I finished Max Payne 3 this weekend, one of the best games this year. I however had not touched the original games, I was wondering whether Max Payne aged well and whether me only having played the new one will make me not be able to enjoy this one?

Actually playing through the original Max Payne right now, going to finish Max Payne 2 as well before starting 3.

It's surprising to me how well Max Payne has aged. The bullet time mechanic works well, the story is gripping and save for a few annoying platforming segments it's definitely still a great game. Worth playing for sure. Just anticipate a bad save system if you're planning on playing it on a console. I'm playing it on PS3 myself (it was free on PS+) and it only autosaves at the beginning of a segment - there's no manual saving or checkpoints.

The first max payne has aged... decently.

Max Payne 2 is still great, though.

If you're craving more bullet time, i recommend FEAR which remains amazing to this day.

@Demoskinos: no such luck on the PS3 (well, emulated PS2) version, sadly.

I haven't played MP1 in awhile, but it should hold up fine. MP2 certainly does.

Edit: And now I'm installing MP1. Might as well just run through the trilogy at this point. :P

Play both, great games (that could be nostalgia talking though). The dream sequences the bomb crew talk about are lame, but not game breaking.

if you have the time and the money then yeah, why not.

It has been a long while since I played 1 or 2, but I remember really enjoying them a lot. Definitely more than I did Max Payne 3. I like 3 ok, but I don't know....I just never had all that much fun playing it. I don't really know why.

If you are on the PC they have aged very well, not so much for consoles.

Play them amazing games. They have aged well and gameplay wise they're still great.

Recently finished the first max payne aswell. The shooting and story still hold up pretty good, though the game does have some serious difficulty spikes so be prepared to quick save.... a lot. (seriously f**k the final mission)

@digitalsea87: Wow, that really sucks cause a few of the later levels are a little tough. =\

I played through Max Payne 1 recently on PS3, and it holds up more than well enough to play. I'd play them both on PC if I were you. Somehow I find ageing games easier to tolerate that way, and it will save you many control issues if you tend to be used to the new way MP3 controls. Max Payne 2 definitely holds up better than the first. The first kinda felt like a weird third person quake 2 mod somehow, in this day and age.

Every time I've gone back to play the MP1 or 2 I have never really been disappointed or anything like that. I feel like they both have aged well enough considering the first one is like 11 years old.

You might as well play the first two games. It has been awhile since I touched them so I can't say if their worth your time or not. Though if you enjoyed the third one might be worth it to see where that game came from.

@Hizang: I think they still hold up to this day. They are 10 years old but the game play is outstanding and the story telling is phenomenal. Max Payne is top 3 favorite games ever made and you should play them, the PC versions. They are short so it won't take up much of your time, probably play through both of them in a weekend if you wanted. If you play them and beat them let me know, I'm curious as to what people think about Remedy games.

One is extremely difficult to go back to. Two is significantly better.

I finished Max payne 1 and 2 last week. The writing and voice work is better than the majority of games today. Because it's story-telling is mainly done through comic book panels, presentation isn't really a problem.

Max payne 1 &2 are fantastic, without a doubt worth playing. They hold up well. Definitely much funner than MP3.

Its aged ok actually, im playing through it right now before i play Max payne 3. I remember playing 1 + 2 and being blown away at the time.

Be aware that Max Payne 3 is quite different to Max Payne and Max Payne 2. Not so much mechanically (although it is), but in terms of writing and style. I like all three (actually prefer Max Payne 3's style and writing myself), but if you go back to play Max Payne, be aware of the following:

1) The Voice work is quite different. While Max in MP3 sounds grizzled and tired, there is some emotion and inflection in his voice and thoughts. In MP1, however, he sounds.... completely flat. There is absolutely zero emotion in 95% of his lines. It's like the voice actor is literally reading lines he doesn't care about off a script he doesn't like. He sounds bored. Go check some Youtube videos of Max's lines in MP1. He sounds like he's about to fall asleep most of the time.

2) The Writing in MP1 and MP2 is significantly more flowery and strange than in MP3. There are lines in MP3 that sound silly, but in MP1 and 2 some of the lines feel as if Max took a poetry writing course at the local community college. The lines aren't bad, but they're completely over-the-top and wouldn't be uttered or thought of by any sane human being. Yes, I'm saying Sam Lake is insane.