When Max Payne was announced, there was some unfortunate rumblings and griping that our boy Max was leaving the cold, gritty streets of New York to the sun soaked favelas of San Paulo. I however think that the setting is absolutely perfect for a Max Payne game and I'm glad the developers decided to set the game in an environment that gamers haven't had the chance to explore in depth before. Allow me to state my case.

1. The Great Big Boring Apple: Seriously how many games are already set in New York? It's a great setting for a game, but it's honestly been done to death. I've already squared off against the Mob and both the Russian military (twice!) and invading alien hordes. And this was just in Manhattan alone! And New York is honestly too safe to set a Max Payne game in these days.

2. A World of Haves (and have nots): Brazil is a country on the rise with economic development and investment growing yearly. Rio was even awarded the rights to hold the 2016 Summer Olympics that will surely pump millions into this developing nation. However, the country has a hell of a dark side. Poverty in the slums of Brazil is endemic, which directly leads to massive amounts of violent crime. The mixture of high and low life has always been a part of the Max Payne games and Brazil is a perfect setting for this theme.

3. Meet (and kill) The Locals: There are so many possibilities of the sheer amount of people who want Max dead this time around. I'm sure we'll get a nice diverse selection of favella street bangers, anti-government drug pushers, dirty cops and special forces to blow away in full bullet time glory. Beefs between the Russians and Italians are played out and it's nice to kill new types of bad guys for a change.

Also, have you see Max recently? The guy obviously could use some time in the sun instead of moping around his apartment. It'd be good for him.

It actually rains a lot in São Paulo. Usually, if it is a sunny today, it will rain tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. And the crimes are not just in the favelas, but every-fuckin-where. Recently, we've been dealing with a lot of drug users roaming the streets and stealing whatever they can... But hell, i'm just happy there is a game set in my city. I really hope they touch in the "Police doesn't have mercy" subject.

@MikeGosot said:

It actually rains a lot in São Paulo. Usually, if it is a sunny today, it will rain tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. And the crimes are not just in the favelas, but every-fuckin-where. Recently, we've been dealing with a lot of drug users roaming the streets and stealing whatever they can... But hell, i'm just happy there is a game set in my city. I really hope they touch in the "Police doesn't have mercy" subject.

I heard about vigilante killings, this is actually true? The cops are that brutal?

It sounds like it could put an interesting twist on things, but I think calling the setting of a game in one location instead of another more obvious location "genius" is going too far.

@MikeGosot said:

It actually rains a lot in São Paulo. Usually, if it is a sunny today, it will rain tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. And the crimes are not just in the favelas, but every-fuckin-where. Recently, we've been dealing with a lot of drug users roaming the streets and stealing whatever they can... But hell, i'm just happy there is a game set in my city. I really hope they touch in the "Police doesn't have mercy" subject.

You carry a piece?

York still doesn't get a look in.

I'm still skeptical.

I was filled with frustration when I saw the new Max, the new setting and the new story... But then Same Lake and Matias Myllyrinne explained it to me beautifully:  

@MikeGosot said:

@jerseyscum said:

@MikeGosot said:

It actually rains a lot in São Paulo. Usually, if it is a sunny today, it will rain tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. And the crimes are not just in the favelas, but every-fuckin-where. Recently, we've been dealing with a lot of drug users roaming the streets and stealing whatever they can... But hell, i'm just happy there is a game set in my city. I really hope they touch in the "Police doesn't have mercy" subject.

You carry a piece?

You can't "carry a piece" legally here. But sometimes, i walk holding my keys in a "stab" position.

Edit: Also, the cops are brutal when they need to be brutal. If you want to know more about this, watch the movie "Elite Squad".

Just checked out Elite Squad and it honestly disturbed the shit out of me. Christ, these people basically are a fucking death squad supported by the government! Didn't know the same guy who wrote the screenwriter for City of God also did this film also. Thanks for the recommendation, I might check out the sequel.

