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Max Payne 3 Emerges From Development Hell

Remedy Entertainment will probably be watching this one with a close eye.

Oh, Max. I've missed you. I'm betting your face won't look like this in Max Payne 3, though.
Oh, Max. I've missed you. I'm betting your face won't look like this in Max Payne 3, though.

Rockstar Games is known for taking its sweet time developing video games, and Max Payne 3 has been no exception. The game dropped of publisher Take-Two Interactive's release schedule for a while there, and like most Rockstar Games releases, no one was willing to say much about it. All Rockstar Games would promise is that the game wasn't dead.

If the Houser brothers are to be believed, we'll be playing Rockstar Games' interpretation of Remedy Entertainment's gaming noir next March. That's conveniently just before Take-Two's scheduled to reveal its fiscal results for the year. Dropping a highly anticipated Rockstar Games release might help!

Things are looking a bit different this time, but the series' aging mechanics wouldn't have held up.
Things are looking a bit different this time, but the series' aging mechanics wouldn't have held up.

Max Payne 3 does take place after the events of Max Payne 2. The first two games were developed by Remedy Entertainment, who spent the better part of the last decade working on Alan Wake for Microsoft. Max has left New York behind, and finds himself acting as private security for a "wealthy industrialist" in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Gangs begin targeting the family he's protecting, forcing Max into action. Something tells me he might have to make a trip back to New York at some point, too.

We don't know much about the gameplay, except that it's third-person again and maintains the series' trademark Bullet-Time mechanics. Bullet-time was a nifty trick in 2001 that's been exploited to hell since. I'm curious to see how Rockstar goes about properly updating it for 2012.

Max Payne 3 will introduce the series to multiplayer, with a teased feature that will somehow "dynamically alter maps," and as per industry standard, a leveling system. Clans are also in the mix.

Rockstar Games keeps teasing that we'll see more of Max Payne 3 soon. I'm looking forward to it.

Patrick Klepek on Google+

99 Comments

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verdant

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Edited By verdant

Huh. Have to admit this had fallen completely off my radar. I'll be interested to see how (if?) Rockstar makes this entry stand out when so many games have "borrowed" the elements that define Max Payne.

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Hangnail

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Edited By Hangnail

I just realized that the first game is now a decade...
...
...
...old.

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MeatSim

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Edited By MeatSim

So long bald Max?

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Cold_Wolven

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Edited By Cold_Wolven

The Max Payne games never really resonated with me, it was cool with the bullet time effects back in the day but whether it holds up now is questionable.

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ZmillA

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Edited By ZmillA

I want this game

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cstrang

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Edited By cstrang

i wonder how many more times they'll take this game back to the drawing board between now and then.

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Dreamfall31

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Edited By Dreamfall31

No noir theme = not a Max Payne game...so I hope it still has noir themes

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MisterMouse

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Edited By MisterMouse

Nice to hear that this is coming out soon, and the wait isnt a huge while away.

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McAwesome

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Edited By McAwesome

The second one had a perfect ending, not sure that needed a sequel.

Still I' m happy they' ve dropped the "Max is a drug addict and a bum" storyline they were promoting.

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McAwesome

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Edited By McAwesome

@Fjordson said:

@Barrock said:

Patrick, I'm confused. Did they ditch a lot of the stuff that they showed before such as old bald Max? Or is that still in there?

It's still in there. That's fat, washed up Max in Brazil. But we've also seen a younger looking Max since part of the story will show how and why Max left New York, most likely through flashbacks.

Fuck.

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ProfessorEss

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Edited By ProfessorEss
@FoxMulder said:

No noir theme = not a Max Payne game...so I hope it still has noir themes

I dunno, it's been so long I feel like they could try to pull a "but that was long, long time ago..." kinda thing. Maintain a similar spirit in a different cinematic style.
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zaglis

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Edited By zaglis
@Vetterli said:

Finally!

Let's hope they keep the wonderful Max Payne theme melody in MP3

You can't beat 100%
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LetsRockBaby

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Edited By LetsRockBaby

M-March? Just in time for my birthday...
 
