Max Payne 3 (Official Thread)

[SingleDoubt]

Max Payne 3, the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, has finally been dated! Winter 2009 will mark the return of ridiculous bullet time. i, for one, have been waiting for this announcement for a LONG time and needless to say, i'm beyond excited. hopefully rockstar is smart and keeps the series grounded in reality.. shooting gangsters, painkillers, realistic weapons and physics... and doesn't follow Condemned (monsters and zombies and such)

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/03/itsmaximum.jpg

"We're starting a new chapter of Max's life with this game," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation."

Official Site (http://rockstargames.com/maxpayne3/)
http://www.rockstarwatch.net/news/734/Max-Payne-3-Announced/
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/23/max-payne-3-coming-to-xbox-360-ps3-pc-this-winter/

[industrialbelt]

winter 2003?

[SingleDoubt]

winter 2003?

haha oops. good catch... fixed!

[Capital H]

very excited

[Chemical Love]

Nice, I didnt know that 3 was in the works. The first two are a couple of my favorite video games as well.

[Stupendous_Man]

Hell yes. Max Payne 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. This is better than when Diablo III got announced.

[batmannj]

This sounds cool.

[TSLROCKS]

Awesome! I loved the Max Payne games

[Gaugzilla]

I've been waiting for this since the teaser at the end of the second game. Too bad the original team won't be behind it, but hopefully Rockstar can pull it off. Max looks rugged.

[SgtSmegma]

Eagerly anticipated.

Let's hope this is better than the movie.

[SingleDoubt]

I've been waiting for this since the teaser at the end of the second game. Too bad the original team won't be behind it, but hopefully Rockstar can pull it off. Max looks rugged.

the only thing we have to judge the team behind it on is their port of Bully for PC/360 (granted it was notoriously buggy,) but i doubt the heads at Rockstar would give such a huge project to a team they didnt deem worthy, so im not too worried.

[TalkShowsOnMute]

Damn I loved Max Payne 2 so I can't wait to play this. I still haven't played the first one though :shrug:

[mp3o]

wow i'm shocked i didn't know about this...this is awesome.

[Gaugzilla]

the only thing we have to judge the team behind it on is their port of Bully for PC/360 (granted it was notoriously buggy,) but i doubt the heads at Rockstar would give such a huge project to a team they didnt deem worthy, so im not too worried.
Yea, it just saddens me it won't be written by Sam Lake as he had a knack for great noir dialogue.

[drudo182]

Sounds sweet. Looking forward to this one.

[SingleDoubt]

Yea, it just saddens me it won't be written by Sam Lake as he had a knack for great noir dialogue.

agreed. also, i just realized that the official site features the "Xbox Live" logo.. could this mean multiplayer?? that could be insane.

[b182soldier]

Hell yeah!

I loved the 1st one. 2nd one not to much, hope this goes well.

[SingleDoubt]

Hell yeah!

I loved the 1st one. 2nd one not to much, hope this goes well.

a lot of people say this, and i can't figure out why. MP2 had a better storyline with more fleshed out characters, cooler weapons, better levels, and bullet time 2.0 added a whole new level to the gameplay

[anthonydarko]

Can't wait to play this.

[TMS2787]

I didn't even know this was in the works but it's pretty awesome news. Max Payne is one of, if not, my favorite video game of all time but for some reason I never played Max Payne 2. I might have to shell out a couple bucks for it and play it on the PS3. I'm thinking I will be buying this game when it comes out, as long as it's better than that bastardized movie. But, I'm sure it will be.

[mp3o]

a lot of people say this, and i can't figure out why. MP2 had a better storyline with more fleshed out characters, cooler weapons, better levels, and bullet time 2.0 added a whole new level to the gameplay

this.

MP2 is far superior in almost every aspect.

[a speedo model]

:woot: Cannot wait.

[b182soldier]

a lot of people say this, and i can't figure out why. MP2 had a better storyline with more fleshed out characters, cooler weapons, better levels, and bullet time 2.0 added a whole new level to the gameplay

True........

But part one following a really well thought story..

[symbiote28]

im really looking foward to this one ..

[dissident]

2 was alright, i thought the first one had a much more interesting story.

[Losthope182]

I'll definitely pick this up when it comes out. I loved the first one, never played the second though.

[LetterBomb31]

Max Payne 3 sounds terrible from everything I've read/heard about it so far. The only good thing is that they've got the original voice actor (for Max Payne) back on board.

EDIT: Just for the record, the first two Max Paynes are two of my favourite games of all time.

