Max Payne ReviewMax Payne is the story of a undercover cop whose family was slain three yearsago. He becomes an undercover cop and as the game start stumbles upon some trouble.By the end of the second 'level' he is a fugitive on the run no real friends to speak of andnothing to lose.The BasicsCompany & Author: Max Payne was developed by Remedy Entertainment, publishedby God Games, and produced by 3D Realms. Price: When new it sold for abut 50 dollars. Type of game: The best classification I can find for this game is perhaps action/fps.However for several reasons most notably the fact its all in third person, it stands outamong 'shooter' games. Requirements: The box states that the minimum requirements are a 3DMark 2001score of 900. In terms of hardware the requirements are:450Mhz Intel or AMD Processor96MB of ram16MB Direct3D compatible graphics cardThe box recommends a score of 2200 on the 3DMark2001 benchmark. In terms ofhardware the recommended requirements are:700Mhz Intel or AMD Processor128MB Ram32MB Direct3D Compatible Graphics CardMy machine scores a paltry 1640 on the 3dmark2001 benchmark and is configuredlike this:Windows 2000 ProfessionalAMD Athlon 1.2Ghz512MB RamATI Radeon 32MB DDRI'm fairly happy with the performance of the game with my configuration, I don't haveany anti aliasing on because with my card it can cause some low frame rates in places.Max Payne Review Pg.1I have at least a few of the graphics settings set to full on the system and I don't noticeany real problems while playing the game. I left things like texture detail and levelgeometry at medium settings. The engine seems to perform very well for the level ofdetail this game provides. Though I think that playing it on the minimumrecommended machine would probably be a nightmare.Game SummaryQuick OverviewMax Payne is the story of an undercover cop with nothing to lose, on a quest tofind out who is responsible for all trouble in his life.Story LineThe games story begins with showing a part of the same cut scene you will see atthe end if you complete the game. From there it goes back three years to when his familywas killed, you play through the scene where they are killed, and it jumps ahead to Maxbeing an undercover cop. During the first two stages we find Max at a closed subwaystation trying to figure out what is going on. You eventually discover and foil a bankrobbery, but not before the cops get called and you get placed at the scene. After findingyour way back to the subway you meet up with your contact and have a very shortconversation before he is gunned down by an unknown assassin. You of course leavethe scene and, as you later find out, are the prime suspect in the case. To add to themayhem, your cover as an officer has been blown and not only do the cops want you butthe Mafia wants you dead as well. So now it becomes a quest to stay alive, find out whois behind all this. As the game progresses you start to uncover clues to both yourcontact's murder and your family's murder. Slowly things go from investigation toretaliation. The story is moved along by somewhat random clues laying around andinteractions with key characters that bring up a comic book like story board to progressthe game. In between stages this method is also used along with a few cut scenes. Thewriting for these story boards as well as Max's dialogue is very good in my opinion. Ofcourse I'm a CIS major not a writer. However I was very interested to figure out whatwas going on and the story boards were involving enough for me.Max Payne Review Pg.2Player's RoleThe player is always the character Max Payne, whose main goal throughout thegame is to find out who is responsible for the trouble he's in and get revenge.User InterfaceThe user interface employs the tried and true health/weapon display to give youinformation about your characters status. When the player changes weapons, a weaponsselect H.U.D pops up above the character. It stays out of the way and has yet to interferewith game play. Life is measured by a little Max Payne silhouette in the bottom leftcorner. As you get injured a red shading moves up from the feet to the head. Once itreaches the top, you die. Beside this silhouette is a hourglass shape full with blueshading. This is the 'Bullet Time' indicator, I'll explain bullet time in more detail in thespecial features section. Next to the hourglass is a little pill bottle picture with a numbernext to it, this tells you how many pain relievers you are carrying, up to a maximum ofeight. Pain relievers are used to heal your character. On the lower right is a currentweapon display, showing you ammunition remaining the name of the weapon.InstallationThe installation of the game is fairly simple, next, next, finish. Each time you runMax Payne you get a dialogue for graphics configuration so that is omitted from theinstall program.Game PlayThe game play is fairly simple, walk around the levels, kill the bad guys. Most ofthe time there aren't any true puzzles to solve, just the typical 'maze' plot device.Somehow every obvious way you can think of to get through the building has beenblocked. There are a few breaks from this pattern however. In at least two parts that Ican recall someone else has to open a door for you. In one case a scared subway worker,in another case a junkie that you take hostage. Naturally killing either of them ends thegame instantly. Of course along the way there are interactions with the environment orMax Payne Review Pg.3items to look at that keep the story going. Max's head will actually turn to look at itemsthat should be picked up, this and a large exclamation point on the screen will tip you offas to when/where there are items to read or look at. There is also a level in which youmust escape from a burning building, the only puzzle of its type in the game, and I'mthankful for that. Once and awhile 'boss' or 'mini-boss' fights(with characters with morethan the normal amount of hit points, or a combination of too many henchmen) arethrown into the mix to add some more challenge. Another aspect of added challenge isthe health system. It is indeed possible to get killed by a single shot. Life can fade awayquickly in a fire fight and to add to the challenge the painkillers don't instantly heal you,its a gradual process. The same applies to the enemies and a simple head-shot can bevery effective. The enemy
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