The core of Max Payne’s game play has always been a fast-paced, chaotic style of shoot’em up. This is a very simple formula that can be ruined if you try to add too much too it. In my opinion, there are two pillars needed to have a good shoot’em up: good level design and smart AI. Every place you visit in Max Payne 3 is different; different architectures, structures, and places for cover. Each level provides some cover for you and some cover for your enemies, but isn’t designed for you to have stand-off shoot outs like you would in Red Dead Redemption. There is plenty of room to move around and slip in and out of cover.
Max Payne 3’s AI is definitely smarter than the average bear. If enemies are at a disadvantage, expect them to turtle up and use cover appropriately. If you aim and wait for them to come out of cover you’ll be waiting for a long time, because they are perfectly fine with staying alive there rather than catching a bullet to the head.
On the flip side of that, if there are more of them and they think they have the advantage, they will be more aggressive. If you stay in cover they will try to flush you out with grenades, molotov cocktails, and other heavy weaponry. Also, if you’re firing at an enemy in one direction, their allies will try to flank you from another. They are pretty good shots, too. If you run into the open without using Bullet Time, expect to get sprayed. Max Payne 3 doesn’t have regenerating health, so unless you have pain killers, damage stays with you.
The effective use of Bullet Time is critical during gun fights. Most of the time you are heavily outnumbered and enemies can drop you quickly. Using Bullet Time lets you kill more effectively and even allows you to dodge bullets, since you can now see their trajectory. There is a dedicated button for shoot dodging, but it can be a blessing and a curse. Shoot dodging makes Max jump in a direction while shooting at enemies in Bullet Time. It’s a great way to spring out of cover if you need it. Thing is, you need to make sure you kill everyone around you while you’re shoot dodging. If you don’t, once you hit the ground and Bullet Time is over, you make an easy target for enemies to shoot at.
With the exception of Bullet Time, the gun play is very fast-paced and kind of stylish. You can roll out of cover and start shooting enemies. If you’re running full speed and try to pick up a weapon, Max won’t just pick it up off the ground; he rolls over it and loads it, all before he gets back on his feet. If you get close enough to an enemy Max will pistol whip them, knocking them down or throwing them off balance. The camera then switches to an execution mode that glorifies that kill; adding even more style. A lot of the movements and camera angles during gun fights seem like you’re watching a Jason Statham film or a Hong Kong action flick.
Constantly running and gunning can get a bit repetitive, so Rockstar made sure they added some scenes to shake things up a bit; adding extra awesome to the game. Scenes like riding in a speedboat picking off enemies, shooting it out with paramilitary troops on the roof of a building that is currently collapsing, and riding on a rolling cart shooting enemies as you pass by John Woo style, just to name a few.
One of the biggest pieces of the Max Payne franchise has always been the story. As a fan of the series, I think this is the best part of the story yet. More so than any other Max Payne, you really get to know who Max is in this one. The first two games find Max on the warpath, chopping down anyone in his way of finding the truth. In this game you see that while Max is a total bad ass, he still is a good person. He cares about the well-being of good people and tries to help them. He is a bit older now as well, and it shows in his character. You will go from being a broken man to a reconstructed Max Payne; bringing your enemies the worst day in their lives.
Like so many other games that really don’t need it, Max Payne 3 comes complete with multiplayer. The multiplayer is surprisingly good, despite being unnecessary. There are primarily four game modes. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are self-explanatory. Payne Killer is a mode where one person is Max Payne and the other players need to kill him to become Max Payne themselves. Gang Wars is the most interesting of the multiplayer modes.
In Gang Wars you have a set of five rounds, and in those five rounds you will be tasked with different objectives. One round may be deathmatch, another round may have you trying to attack or defend control points, and another round may be trying to plant a bomb at specific locations or trying to kill a specific target. You get points for each round won, and those points go toward the final round which is always a team deathmatch. Gang Wars also has a little bit of story behind it. Each battle is between rival gangs that you come across in the story. Based on how your team does in each round, the story changes a little. It was definitely the most fun mode to play.
Those who enjoy the multiplayer will have plenty to do. You need to gain XP to unlock certain weapons, which you can obtain by winning matches and completing achievements. A group of achievements in Max Payne 3 are called grinds. They really shouldn’t be ignored, because to access certain game modes, weapons, and items for your characters you need to complete them. The only game modes available to me in the beginning were Rookie Deathmatch and Rookie Team Deathmatch until I completed the first grind set.
In order to unlock items you will also need cash, which you can get from winning matches, getting kills, and looting corpses. Most of the items aren’t very expensive to buy, but there are a lot of them including weapons, armor, character customizations, and bursts. Bursts are like perks found in other games, except they are taken from elements of the Max Payne universe. An example would be a burst that allows you to enact Bullet Time in multiplayer.
Now that I’ve brought it up, Bullet Time in multiplayer is something I always thought would be a bad idea; and I wasn’t wrong. The way it works in multiplayer is that anyone in the line of sight of the player using Bullet Time will be slowed. You can get out of it by ducking or moving out of sight. This has to be one of the most annoying things I’ve dealt with in a multiplayer mode, period. The constant involuntary slowdown can be so frustrating at times. It really sucks when you’re not even part of a particular gun fight, but get caught in it anyway. I’m sure Max Payne 3 will have fans of the multiplayer; I’m just not one of them.
Overall, Max Payne 3 is an incredible game. With the exception of the multiplayer and times where the cinematics interrupt the game play too much, I really couldn’t ask for more. Fans of the series will be pleased, but the story is set up in such a way that even newcomers should feel welcome. As of right now, Max Payne 3 is my game of the year, and other games are going to have a hell of a time taking that title.
