Max Payne
In the wake of The Matrix there was an increased presence of blood opera, John Woo, slow motion action sequences and bullet-time. At least, it seemed that way to me. And although Max Payne had begun development long before The Matrix was released in theaters, the bullet-time game mechanics and the heavy John Woo gun-ballet influence clearly took footing from the film. Not that any of this is a bad thing in the slightest. In the end, Max Payne was one of the greatest new action games to hit the PC in a long time and easily set the bar for what a third-person shooter could really be. Max Payne was stylish and unique and offered up a third-person game that incorporated mouse and keyboard aiming controls plus a slow-motion action system for gloriously accurate headshots.
Max Payne was a gritty cop drama about an NYPD officer who ends up tightly wound into a somewhat complex plot that includes warring mob families, a government soldier enhancing drug program and a big pharma company that turned it into a street drug. Max's wife ends up discovering Aesir's big secret, who in turn kills her and her newborn daughter, covering it up as a random attack by some drug addicts. Of course, this sends Max into a spiral of revenge as he discovers the truth behind his family's death and the Aesir corperation and lays waste to everything in between.
Max Payne's big draw was the shooting mechanics. The slow-motion gunplay combined with dramatic dives across screen meant each encounter allowed you to take your time and make each shot count. Of course, the game was still difficult regardless of this seemingly game-breaking feature. I can't even remember if I managed to beat this game without using cheat codes or not, but I do remember it being a tough game to beat.
Of course, gameplay wasn't everything. Max Payne features a pretty rich story which pushes forward with the help of noir voiceovers and these fantastic comic panels that feature live actors photographed and photoshopped to resemble in-game characters. Sometimes cutscenes like these are more timeless than pushing them as real-time interstitials that may age poorly depending on the power of the engine at the time.
I really loved what Max Payne accomplished at the time. There really wasn't much like it and at a time where I was trying to absorb anything with a John Woo feel to it, this really hit home with me. Max Payne eventually saw two sequels; one shortly after this release, and one that came out about a year or two ago. Which I own, but still haven't tried out yet. They even recently made a live action movie out of the first game, which I actually quite liked since they managed to really capture the look and feel of the world from the game.
In the wake of The Matrix there was an increased presence of blood opera, John Woo, slow motion action sequences and bullet-time. At least, it seemed that way to me. And although Max Payne had begun development long before The Matrix was released in theaters, the bullet-time game mechanics and the heavy John Woo gun-ballet influence clearly took footing from the film. Not that any of this is a bad thing in the slightest. In the end, Max Payne was one of the greatest new action games to hit the PC in a long time and easily set the bar for what a third-person shooter could really be. Max Payne was stylish and unique and offered up a third-person game that incorporated mouse and keyboard aiming controls plus a slow-motion action system for gloriously accurate headshots. Max Payne was a gritty cop drama about an NYPD officer who ends up tightly wound into a somewhat complex plot that includes warring mob families, a government soldier enhancing drug program and a big pharma company that turned it into a street drug. Max's wife ends up discovering Aesir's big secret, who in turn kills her and her newborn daughter, covering it up as a random attack by some drug addicts. Of course, this sends Max into a spiral of revenge as he discovers the truth behind his family's death and the Aesir corperation and lays waste to everything in between.Max Payne's big draw was the shooting mechanics. The slow-motion gunplay combined with dramatic dives across screen meant each encounter allowed you to take your time and make each shot count. Of course, the game was still difficult regardless of this seemingly game-breaking feature. I can't even remember if I managed to beat this game without using cheat codes or not, but I do remember it being a tough game to beat.
Of course, gameplay wasn't everything. Max Payne features a pretty rich story which pushes forward with the help of noir voiceovers and these fantastic comic panels that feature live actors photographed and photoshopped to resemble in-game characters. Sometimes cutscenes like these are more timeless than pushing them as real-time interstitials that may age poorly depending on the power of the engine at the time.
I really loved what Max Payne accomplished at the time. There really wasn't much like it and at a time where I was trying to absorb anything with a John Woo feel to it, this really hit home with me. Max Payne eventually saw two sequels; one shortly after this release, and one that came out about a year or two ago. Which I own, but still haven't tried out yet. They even recently made a live action movie out of the first game, which I actually quite liked since they managed to really capture the look and feel of the world from the game.
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