down and chain some combos to get easy shots at enemies.
A Noir Story : Max Payne
First of all, if you want to play a game that is fun or colourful, stop reading further. Max Payne is all about desperation, darkness and gloom. You might smile here and there because of some references the developers added here and there (especially in the second opus) but mainly you won't be jolling around.
Max Payne is a New York detective who discovers his family dead when coming home one night : both his wife and baby were brutally assaulted in their house by junkies. The game starts right when Max comes home and sees the house turned upside-down. After a short sequence, you learn that he asked to be transfered to the DEA and that three years later, he is investigating through all the narco traffic involved around his family's murder.
As the plot develops, you'll see that nothing is simple in Max's world, especially not his dreams.
Introduction : some parts of the story are told using a comic book style
I liked this game a lot as it was mildly difficult and very interesting. The scenes where the story is told in a comic book style are great and contribute greatly to the atmosphere. But the weirdest moments are Max's nightmares : endless mazes, creepy voices, distorted and blurry vision... it really is disturbing.
In this one, you must find your way out of a maze made of blood trails...
All in all, Max Payne is a good shooting game. Not the best one out there, but very decent. Good story, good background, great atmosphere, nice gameplay.
Max Payne II : The Fall of Max Payne
This sequel takes place two years after the original episode. I didn't play it right away ; critics were good but I didn't enjoy the first episode that much so it just went over my head. I tried it a couple years after and I wasn't disappointed.
The graphics engine remained the same but with better textures, so it was kinda easy to run the game smoothly with all options on. The environment remained the same : dark places, sad story, gangsters, etc... Many characters came back from Max Payne 1 and some bits of the story reference it, so it is important to play the first game before this one.
The beginning is banal : Max is called to investigate about a call from people who have heard gunshots in some warehouse. Turns out the owner is being tortured by gangsters in disguise and while chasing them, he runs into Mona Sax. Max's and Mona's paths will often cross during this journey into the night and they'll meet different kinds of gangsters.
Most aspects of the first game were reused : bullet-time, comic book sequences, nightmares.
A usual battle in Max Payne 2
Now that game really blew me off. Not only the storyline was great, but the feeling was even better than in the first episode. More jokes or allusions - especially through the TV episodes you can find here and there - added a bitter taste to the general atmosphere. Moreover, the fact that you can at some points play with Mona instead of Max and the whole levels where some sort of co-op play happens with both characters is huge. It added an extra dimension to the game, giving a real in-depth immersion to the player.
Though very linear, the game becomes really interesting to the point I was not able to let it go until I completed it in all modes. I wanted MORE story and was thrilled to know the ending was different in the hardest game mode.
Mona is the coolest character in the whole game
On the minus side, it has to be mentioned that :
- The game is too easy. Really, it's not that hard to finish it in the normal mode replaying it again and again to see the alternate ending is a bit boring.
- Many levels are repetitive, sometimes you play the same map 3 times in the whole game (e.g. Mona's playground). The good guys at Remedy should have made more different areas.
What next ?
Max Payne 2 supports natively modifications and offers an SDK to build your own mods. So of course, there have been tons of mods for Max Payne 2. I haven't played them as much as I would have wanted to ; I needed a fucking good story, a sequel to the original one at least as good. But I must admit I haven't taken a good look at what was proposed anyway.
I've seen there's a rumor about Max Payne 3 being under development at Rockstar. I don't know, it's not the same team, not the same writer (or is it ?) so I'm not as ecstatic as I should be. We'll see as we get more information about this.
There's also the movie that will be released soon, with Mark Wahlberg as Max Payne and Mila Kunis as Mona. The trailer looks OK, but I'm a bit skeptical with it. Again, we'll see when it's out.
Finally, I'd recommend playing the Max Payne series to any reader here that plays shooters. It is very different from your usual FPS so you might not like it, but it's definitely a must-try.
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Played both Paynes and enjoyed the story n film like aspects. But i have to say as an FPS its only decent, play this for the story guys.
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Max Payne rocks, one of my favorite games.
The game-play is just so fucking cool I'd often load just so I could clear the room "cooler" :D
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Taiche
France1963 Posts
On September 09 2008 01:35 CommanderFluffy wrote:
Played both Paynes and enjoyed the story n film like aspects. But i have to say as an FPS its only decent, play this for the story guys.
Yeah, maybe I haven't stressed enough that the "shooting" part of the game is less important than the story. Hardcore FPS players will be disappointed.
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Calgary25969 Posts
I'm stickying this for awhile so people can learn how to blog.
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Taiche
France1963 Posts
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
look what you've done chill, you've scared off all the posters by making this a sacred blog
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Calgary25969 Posts
Seriously. One thing I've found is people like arguing about stupid things / telling people they're stupid than actually reading / discussing interesting things.
