mr_woo

Unfortunately Blood is another franchise considered 'dead' so it's almost guaranteed they weren't working on it. Blood 2 was probably their weakest game though (even though I enjoyed it still) but Blood 1 was mostly made by 3D Realms before Monolith finished it off and they went in a completely different direction for Blood 2 whilst I preferred the direction of Blood 1 (and its locations, weapons etc)

I think it's becoming increasingly obvious that the 'old guard' Monolith are mostly gone due to all the layoffs but GCI shows that studio still has a lot of talent. I have a feeling that they may become more of a digital distribution developer for PSN/XBLA than anything else but I hope I'm VERY wrong about that. I want more of their weird, quirky single player goodness :( They're one of the few FPS developers left with their own unique style FFS.

Unfortunately there was never going to be a Condemned 3 anyway. The second game sold like shit and it's basically a 'dead' franchise, this was confirmed by an Ex Monolith developer who posts on NeoGAF. I love that studios games and have been following them since a teenager years ago (fuck me I'm old). Even their supposedly 'bad' sequels like FEAR 2 and Condemned 2 I think are brilliant, Condemned 2 being one of the best drunken hobo nightmares I've ever played. Gotham City Impostors is a fuckton of fun as well, even now on 360 you can get a match practically anytime of the day. One of the few XBLA games to still have a pretty big community.

Leave Monolith alone you fucking assholes. They're killing that studio slowly but surely :(

As a huge fan of the first two games I have to say I loved the shit out of Max Payne 3 as well. It's not exactly like the previous games, as I expected, but that's fine. Remedy have a particular style and writing that Rockstar just can't do and I appreciated that they went off and did their own thing rather than just attempting it and fucking it up. I really liked Max's character arc during the course of the game, it felt like a natural extension to me of his character from the first two games and in this one we are seeing him at the absolutely lowest point after the death of his wife and child. I like the fact he's a pill popping, drunkard who's a bit melancholy who whilst being emotionally unstable is an unstoppable, relentless physical force underestimated by everyone around him. I especially love the way the story plays out later on during the course of the game and how Max reacts to the events around him. There's a wonderful sense of humour in there as well, a lot of Max's comments are funny as hell, he's not entirely miserable throughout the game.

The one thing I love about the actual gameplay is that it is challenging, in a very good way. It asks a lot from the player and it actually wants you to learn from your mistakes and use everything at your disposal. It punishes you accordingly if you make a mistake and expects you to learn from it. During my initial playthrough I did a mixture of everything - shootdodging, hiding behind cover, blind fire, using just bulletime, shooting from the ground, rolling etc. You actually learn a lot from your first playthrough and for your second playthrough you become much more confident. On my first playthrough I was playing on normal but on my second playthrough on Hard I was shootdodging a lot more as my timing was better, using bullettime at the right time, taking more risks etc. The thing to remember is that the enemy can't aim for shit when you are in the air. If you are behind cover they are pin point accurate but when you are diving through the air they can't hit for shit. It actually rewards you the more you play and you can become more 'cautiously reckless' in how you play, if that makes sense. I find this really refreshing in a day and age where games are so piss easy. I appreciate not everyone likes that but I loved it.

I also really liked the actual technology behind the game as well. Just things like the Euphoria engine and the fantastic enemy reactions that come from this, the obviously separate bullet wounds and area specific damange, the way the weapons sounded and the reloaded animations, the way Max carries his guns and all the other little details such as a slow mo bullet cam when you take out the final person. It's pure gun porn at times. It's a really, REALLY satisfying way to finish a gunfight. Especially when you pump the final enemy full of bullets. For example, I loved it during the stadium sections where you would kill someone and the way they would wince in pain and just roll down the steps, hitting the chairs on the way down etc. It's just those little touches I really appreciate, everything feels 'real' and it adds up to making the combat more satisfying. It's one of the most satisfying shooters I've played for years. I certainly never found the enemies to be bullet sponges but I always aimed for the head as much as possible so maybe I just never noticed it as much.

I completely understand why the Giantbomb crew or anyone here dislike the game even if I don't agree at all, but hey different strokes for different folks :) I was really surprised myself by Max Payne 3 as the one thing I feel Rockstar hadn't really nailed to this point was the combat in their games. On PC especially the mouse and keyboard controls were superb and felt exactly like the old games to me. On controller it felt a bit clunkier/less responsive but even so much more improved over their other RAGE engine games. It does make me look forward to GTA V more as with the control improvements it'll be much more fun to play.

Anyway, apologies for the long spiel there, just explaining why I like MP3 so much :) Even if it's the last Max Payne game we ever get I remain fully satisfied. It's easily one of my favourite Rockstar games along with Bully and Manhunt.

If I had to complain about one thing it's that I feel the game desperately needs an instant action mode. Just a means to start a level and jump around shooting fools as much as you want, an instant gratification if you will. I don't mind if Rockstar want to have a game that focuses on storytelling, that's absolutely fine, but give me a way to enjoy your gameplay mechanics without the cutscenes etc. I'm still really disappointed they cut out the Dead Man Walking mode but maybe we'll get it as DLC eventually.

Well I wouldn't say it's a flop just because it sold less than LA Noire initially. Just under 500,000 for the US alone, for a few weeks and not counting digital sales, some of the bigger US chains or PC sales doesn't really mean much for the short term. Sales will be more interesting in the long term. Rockstar aren't stupid, I'm going to guess they knew they won't get GTA/Red Dead Redemption sales from this game.