[Gaugzilla]

Yea, I don't think this will necessarily be released as much as it will be the developers just throwing their hands up in defeat and tossing this in stores.

[DickfaceChillah]

Fuck. Someone bumping this shit made me think there was a new trailer or some shit for it from E3.

[LetterBomb31]

It does seem to be taking a worryingly long time to develop.

[a speedo model]

I still have high hopes.

[LetterBomb31]

http://media.rockstargames.com/maxpayne3/img/global/screenshots/maxpayne3-8-1280.jpg

This screenshot has me kinda excited. This is how I want Max Payne 3 to be. I really don't like the bald, Sam Fisher Double Agent-wannabe Max Payne.

[LetterBomb31]

http://media.rockstargames.com/maxpayne3/img/global/screenshots/maxpayne3-10-1280.jpg

[anthonydarko]

These pictures are from like a month ago.

[Gaugzilla]

So did they ditch the whole 'Bald headed, ex-cop' thing?

[anthonydarko]

No, that's still in the game. This game is going to cover the period of time after 2 (namely 8-10 years) and will include various versions of Max, including the muscular, bald version of him.

[LetterBomb31]

These pictures are from like a month ago.

Sorry that I'm late to the party

[Gaugzilla]

I didn't see the pics, mainly because I haven't been keeping up with it. So thanks for posting them. And the long span might be a cool idea. I just have the feeling this will be a long-term fail like "Duke Nukem."

[LetterBomb31]

Does anyone know if Max Payne 3 will still feature the graphic novel style cinematics?

[jesse-k]

As much as I love the first two games, this looks terrible. Doesnt look anything like Max Payne. Here are a few things someone posted on another board, and I agree.

- No James McCaffrey.
James McCaffrey is not only the voice of Max Payne, he IS Max Payne. A large part of the reason why the Max Payne movie never really appealed to me is because Mark Wahlberg's voice is NOT the voice of Max Payne. As some have already stated, no McCaffrey for Max Payne is like no David Hayter voicing Solid Snake. Do you have any idea the kind of s**t-storm MGS fans would have raised if Hideo Kojima decided to use another voice actor for Snake? And yes, I'm sure Kiefer Sutherland can do a good job, but it won't be the voice of Max Payne. Sutherland does not have the deep, rough voice of McCaffrey. McCaffrey brought something truly unique to that voice that I don't believe any other voice actor can bring. McCaffrey gave Max Payne a deep, dark, brooding, introvert, hard-core voice that suited the character and his appearance perfectly. No James McCaffrey, no Max Payne!.

- No New York City.
Now, let me just state that NYC is not a must for a Max Payne game. Although it worked brilliantly in the first two games, I was always open to the possibility of introducing a new location, as long as they maintained the original atmosphere of the first two games. If the developers feel that they want a new location, they should at the very least make sure the place they choose is atmospheric and true to the Film-Noir spirit of Max Payne. Alternative locations instead of New York could have been Los Angeles (in winter), Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, or Seattle. If they wanted to use a locale outside the United States (something that I wouldn't condone, but would be able to look past), they could have chosen Japan (Tokyo), China (Hong Kong), France (Paris), or similar locales. Instead the idiots chose sunny and bright Brazil. A location that doesn't make any sense whatsoever for a Max Payne game. I've heard arguments that New York is much safer than Rio de Janeiro, and because Rio is a much more violent city it would somehow make sense for a Max Payne game. Such nonsense. New York made perfect sense because for years the perception was and still is that NYC is a cold, dark, brooding, foreboding city that would make perfect sense for a Film-Noir setting. On the other hand, placing the game in sunny Rio is no different than placing it in Miami or the Caribbean. It simply doesn't make sense because it doesn't work with the spirit of the original games or the character.

- No Film-Noir setting/style.
Of all the changes made in Max Payne 3, this one hurts me the most. The Noir setting made the Max Payne franchise unique among other franchises and games. I mean, let's be honest. How many other games out there utilize a Noir style as beautifully as the Max Payne games did? None. Part of the beauty of Max Payne was the games' ability to transform you into a past era of Film-Noir while keeping the game grounded in more modern constructs. The Noir setting and style is an immeasurable part of what made the franchise unique, different and just plain brilliant. The location, the atmosphere, the characters, the comic book model, the brilliant script, all of these were brought together by a dark and cold Noir style/setting that made you want to come back to it, no matter how many times you've experienced and completed the game.

