Max Payne Review (lewylightning)
Download the Max Payne 1 Complete FixPack as without it this game will not run at all on your modern rig, the game refuses any system that isnt still stuck back in 2001. Also cap your fps to 60fps or 144fps using RivaTuner or your GPUs settings to avoid max clipping into the floor during bullet dodge as the bullet dodge is meant to send max alot further not through the floor and to avoid physics based bugs on some levels making geometry alot hard to deal with.
For a game from 2001 Max Payne has some of the best third person gameplay ive ever played, the gameplay loop is so fun for how simple it is, third-person shooting with slow-mo mechanics, bullet dodging like neo in the matrix and dive shooting, the power fantasy is immense in this game despite its brutal difficulty even on normal lol, some of scenarios did feel like the devs were being a bit cruel with some enemy placements and how spongy the bosses can be.
Quicksave and Quickload are your best friend in this game trust me, this game is very MEAN when it wants to be :)
But damn does the game ramp up the action later on, with the amount of guns you get in your arsenal Max becomes Rambo essentially towards the end, making alot of sections play out like a scene in the Matrix and Rambo 2, the gameplay is sublime enough said.
Story was also well told in the game, told in way ive not seen before using still comic book strips whilst having Max narrate his internal thoughts with his mental state and characters he meets along the way, its very reminiscent of the movie Sin City with the internal dialogue playing over the main character as you play through, made for a unique experience, it lent it self well for a lot of environmental story telling akin to the likes of half life 2 where the game tells its story through gameplay and not cutscenes every microsecond, the themeing is very Noir style with its night cityscapes, cold winter nights and Max's sexy leather jacket.
Definitely a classic worth checking out if you can stomach older harder games and get the patches and mods up and running for you to play, glad I played this one.