If anything I think MP3 will have longer legs and the more good word that spreads about it the better it'll do in the long run. LA Noire had a lot of people fooled, including myself, before it came out and I'm just gonna have a guess that a lot of its sales were front loaded. Noone I know personally who played it liked it. I absolutely hated it and felt conned out of my money. I won't go into a rant here or anything but it's one of my most hated games in years. If anyone enjoyed it then fair play to you but, yeah, not a fan.

In general I think I tend to be more of a fan of Rockstars more fringe titles. I adore games like The Warriors, Manhunt, Bully and Max Payne 3 a lot more than GTA or Red Dead Redemption (though I do enjoy those games too, well maybe not GTA IV so much)

@Frag_Maniac said:

@TheSlothKing said:

@Frag_Maniac: Victor killed himself.

Actually they said it was a possible suicide, but it left me wondering if instead he faked his death and escaped. It wouldn't have been hard for a guy with as much wealth and contacts that he had access to do so. It just didn't make sense he'd go from so confident he'd walk to being suicidal. Guess we'll know if they make another one.

I have this funny feeling that Victor was 'suicided' by some other corrupt person in power, just to clean up loose ends. Or at least that's the impression I got anyway. I'm sure many people were involved in the corruption due to the number of different groups involved and so a chance to get rid of the instigator would be ideal. That's just my crackpot theory though.

I absolutely loved the ending itself. I was so happy to see that they didn't kill off Max because by the end he had completed a mission, actually saved some lives and was obviously in a good place mentally. I honestly wouldn't mind if they never made another Max Payne game. It's such a perfect ending and such a nice end for the character I was just left so happy at the end for him. Sure human beings aren't perfect and he could easily relapse and become miserable again but I liked the finality of it. Hell I think they could do another Max Payne fine and not have him be so miserable, you could still make a noir story. I don't remember Max in 2 being as miserable in comparison and 3 felt like we were experiencing the lowest point of his life (well after losing his wife and child that is). I wouldn't mind seeing some DLC to show Max sorting out the warring mafia groups in New Jersey, putting an end to both of them, but that's just me thinking out loud :)

I love Max's personality in this and it feels like he goes through a full character arc the further the game progresses. Maybe it's just me but there's one thing I've noticed in general, and it's that if a character is even remotely negative or a bit of a fuck up he's all of a sudden unlikeable or a shithead to a lot of people. It feels like to me a lot of folk just want Nathan Drake constantly or some bland military lead character. I love fucked up characters in games, they are the most entertaining to play as. Hell I adore Kane and Lynch, the games themselves are flawed but I adore the characters. They are complete and utter fuck ups who just constantly get themselves into bad situations and yet I still feel bad for them. The whole of Kane and Lynch 2 wouldn't have occurred if they weren't utter idiots and I love it because of that.

Does Max wallow in self pity ? Absolutely. But so what ? The guy's had an incredibly hard life, he's lost everyone that's close to him and he's just trying to keep on living. He doesn't even put himself down THAT much either, he's always commenting on the situations around him and yeah some of those comments are about him failing or whatever. That's why I love the way the game progresses. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't played it, but Max feels like a hero trying to do things right with many bad things going on around him. The way certain things happen later on to change his character is great and I was really satisfied with the ending as well.

Great game, my favourite this year and easily one of the best shooters this generation.

Boooo! I wanted a sequel to Bulletstorm from PCF rather than another bloody Gears.... game. Nothing against Gears, even though I wasn't a fan of 3, but I'm not interested in anymore of that series. PCF deserve better, Bulletstorm was utterly terrific and one of my favourite shooters/score attack games in years. Great developer. Very self aware taking the piss out of the whole 'dudebro' style' and General Serrano is one of the best sweary, non PC villains to be in a game in ages. Hell I can understand if people are put off by its dialogue/attitude but I love it, great game.

I love Obsidians games, I absolutely fucking love them.

They are never incredibly polished, they are always janky and have flaws but they are incredibly ambitious. The dialogue and choices in Alpha Protocol really made a huge difference to the ways that game could play out and I believe many RPG developers could learn a lot from that game.

It's just like the Black Isle/Troika days. If you want games which are safe and highly polished you won't get them but if you want something different, a game that actually tries to have meaningful choices/consequences and great dialogue they are are always worth playing.

I can completely understand why many people would play their games and not like them, they are an acquired taste but I think I can safely say that the fans who love them really do appreciate what they try to do in their games, warts and all.

Don't you dare die Obsidian.

Rage was easily my favourite shooter last year, hell it's one of my favourite FPS this gen. It wasn't perfect at all by any means and it was a bit of a strange mish mash of driving game and shooter but I loved, loved, loved the shooting in it. The guns felt fantastic, the enemy reactions/animations were excellent and I loved the whole arsenal of weapons at my disposal. Pop Rockets + Shotgun = Fucking Boss. I also loved the look to it, from a pure technical point of view the game was a bit muddy texture wise but from an overall view I loved the art style to it, it was like concept art in motion at times. Great game and as far as I'm concerned an overlooked gem. Really can't wait for whatever they put out next and good luck to the guys at id, hope you land on your feet.