The first time I hit that bullet time button I nearly shit my pants it was so awesome. It was the perfect combination of cinematics and gameplay-warranted. It seems nowadays games push hard for one or the other without striking a balance. The dark mood and story also made this game incredible for me. The dark naration and the weird dream sequences were awesome. The story was actually knitted throughout the game, as opposed to games nowadays where it's a story with a game tied on the end, or a game with a story tied on the end (IM LOOKING AT YOU TOO HUMAN).
I'm kind of sad I've never played the second one 
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Taiche
France1963 Posts
On September 09 2008 05:19 Chill wrote:I'm kind of sad I've never played the second one
Really ? Go get it. You won't regret it for a second, believe me. If you have truly enjoyed the first one as you said, then definitely get the second episode. To me, it's like the first one only better. The only drawbacks are the ones I mentioned.
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Both games were insanely fun (although I don't remember much of the first game, haven't played it since it came out), but they were both way too short. And like you said, after beating it the first time, I never really got the incentive to really play through MP2 again, because playing it twice would mean visiting some of those levels 4-6 times. Still, it was a great ride. Many games have copied the "bullet time feature", but I can't think of one that has such a dark and intriguing story.
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United States24614 Posts
I prefer embedding the full sized image into a post without resolution bars. Does imageshack not like that anymore?
edit: oh yeah I definitely Loved Max Payne. I only got like 3/4 of the way done with the second one though.
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Ive never played the second one but I did finish the first.. I loved it.. this game gets ur emotions going... do they have in Xbox360?
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What a coincidence, I just finished the second part about two hours ago. Never played the first one though.
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Taiche
France1963 Posts
On September 09 2008 05:43 micronesia wrote:
I prefer embedding the full sized image into a post without resolution bars. Does imageshack not like that anymore?
Yeah it's possible, but when the images are seen too often, ImageShack deletes them. Does not happen with the thumbnails, which is why I prefer including them instead of the original pictures 
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imageshack sucks so much
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Good stuff Taiche, I loved the story in the Payne games
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I only played to Max payne 2 and you are damn right, It is an awesome game with a deep and dark atmosphere.
Even on my laggy 500 mhz i WANTED to finish it ( mostly for for the story ) and i did. The " dream levels " are so weird and the game is quite sad .
We need more games like this: kickass gameplay + awesome story = great game.
On September 09 2008 09:08 fusionsdf wrote:imageshack sucks so much
Use http://pix.nofrag.com/
BTW: TELL ME THE ALTERNATE ENDING BECAUSE I DIDNT KNOW IT IS DIFFERENT IN HARD MODE !
- dont open spoiler if you havent played the game
+ Show Spoiler +
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Taiche
France1963 Posts
On September 09 2008 09:25 Boblion wrote:BTW: TELL ME THE ALTERNATE ENDING BECAUSE I DIDNT KNOW IT IS DIFFERENT IN HARD MODE ! - dont open spoiler if you havent played the game + Show Spoiler +
+ Show Spoiler +Exactly  It's not really worth replaying the entire game twice for it though ; the ending comics is only different at the very end where Mona, after having said "God, I turned out to be such a damsel in distress" smiles and ends up in Max's arms. Here's the full comics (awful quality but I'm sure some Google research for "max payne alternate ending" or something will return better results).
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On September 09 2008 01:35 CommanderFluffy wrote:
But i have to say as an FPS its only decent, play this for the story guys. Max Payne is a Third Person Shooter, not a first person shooter.
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max payne was amazing, you guy should also try dues ex 1 and 2
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Deus Ex 1 was amazing, especially considering the technological limitations at the time. But it's definitely not in the same realm as MP.
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On September 09 2008 10:31 Taiche wrote:Show nested quote +On September 09 2008 09:25 Boblion wrote:BTW: TELL ME THE ALTERNATE ENDING BECAUSE I DIDNT KNOW IT IS DIFFERENT IN HARD MODE ! - dont open spoiler if you havent played the game + Show Spoiler + + Show Spoiler +Exactly It's not really worth replaying the entire game twice for it though ; the ending comics is only different at the very end where Mona, after having said "God, I turned out to be such a damsel in distress" smiles and ends up in Max's arms. Here's the full comics (awful quality but I'm sure some Google research for "max payne alternate ending" or something will return better results).
+ Show Spoiler + Great ! Her death was a really sad moment but on the other this is this kind of event who makes Max Payne atmosphere so great, dark and sad :p
On September 09 2008 15:46 LinkinPork wrote:
Deus Ex 1 was amazing, especially considering the technological limitations at the time. But it's definitely not in the same realm as MP.