- No Max Payne look/appearance.
How stupid can they be? Only 12 years after the events of Max Payne 2 and they made Max look like a trailer trash bum. A bald, fat bum. He now has plenty of facial hair, tattoos, and... oh goody, he's into the wife-beater fashion! They made Max look like one of those cupboard cutouts you see in the GTA games. Completely generic, completely silly, and completely unlike Max Payne. I don't know who this character is, but for all intents and purposes, that "guy" is NOT Max Payne!

- No Remedy/Sam Lake.
Remedy created magic with Max Payne 1 & 2, they won't be developing Max Payne 3. Instead, some unknowns at RockStar Vancouver are developing this. RSV's only developing credit so far is the game Bully, a fairly mediocre console Action-Adventure. Now that's not to say that RSV is going to screw it up completely, but the game will not have the commitment and the heart and soul that Remedy put into this franchise. To add insult to injury, Sam Lake, the brilliant writer of Max Payne 1 & 2 is not joining this project. Suffice it to say, this is a huge loss to the series and will no doubt be very detrimental to Max Payne 3. We can pretty much expect a significantly inferior script and weaker writing quality for this game which will mean a dumbed down, simplified plot and character development.

- No PC controls/interface/game mechanics.
Make no mistake about it, this game is primarily developed from the ground up as a CONSOLE game, not as a PC game. We can expect simplistic, arcadish, GTA style controls with a crappy Cover System, no Bullet-Time and the interface and game mechanics will have to be severely dumbed down and simplified. This will feel like a console game and it will play like one, to the detriment of this game and the franchise's fans.

- Plot is extremely problematic and doesn't make much sense.
So, let's get this straight. Max Payne has allowed himself to become bald, overweight, alcoholic, to grow all this facial hair, to look like a common bum freakazoid? Sorry, but I don't buy it for one second. Max Payne was the kind of character who would put a bullet through his brain and commit suicide before he would allow himself to deteriorate like that. Oh, no question. Max Payne has had and still does have severe mental problems that were brought on by the brutal murder of his wife and child, but at least according to the ending of Max Payne 2, he seems at peace for the first time. To quote Max at the end of MP2: "I had a dream of my wife. She was dead. But it was all right." Max seems to finally accept the death of his wife and presumably the death of his child as well. This is the very last line of Max Payne 2 and it at least gives the appearance that Max has allowed himself to find peace and to leave his past behind and move on. Now, in Max Payne 3, we suddenly learn that he is worse than ever before. An alcoholic, heavily addicted to painkillers and looking like a freak. I'm sorry, but this simply does not sit well at all with the ending of Max Payne 2. Also, what the hell is Max doing in Brazil? Brazil is a long way from New York City, long way from his life, his work, his home. What is he supposed to do in Brazil and how does it all connect with his past in NYC? And what about Mona Sax? She is an integral part of the series and it seems that not only will she not be a playable character, but will not show up in the game at all. A lot of questions remain regarding the direction the story is heading, but right now I'm suspicious of the developer's ability to competently put it all together.

[a speedo model]

- No James McCaffrey.
James McCaffrey is not only the voice of Max Payne, he IS Max Payne. A large part of the reason why the Max Payne movie never really appealed to me is because Mark Wahlberg's voice is NOT the voice of Max Payne. As some have already stated, no McCaffrey for Max Payne is like no David Hayter voicing Solid Snake. Do you have any idea the kind of s**t-storm MGS fans would have raised if Hideo Kojima decided to use another voice actor for Snake? And yes, I'm sure Kiefer Sutherland can do a good job, but it won't be the voice of Max Payne. Sutherland does not have the deep, rough voice of McCaffrey. McCaffrey brought something truly unique to that voice that I don't believe any other voice actor can bring. McCaffrey gave Max Payne a deep, dark, brooding, introvert, hard-core voice that suited the character and his appearance perfectly. No James McCaffrey, no Max Payne!.

- No New York City.
Now, let me just state that NYC is not a must for a Max Payne game. Although it worked brilliantly in the first two games, I was always open to the possibility of introducing a new location, as long as they maintained the original atmosphere of the first two games. If the developers feel that they want a new location, they should at the very least make sure the place they choose is atmospheric and true to the Film-Noir spirit of Max Payne. Alternative locations instead of New York could have been Los Angeles (in winter), Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, or Seattle. If they wanted to use a locale outside the United States (something that I wouldn't condone, but would be able to look past), they could have chosen Japan (Tokyo), China (Hong Kong), France (Paris), or similar locales. Instead the idiots chose sunny and bright Brazil. A location that doesn't make any sense whatsoever for a Max Payne game. I've heard arguments that New York is much safer than Rio de Janeiro, and because Rio is a much more violent city it would somehow make sense for a Max Payne game. Such nonsense. New York made perfect sense because for years the perception was and still is that NYC is a cold, dark, brooding, foreboding city that would make perfect sense for a Film-Noir setting. On the other hand, placing the game in sunny Rio is no different than placing it in Miami or the Caribbean. It simply doesn't make sense because it doesn't work with the spirit of the original games or the character.