@jerseyscum said:

Just checked out Elite Squad and it honestly disturbed the shit out of me. Christ, these people basically are a fucking death squad supported by the government! Didn't know the same guy who wrote the screenwriter for City of God also did this film also. Thanks for the recommendation, I might check out the sequel.

The sequel is astonishingly better as a film. Don't know how well of a picture it paints of current situation since it deals more with the theoretical than the "based on true events" nature of the first movie.

@MikeGosot said:

It actually rains a lot in São Paulo. Usually, if it is a sunny today, it will rain tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. And the crimes are not just in the favelas, but every-fuckin-where. Recently, we've been dealing with a lot of drug users roaming the streets and stealing whatever they can... But hell, i'm just happy there is a game set in my city. I really hope they touch in the "Police doesn't have mercy" subject.

They way you describe it sort of sounds like New York.

@AhmadMetallic: Being someone who appreciates Max Payne, how do you feel about MP3 being predicated - its only reason for existing from a narrative sense - on a retcon? I feel like that's the biggest issue I have with MP3. Max was finally okay at the end of MP2, and to see Rockstar just go "NOPE!" and revert an entire games' worth of character evolution feels sloppy as hell to me.

It actually rains a lot in São Paulo. Usually, if it is a sunny today, it will rain tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. And the crimes are not just in the favelas, but every-fuckin-where. Recently, we've been dealing with a lot of drug users roaming the streets and stealing whatever they can... But hell, i'm just happy there is a game set in my city. I really hope they touch in the "Police doesn't have mercy" subject.

@AhmadMetallic: Being someone who appreciates Max Payne, how do you feel about MP3 being predicated - its only reason for existing from a narrative sense - on a retcon? I feel like that's the biggest issue I have with MP3. Max was finally okay at the end of MP2, and to see Rockstar just go "NOPE!" and revert an entire games' worth of character evolution feels sloppy as hell to me.

@AhmadMetallic said:

@Oldirtybearon said:

@AhmadMetallic: Being someone who appreciates Max Payne, how do you feel about MP3 being predicated - its only reason for existing from a narrative sense - on a retcon? I feel like that's the biggest issue I have with MP3. Max was finally okay at the end of MP2, and to see Rockstar just go "NOPE!" and revert an entire games' worth of character evolution feels sloppy as hell to me.

He wasn't exactly "fine", though. Sure, when

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Mona dies, he says that he was reborn and that his wife's deafh no longer pained him

, but it seemed like a rather hyperbolic moment of clarity and spiritual revelation rather than an actual turning point in his life. I mean I never believed that he was going to be OK. I can easily picture him getting out of the hospital after the ending of MP2, renting a new apartment after the old one blew up, trying to get his life back on track as an NYPD cop and slowly spiraling downwards again as the nights passed while he's alone in bed, reminiscing about his loved ones while getting haunted by the traumatizing events of the two games. He leaves his job, gets offered a fancy bodyguarding job in Brazil, and he takes it because he needed to get away and get any kind of action into his life to replace the pain in his mind. He goes there, stresses out and and starts drinking and neglects his looks, and once again we have a troubled Max Payne, feeling lost and struggling to hang onto anything, trying to kill off his demons forever. Hell after writing this post I can see how the rather explosive and loud vibe of MP3 kinda makes sense. It's no longer a quest for revenge or to expose the truth, it's an old jaded man spilling salt on his wounds trying to kill the pain and frustration of the haunting past with everything he has.

I see how you reached that conclusion. I guess I'm more optimistic. I was fine with there not being a Max Payne 3, as I felt that the ending to MP2 gave all the closure I needed. My interpretation of the ending(s) to MP2 were, like I said, more optimistic about the whole ordeal.

I definitely applaud Rockstar for changing things up. Setting seems interesting to me, not too many games set in Brazil, and the gunplay looks amazing.

@jerseyscum said:

Just checked out Elite Squad and it honestly disturbed the shit out of me. Christ, these people basically are a fucking death squad supported by the government! Didn't know the same guy who wrote the screenwriter for City of God also did this film also. Thanks for the recommendation, I might check out the sequel.

Yeah man, Elite Squad is crazy. Love that movie.