 
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

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zitosilva

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Edited By zitosilva

I'm curious to see how their rendition of São Paulo will be.

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mathey

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Edited By mathey

Noir can still happen in sunny modern Sao Paolo.

Its about the content, not the set.

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Mentalnova

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Edited By Mentalnova
@cstrang said:

i wonder how many more times they'll take this game back to the drawing board between now and then.

Doesn't look like it's changed at all.
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Rekt_Hed

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Edited By Rekt_Hed

I really hope this game turns out well. The more I think back to how well this game has aged since the first one and wonder if it might suffer from DNF syndrom.

I want to be proven wrong as I love MP1 + 2 but if I was a def Id find it really hard to change things up to keep them fresh for the player while still maintaining what made Max great in the first place.

......hmmmm maybe have Max constantly in bullet time but then you can go EEVVVVEEENNNNNNNN SLOOOOWWWWEEERRRR!

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citizenkane

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Edited By citizenkane

Max Payne 1 & 2 are two of my favorite games the last decade. Really looking forward to this. ^__^

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deactivated-60339640361ae

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So it's basically Man on Fire?

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jmfinamore

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Edited By jmfinamore
@Cold_Wolven said:

The Max Payne games never really resonated with me, it was cool with the bullet time effects back in the day but whether it holds up now is questionable.

    
I played them for the first time last year, and while the gameplay doesn't completely hold up (especially the first), the games story, writing, and tone are all still really impressive. 
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HandsomeDead

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Edited By HandsomeDead

Yuck. Max deserves better. Not to mention it's basically been given up on by Sam Lake with the Alex Casey stories in Alan Wake.

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babylonian

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Edited By babylonian

I think I might be the only human being on the planet not bored of bullet time. It barely shows up in games anymore, and I'm enjoying the hell out of it recently while I've been playing through Mass Effect 2 as a Soldier.  
 
I dunno, I guess I don't see why they can't just lift the mechanic whole cloth from MP2. Slow-mo is so rare in games these days that it'd be fun to play through a game focused on it again!

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dezvous

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Edited By dezvous

@Babylonian: Absolutely, plus many games have tried but none have managed to do it just as smoothly as the Max Payne series. It really never gets old in MP2.

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eladren

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Edited By eladren

I dont know, to me is not a Max Payne if it isnt a Sam Lake game.

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Eyz

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Edited By Eyz

So Max is back in due form or is the fat old bald Max still hapening..from the looks of what you're saying above, it still taking place in  Brazil..
 
 
@mattman734 said:

I really liked the look of the old bald version, hopefully elements of that will still be in there


I'd prefer they make an original all-new game with that (good idea) instead of ruining another good ip...
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Arebuckle

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Edited By Arebuckle
@Eyz said:
So Max is back in due form or is the fat old bald Max still hapening..from the looks of what you're saying above, it still taking place in  Brazil..
Both. Bald Max is the present form in Brazil and Young Max is in the past in New York, from what I recall they go back and forth showing how he got to where he is now.
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fattony12000

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Edited By fattony12000

IT'S MAX FRICKIN' PAYNE!
MAX!
PAYNE!
IT'S PAYNE!
 
Loved the mobster voice acting in MP.
 
[In a dream, when it is revealed to him that he's in a computer game] The truth was a burning green crack through my brain. Weapon statistics hanging in the air, glimpsed out of the corner of my eye. Endless repetition of the act of shooting, time slowing down to show off my moves. The paranoid feel of someone controlling my every step. I was in a computer game. Funny as Hell, it was the most horrible thing I could think of.
 
/claps

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skrutop

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Edited By skrutop

I liked the first two Max Payne games, but a big part of that equation was how personal the story was to the character. The brief snippet of plot in the article seems to show a change in focus for the story, which I'm concerned will just turn this into another generic action game.

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Sanious

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Edited By Sanious
" Max Payne 3 will introduce the series to multiplayer" 

Awful, awful news. I'll pass.
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deactivated-64b64e84c301d

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I can't believe Max Payne 2 was in 2003. Talking about taking a franchise slowly! It was a shame that the move was so disappointing when the story from the game was so cinematic and then they screw it up.