- No Film-Noir setting/style.
Of all the changes made in Max Payne 3, this one hurts me the most. The Noir setting made the Max Payne franchise unique among other franchises and games. I mean, let's be honest. How many other games out there utilize a Noir style as beautifully as the Max Payne games did? None. Part of the beauty of Max Payne was the games' ability to transform you into a past era of Film-Noir while keeping the game grounded in more modern constructs. The Noir setting and style is an immeasurable part of what made the franchise unique, different and just plain brilliant. The location, the atmosphere, the characters, the comic book model, the brilliant script, all of these were brought together by a dark and cold Noir style/setting that made you want to come back to it, no matter how many times you've experienced and completed the game.

- No Max Payne look/appearance.
How stupid can they be? Only 12 years after the events of Max Payne 2 and they made Max look like a trailer trash bum. A bald, fat bum. He now has plenty of facial hair, tattoos, and... oh goody, he's into the wife-beater fashion! They made Max look like one of those cupboard cutouts you see in the GTA games. Completely generic, completely silly, and completely unlike Max Payne. I don't know who this character is, but for all intents and purposes, that "guy" is NOT Max Payne!

- No Remedy/Sam Lake.
Remedy created magic with Max Payne 1 & 2, they won't be developing Max Payne 3. Instead, some unknowns at RockStar Vancouver are developing this. RSV's only developing credit so far is the game Bully, a fairly mediocre console Action-Adventure. Now that's not to say that RSV is going to screw it up completely, but the game will not have the commitment and the heart and soul that Remedy put into this franchise. To add insult to injury, Sam Lake, the brilliant writer of Max Payne 1 & 2 is not joining this project. Suffice it to say, this is a huge loss to the series and will no doubt be very detrimental to Max Payne 3. We can pretty much expect a significantly inferior script and weaker writing quality for this game which will mean a dumbed down, simplified plot and character development.

1. You know James McCaffrey is not only doing the voice but also the motion caption for the body, right?

2. I agree to an extent. However, if you watch the trailer you see that there are several different locations and versions of Max Payne. One that is bald and one that is Max Payne as we remember. It seems there will be several extensive flashbacks. So while it will not be exclusively in NYC it will probably have missions set there.

3. Again, the trailer seems to confirm they are sticking with the dark Noir style. Brazil may not be NYC, but there is still Noir to be had there. I'm confused as to how people think this will be missing, the only thing different from the other games is this is not exclusively/mainly set in NYC.

4. Look to 2, there is not just one version of Max Payne. One version is a bald and toned as hell, BUT this is not the only Max Payne of the game. Also, it is important to note as I said in 1, that McCaffrey is still doing the voice/motion caption for Max. Also, I think the bald Max will fit perfectly into the story. I do agree, it sucks they're changing the appearence (for a good portion of the story), however I think the transformation will be fitting in the context of the story.

5. This is the only one I think is the most legitimate concern. However, if anyone in the game industry was going to take over the series it would be Rockstar Games and Dan Houser. No other company can do this the way Rockstar can. Rockstar does not let down. They are not stupid. When they delay it's for a reason.

[drudo182]

The number of delays has me a bit more concerned than usual though I get it's hard to get these games finished.

[a speedo model]

The number of delays has me a bit more concerned than usual though I get it's hard to get these games finished.
Agreed, however they delay lines Max Payne 3 up with the previous release date of Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and LA Noir. Typically they release their games in April/May, pushing the sales into the next fiscal year. So the delay could purely be to keep in line with past releases and move around earnings between fiscal years.

:shrug: Again, I trust Rockstar.

[secretsociety92]

No Rockstar game in the past four years or so has let me down yet and I doubt this will either because that latest trailer has me so excited.

[thesinkingship]

This bitch better not get delayed again

[drudo182]

New trailer is pretty good. Hoping for the best.

[sayyes]

I can't wait for next Tuesday. This was my 3rd favorite series of all time behind Zelda and Metal Gear Solid.

[Blueskyburning]

It comes out on the 18th here. The first 2 games were absolutely stellar, I was a bit iffy about this one but I'm pretty pumped now so I'll be picking it up next friday.

[secretsociety92]

Don't know whether to pre-order this or not, since you get a multiplayer pack for free if you do.

