There's a also very good preview on RPS: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/10/06/max-payne-3-preview/

Max Payne 2 is one of my favourite games, and I was a little sceptical about this new one at first because of the lack of Remedy, but darn it, it's Rockstar. Those dudes know how to video the fuck out of some games. Feelin' optimistic!

Cover system? Oh come on, not everything needs a cover system. Space Marine didn't have one and that was hella fun to play.

I find the quote

If Max Payne and Max Payne 2 made shooting look like a ballet, Max Payne 3 makes shooting look like a ballet directed by Michael Bay.

Think about the horror of that idea for a second. Taking something graceful, and very coherent; and then destroying it with pointless explosions, shakeycam, and the idea that every moment has to be full of action/stuff or people will stop watching.

Love this series.... can't wait to play 3.

After seeing how much having constant access to a large inventory of weapons is, shock, still fun in 2011 with Resistance 3 I'm disappointed to hear that Max Payne 3 will have a limited inventory.

Anyway, it's sounding pretty good to me. Like Deus Ex Human Revolution I think there will always be people who won't like this game at all compared to its predecessors (and that's fine), but I expect it will prove to be a very good game that finds substantial praise.

No word on whether there'll be incidental dialogue between the AI? That was definitely part of what makes the Max Payne series so entertaining.

I still don't like pedomax.

@tgammet said:

A lot of fans of this game are really ignorant of neo-noir or hell just noir in general. The setting of Brazil fits totally fine within the bounds of some of the new-noir stories.

I am excite!

Sure, it might or might not be a common misconception among Max Payne fans that noir means only New York and black and white colors or whatever. But they only mean that the Brazil setting is very different from setting in the original games, not whether or not the new setting fits the meaning of the word "noir" if you look it up in a dictionary.

I'm glad to hear (and see) that you start out with trenchcoated Max in New York. On the other hand, I'm bummed out by the only-three-weapons-at-once thing. I really liked switching weapons a lot as the situation demanded.

Also, I may be remembering wrong, but I think you could swivel 360 degrees on the ground in MP2 as well.

My biggest concern would be the gunplay. It was quite good in Manhunt, terrible in all the GTA games, especially IV, passable in Red Dead, but unlike everything Rockstar have ever done until now, a Max Payne game lives or dies by its gunplay. The euphoria engine seems like it would get in the way.

I don't think Rockstar had to purchase the rights, I think Rockstar has owned the franchise since they published the first one. I mean 3D Realms got a lucrative finders fee for connecting Remedy with Rockstar.

If Max Payne and Max Payne 2 made shooting look like a ballet, Max Payne 3 makes shooting look like a ballet directed by Michael Bay.

That's not helping.

@xobballox said:

@MooseyMcMan said:

Good. Those dream sequences were terrible.

Seriously, they just took the flow of the game out back behind a cabin made out of planks and decapitated it with a rusty axe.

They wernt so bad in the sequel, but yeah they wernt fun or engaging either. As for Max Payne 3 I still remain caustiously optismistic, I think it'll be a great game but i'm not so sure the things I liked about MP will still be there. The tone, the story, attention to detail, great sometimes knowingly idiotic dialog, the characters..

I know Rockstar have had practice in making likeable characters in cool well-realised worlds, I just dont think they're capable of toeing the line between crazy & ridiculous (GTA-Bully) or somewhat crazy but otherwise somber (RDR, LA Noire) characters like Remedy are.

NOTE: I'm aware Team Bondai made LA:N but Rockstar have said that they had a heavy hand in developement and I believe them, considering the state of that team by the end of the project.

Whats weird is, ign is reporting the game is using the 'rage' engine, and the euphoria for the physics. As soon as rage is about to release, THEN we start hearing news about this game. Ironic eh?

Still, VERY VERY excited for this game. Have been since I finished 2 on the pc, god, almost 9 years ago. I do remember the console ports of the first 2, were trash. The xbox one was...ok, while the ps2 one was garbage. I couldn't beat it on the ps2 for all the grimy graphics and horrible analog control. DIFFERENT story on the pc though.

Question is, max payne 1 and 2 are NOTORIOUS for crazy mods. Kung fu for max payne 3 anyone?

I actually think Max looks cooler with a shaved head now more natural the way his face is modeled in this game.Rockstar is definitely the right dev to be making a Max Payne game now there great with gritty characters and good action gameplay can't wait to play this love this series fuck the awful movie though.

Great Article Patrick. However, there is a typo in the second paragraph. You've written ' actuely' when you probably meant actually or acutely. 

"You no longer have access to a full array of weapons, forcing players to make choices about Max's arsenal. He can run around with two or three different weapons (...)"

Console lead then...

All that talk about this still being a real Max Payne game and there being no need to worry, and then he drops this bombshell:

"Now, the graphic novel portions happen using the in-game engine, with Max, as per usual, talking over them."

That's a BIG issue. What makes you think it wouldn't work Patrick? It worked wonderfully in the past and was one of the strongest parts of the games.

The original Max Payne was sweet.

Max Payne 2 was one of those games I was meaning to play when it came out. . . and all these years later, I still haven't touched it.

Is it worth giving it a go? Even after all this time?

@thechronodarkness said:

Whats weird is, ign is reporting the game is using the 'rage' engine, and the euphoria for the physics. As soon as rage is about to release, THEN we start hearing news about this game. Ironic eh?