@MikeGosot said:

It actually rains a lot in São Paulo. Usually, if it is a sunny today, it will rain tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. And the crimes are not just in the favelas, but every-fuckin-where. Recently, we've been dealing with a lot of drug users roaming the streets and stealing whatever they can... But hell, i'm just happy there is a game set in my city. I really hope they touch in the "Police doesn't have mercy" subject.

One of my teachers grew up in São Paulo, place sounds fucking rough.

I'll definitely be checking out those Elite Squad films now, thanks.

@MikeGosot said:

It actually rains a lot in São Paulo. Usually, if it is a sunny today, it will rain tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. And the crimes are not just in the favelas, but every-fuckin-where. Recently, we've been dealing with a lot of drug users roaming the streets and stealing whatever they can... But hell, i'm just happy there is a game set in my city. I really hope they touch in the "Police doesn't have mercy" subject.

One of my teachers grew up in São Paulo, place sounds fucking rough.

I'll definitely be checking out those Elite Squad films now, thanks.

@MikeGosot said:

@PeasantAbuse said:

@MikeGosot said:

It actually rains a lot in São Paulo. Usually, if it is a sunny today, it will rain tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. And the crimes are not just in the favelas, but every-fuckin-where. Recently, we've been dealing with a lot of drug users roaming the streets and stealing whatever they can... But hell, i'm just happy there is a game set in my city. I really hope they touch in the "Police doesn't have mercy" subject.

One of my teachers grew up in São Paulo, place sounds fucking rough.

I'll definitely be checking out those Elite Squad films now, thanks.

Just out of curiosity... Where do you live? Also, even if the place sounds rough and fucked up: São Paulo is one of Brazil's best cities.

I'm in the US, Washington state. I live in a town full of hippies so pretty much everywhere sounds rough and fucked up to me :P

Well I disagree in two ways.

1. The setting has little to nothing to do with Max Payne, and noir.

2. Its going to be a bigger hill to climb to get the audience to care about the enemy Max is facing.

In Max Payne, it was easy, find the person responsible for the death of his wife and kid.

In the sequel, it wasn't as easy, but still they managed, Mona was from the first game, and she was a perfect character to build a sequel around, personally I thought Max Payne 2 was a failure in my eyes (I played it countless times to try and convince myself otherwise).

Max Payne 3, is either start off with completely new characters (which seems like thats exactly what they are doing). Or bring a character back from one of the two previous games without making it cheesy.

Starting off with such a new setting isn't going to be easy. Me personally, I want more references to norse mythology, that in my opinion is part of the true definition of a Max Payne game.

Every single one of you who "don't like" the setting, please PLEASE play the damn game first.

Reserving judgment about the atmosphere of games until you've played them seems like a logical course of action, but also seems beyond the ability of the internet.

Every single one of you who "don't like" the setting, please PLEASE play the damn game first.

Reserving judgment about the atmosphere of games until you've played them seems like a logical course of action, but also seems beyond the ability of the internet.

As far as São Paulo being a rough place, its just as rough as any other city like it....New York, Rio etc .

Everywhere is dangerous the media just puts a bit of an exaggerated tone on it, its a fantastic city and I love living here, really excited to see it in the game. Its all about knowing where you are walking and having common sense, you have that and you are just fine. Nothing rough about the city in that sense.

Really looking forward towards the games, and yeah the Elite Squad movies are fantastic. 2 is better.

@AhmadMetallic: I find it incredibly difficult to feel any sense of "atmosphere" via some screenshots and some spliced footage of a game. For people to talk about that type of stuff really seems beyond reason to me.

Your post is incredibly contrived, presenting nothing in the way of an argument, and completely ignoring my point.

Do you even know what the words you use mean? They see and analyze what exactly? Speculation and guesses, even by "thinking or Comparing" is a jackasses way of doing things. This isn't religion, you can bring FACTS to the table when a discussion takes place.

At no point did I demand people not pass any judgment on a game prior to release, I just said refrain from passing judgement on the atmosphere. The only way to really get a feel of it is by playing the game.