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deactivated-5fb7c57ae2335

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@GentlemanlyGentleman said:

@Eyz said:
So Max is back in due form or is the fat old bald Max still hapening..from the looks of what you're saying above, it still taking place in Brazil..
Both. Bald Max is the present form in Brazil and Young Max is in the past in New York, from what I recall they go back and forth showing how he got to where he is now.

Sounds promising, and it's Rockstar, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

In other news, fuck multiplayer. If I want multiplayer, I'll play Battlefield, or CoD, or some fucking game that was built for multiplayer, god damn it. Stop slapping on multiplayer, devs, or I'mma start slappin' you.

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Dragon_Fire

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Edited By Dragon_Fire

Here's to the hope that they have a whole level dedicated to a baby crying in the background.

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YoConraaa

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Edited By YoConraaa

Awesome, thats my city!

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YoConraaa

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Edited By YoConraaa
@zitosilva: O COPAN tá na capa, muito massa!
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MikeGosot

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Edited By MikeGosot
@YoConraaa said:
@zitosilva: O COPAN tá na capa, muito massa!
Brasileiro no GB? Uau. ._.
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Everyones_A_Critic

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Consider it preordered.

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piggs

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Edited By piggs

I'm still using my Max Payne mouse pad. Yeah I wash it. Hopefully MP3 comes with one and I can finally replace it.

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Nelien

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Edited By Nelien

I hope this works out. I really look forward another Max Payne, if it's better than the second one anyway.

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MikeGosot

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Edited By MikeGosot
@edsone said:
@MikeGosot said:
@YoConraaa said:
@zitosilva: O COPAN tá na capa, muito massa!
Brasileiro no GB? Uau. ._.
realmente :P
Achar brasileiro em fórum assim é foda, cara.
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MisterDakotaJ

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Edited By MisterDakotaJ

I fully trust Rock* in their endeavors. Its good to see Max back in the mix.

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Rek503

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Edited By Rek503

I wonder if this will continue off the normal ending of Max Payne 2, or go off the real ending that you get when you beat it on the hardest difficulty.

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MajesticOverlord

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Edited By MajesticOverlord

God damn it. Every time I read something about Max Payne 3 I get this unfathomable urge to play the first two over and over. 

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bucifer

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Edited By bucifer

Please don't make him bald, please don't make him bald, please don't make him bald...

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wh1terav3n

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Edited By wh1terav3n

@CornBREDX said:

This isn't Max Payne and I'l continue to pretend it doesn't exist.

What if it's a damn good game, like everything else Rockstar has done?

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Doopliss

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Edited By Doopliss

Online will probably ruin this for me.

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MagnusVerMagnusson

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The thing that makes me most optimistic is that the main development team of MP3 were also the team behind Bully. And that game was amazing.

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Roger778

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Edited By Roger778

Well, it's good to know that Max Payne 3 will finally be coming out to stores next March, and I'm happy about that. 
 
Also, for those people complaining about Multiplayer, here's an answer for you: If you don't like Multiplayer, DON'T PLAY IT! The game is still going to have a single-player story, so don't worry about it. 

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Sanious

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Edited By Sanious
@Roger778 said:
Well, it's good to know that Max Payne 3 will finally be coming out to stores next March, and I'm happy about that.  Also, for those people complaining about Multiplayer, here's an answer for you: If you don't like Multiplayer, DON'T PLAY IT! The game is still going to have a single-player story, so don't worry about it. 
 
It's not about not wanting to play it. It's them putting resources into a mode that could potentially effect the single player. The fact that there is going to be multiplayer is just following the trend that every game is pretty much doing it to have some sort of staying power. because developers think people want it in every game. Unfortunately these games that were primarily single player games in the first place end up having shit multiplayer.
 
GTAIV multiplayer was trash outside of the free mode part of it. And I imagine that same goes for RDR. 
 
I will be surprised if people are touching that part of the game after 2 months of the games lifespan.