[Numero10]

Can't wait to get this.

[Wake Up]

Campaign is excellent. Spent a little bit on multiplayer. It's pretty meh.

[nhoium]

The campaign rules so far. Loved the line about Electronic Music and Robotic People. haha. Plan to dive into multi tonight hopefully. My friends are already in love with the Gang Wars mode, and I think it's pretty cool that your gang can tie-in to GTA V.

[drewinseries]

Waiting until this came out to see if I wanted to get it. I have heard so far that the campaign is fantastic and they handle the narrative really well. I'll probably get this a couple paychecks after Future Soldier.

[gfxtwin]

Watching someone play the campaign since yesterday. Looks like the best Max Payne game ever from a pure gameplay perspective. The diving/bullet time battles are way more epic this time around. Not very impressed with the graphics and holy fuck does the cut scene director have ADD or what? Are all those cuts and filters really necessary? I get it, he's in a lot of pain all the time...hence the TITLE. My grandfather also got the it yesterday and left about 13 messages on my cell about how he "bought three copies from best buy and all of them were 'broke'".

[LetterBomb31]

I'm so stoked about getting this on Friday

[Numero10]

How long is the campaign?

[nhoium]

14 chapters, I believe. It's somewhere around 8-10 hours depending on the difficulty / skill level.

[Numero10]

Cool. Should keep me entertained for a bit.

[Wake Up]

yeah the filters on the cutscenes are totally excessive, but I always enjoy games that mask loading times with cutscenes.

[SingleDoubt]

So yeah, I went back to see if the thread I started like 3 years ago was still here.. And it is! I'm happy that I can say that I was not let down even a little bit. This game is my current GOTY. The story mode was stellar and after a rough first impression I'm finally beginning to fall in love with the multiplayer. To anyone who may be on the fence: pick this up for the story mode, give the multiplayer a bit to set in. At the very least, Redbox/Gamefly it.

[i like apples]

i really need to go pick this up

[secretsociety92]

Just done about 8 hours of this, absolutely love it. Don't know if anyone else noticed the references to The Last Boy Scout (the lighting rig scene) and The Punisher (petrol pump explosion into the water).

[Blueskyburning]

played a few hours of campaign, really good so far and it "feels" like a max payne game, if you know what i mean.

played a bit of multiplayer but i seem to lose 9/10 gunfights? not sure what im doing wrong really, im judging the recoil with the crosshair and i just cant seem to get away with it. saying that, i got a couple of ridiculous kills earlier e.g. shoot dodging from cover to OHK someone with my shotty hah.

[LetterBomb31]

Gameplay wise, this is far superior to the first two. But in terms of story, it doesn't touch them.

[thesollopsist]

I hope this is good. I've been needing a good new triple A game for a while since Ninja Gaiden 3 + the new Resi were shit

[badger52683]

The story is not bad. It's not as good as the original, but its not bad.

I love the game with the exception of the cover controls. There are many times that Max won't go into cover like I want him to. The transitions from cover to standing or cover to cover just feel kinda clunky, but it is manageable. I also don't see the point of the prone and kneeling positions because you can't crawl, and they seem useless.

Some glitches here and there too. There was one time where i was running down this street in Favela and I guess a cut scene did not load (happened a couple different times so far). So I kept running until Max just fell off the map and kept falling for like eternity. I had to reset the game. haha

Hard mode is really hard. I can't imagine the difficulty of old school and whatever.

[secretsociety92]

The story is not bad. It's not as good as the original, but its not bad.

I love the game with the exception of the cover controls. There are many times that Max won't go into cover like I want him to. The transitions from cover to standing or cover to cover just feel kinda clunky, but it is manageable. I also don't see the point of the prone and kneeling positions because you can't crawl, and they seem useless.

Some glitches here and there too. There was one time where i was running down this street in Favela and I guess a cut scene did not load (happened a couple different times so far). So I kept running until Max just fell off the map and kept falling for like eternity. I had to reset the game. haha

Hard mode is really hard. I can't imagine the difficulty of old school and whatever.

That happened to me too, reset it and then the cut scene loaded. Just completed it, really enjoyed it and is certainly one of the most fun campaigns I have done in a while.

[Blueskyburning]

hahhaa fucking hell this game just gets better and better. i was really fucking skeptical but rockstar have really fucking nailed it.

the writing is fucking spot on as well "first day off the sauce and somehow i'd still ended up in the gutter" hahaha. fuck this game is great.

[Derka Derka]

pretty fun game, makes me wanna play the 2nd one again so bad.