Max Payne is an amazing game but i agree right Deus EX is just SO good . Nevertheless It isnt exactly the same kind of game. Deus EX is an FPS with a lot of freedom ( dialogs, multiple tracks, ... ) some RPG aspects ( custom weapons , leveling skills ) and infiltration ( the different hacking skills ) combined with an awesome story.
People have to play this game.
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I didn't like the game that much... it was too depresive and the story was somewhat confusing .
Mona was cool though, Max should have taken advantag of her in the shower
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Taiche
France1963 Posts
On September 11 2008 21:14 LastWish wrote:I didn't like the game that much... it was too depresive and the story was somewhat confusing . Mona was cool though, Max should have taken advantag of her in the shower
+ Show Spoiler +Well, he did at some point in the game 
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On September 11 2008 23:06 Taiche wrote:Show nested quote +On September 11 2008 21:14 LastWish wrote:I didn't like the game that much... it was too depresive and the story was somewhat confusing . Mona was cool though, Max should have taken advantag of her in the shower + Show Spoiler +Well, he did at some point in the game
+ Show Spoiler +During that scene, I remember thinking "is this even allowed to be in a video game?".
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My favorite thing about this game was the noir-ish narration and presentation. There needs to be more games like this.
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I've played the first one so many times I can do the dream sequences the first time through. If I don't accidently fall. >_>
Also, playing through the second one three times was definitely worth the real ending. The tone in the narration is so markedly different from everything else that the game throws at you before then. The difference is small, but I felt it was infinitely better.
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On September 12 2008 05:05 LinkinPork wrote:Show nested quote +On September 11 2008 23:06 Taiche wrote:On September 11 2008 21:14 LastWish wrote:I didn't like the game that much... it was too depresive and the story was somewhat confusing . Mona was cool though, Max should have taken advantag of her in the shower + Show Spoiler +Well, he did at some point in the game + Show Spoiler +During that scene, I remember thinking "is this even allowed to be in a video game?".
im going to play the game just for this
lololol
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'the flesh of fallen angels!' lol scary shit
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On September 09 2008 15:46 LinkinPork wrote:
Deus Ex 1 was amazing, especially considering the technological limitations at the time. But it's definitely not in the same realm as MP.
Bullshit. Imo Deus ex rapes all games, especially max payne. Amazing mix of plot, action, rpg, adventure, suspense, epic, replayability, multiple choices aplenty. Much better game than pretty much every game ever made imo.
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I think you misunderstood what I was saying.
Deus Ex is an incredible game, but you really can't make a side by side comparison with it and Max Payne. MP is a film-noir style third-person shooter. Deus Ex is a sci-fi, stealth, FPS/RPG hybrid.
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I played the first Max Payne, I think I have the second too. It was a great game, but I had to stop because it was giving me headaches. That was a long time ago though, I might give it another shot.
Deus Ex was nice, but I wouldn't call it an FPS/RPG, more like an FPS with some simple RPG elements. Any FPS with multiple endings and mouse-clicks that don't result in a weapon being fired or cut-scene skipped is much more interesting though.
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On September 17 2008 20:06 Nytefish wrote:
I played the first Max Payne, I think I have the second too. It was a great game, but I had to stop because it was giving me headaches. That was a long time ago though, I might give it another shot.
Deus Ex was nice, but I wouldn't call it an FPS/RPG, more like an FPS with some simple RPG elements. Any FPS with multiple endings and mouse-clicks that don't result in a weapon being fired or cut-scene skipped is much more interesting though.
-.-
It is just your opinion and i think it is a nice troll.
I dont think there are many true RPG with a better story line and atmosphere than Deus EX....
And there were no true FPS with dialogs / infiltration / leveling / multiple skills for a long time
Please give me names of "more interesting FPS ". I might be interested. But i'm sure you won't find many .
Stalker and ? ? ?
Bioshock ? ( haha )
Crysis ? ( haha x2 )
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Actually I said Deus Ex was a more interesting FPS than the normal ones, the wording was poor.
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On September 17 2008 21:43 Nytefish wrote:
Actually I said Deus Ex was a more interesting FPS than the normal ones, the wording was poor.
Hahah sry, i have completly misunderstood.
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Taiche
France1963 Posts
On September 17 2008 20:55 Boblion wrote:
Bioshock ? ( haha )
What with the "haha" ? :o
I loved BioShock, as it was an awesome game (here's the review I made one year ago) with a very unique atmosphere. I can't compare it to Deus Ex as I have not played it, but it's definitely nothing to laugh about
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img392.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mpbulletxt7.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=maxpaynebemutato02jq8.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img411.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mpbloodtrailha4.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img292.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mp2ingamexq3.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=max20120big1sc4.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img185.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mv5bmtgwmda3mjiyml5bml5fl7.jpg)
Thanks a lot !