The Rage engine is the engine used in GTA IV and RDR, not John Carmack's Rage.

One of my favorite things I've ever played in any game was Max Payne 2 inside of a office building there was an area where there was nothing more satisfying than diving around blasting shotguns at everyone. I would then shoot their corpses until there was a huge pile in the elevator.

Max Payne was a great series. I am hopeful for this because I have very fond memories of the series and the game was a great alternative to what games were out at the time.

The thing that got me into the game is the story. I'm glad to see that the gameplay seems to be awesome but It's the story I care about. So yeah, this didn't get me excited at all.

im so happy this game is being made. max is one of my favorite game charecters.

@dirkfunk: yes max 2 is totally worth playing. id recommend PC if you have the option. its a classic

@rjayb89 said:

Damn, Max Payne, you lookin' good, girl.

Damn, Max Payne, you shot me. Now I'm bleedin' girl.

;)

I put my trust in Rockstar.

Ug... the two weapon system? Really?

Still excited, but that took a lot of the wind out of my sails. I don't like that system, especially for games that are supposed to evoke a feeling for the time when that mechanic didn't exist.

I cannot fucking wait for this game. I am beyond hyped.

As for that baby crying sequence with the trail of blood......fuck that sequence.

Max Payne 3 makes shooting look like a ballet directed by Michael Bay.

Sounds awesome to me. I'm certainly looking forward to playing it. I really hope it breathes new life into the franchise and Max Payne gains a bunch of new fans.

I'm optimistic because, and only because, it's Rockstar. They have been the most consistent developer this gen. Even the fucking table tennis game was fun. However hearing that there's a shitty 2 weapon system yet again in a game that shouldn't have it worries me. 2 weapon systems flat out dumb down a game. You can call it making it strategic if you want, but it's only strategic if they don't always place the perfect gun for the job just before the job. They always do though. Simply put it removes options and that's never ever a good thing. Also removing the comic book noir type of cutscenes just seems stupid to me, like they're trying to branch out to an entirely new audience that want shiny GRAPHIX because they have ADHD, while still trying to placate the hardcore followers of the series by even having something similar in there at all. And the little bit about it being like gunplay ballet directed by Micheal Bay makes me want to kill something.

Call me a pessimistic optimist, because right now I'm honestly unsure.

@cclemon36 said:

@Gordy said:

If Max Payne and Max Payne 2 made shooting look like a ballet, Max Payne 3 makes shooting look like a ballet directed by Michael Bay.

That's not helping.

I agree. That analogy horrified me a little.

I'm crying inside.

Played the first two games but wish the third came out sooner... I still hope this gameplay still stand or they changed it for the better. Fuck, I don't even remember the story of the other games... also bullet time is still cool to me!!

Max Bayhem.

If they offer this face as a pre-order bonus skin, I'm in.

If there's one developer I trust to treat this with the respect it deserves (and release a good game in the process) it's Rockstar

Looks good to me!

From clean shaven Max, to beardy Max, to bald and beardy Max, all in one game? I'll admit, I was originally getting a very "Warrior Within" vibe from this new angle, but now it looks like they might actually know what they're doing.

I look forward to using Max's powerful new bullet-time move, the shame spiral

I was sceptical at first because Max Payne 2 is my favourite ever video game but Rockstar know how to make great games. This is going to be awesome and I just hope to God they got in touch with Poets of the Fall and asked them to do a song for the game but I highly doubt it.... this makes me very sad.

@Ketchupp said:

@cclemon36 said:

@Gordy said:

If Max Payne and Max Payne 2 made shooting look like a ballet, Max Payne 3 makes shooting look like a ballet directed by Michael Bay.

That's not helping.

I agree. That analogy horrified me a little.

I'm crying inside.

Why does that put you guys off, you don't want expertly crafted slow mo explosions and special effects? Max Payne could benefit from this, considering this angle of the games were about that exact thing anyways, slow mo etc. Or do you just like to hate the name, Micheal Bay...

Guys, it's Rockstar.

It'll be fucking phenomenal.

@ThePantheon said:

Guys, it's Rockstar.

It'll be fucking phenomenal.

This. Of course it's going to be great. The doubters are hilarious.

@MormonWarrior said:

If they offer this face as a pre-order bonus skin, I'm in.

I dunno why but for me, Sam Lake's face is plastered with the name Max Payne. Yeah MP2 favored its voice actor's appearance and was the better game but there's just something about that constipated grimace...

@Ketchupp said:

@cclemon36 said:

@Gordy said:

If Max Payne and Max Payne 2 made shooting look like a ballet, Max Payne 3 makes shooting look like a ballet directed by Michael Bay.

That's not helping.

I agree. That analogy horrified me a little.

I'm crying inside.

Why does that put you guys off, you don't want expertly crafted slow mo explosions and special effects? Max Payne could benefit from this, considering this angle of the games were about that exact thing anyways, slow mo etc. Or do you just like to hate the name, Micheal Bay...

I hope there will be some trippy shit in there. The part when he got injected with valkyr was brilliant.

Just for the record, it's dual wielding.

I'm looking forward to this.

Hey! Mix & match dual wielding!

@RedHatDrew said:

Hey! Mix & match dual wielding!

More like Max & match. Heyoh!

Article of the year. Thank you Patrick!

@DJJoeJoe said:

@Ketchupp said:

@cclemon36 said:

@Gordy said:

If Max Payne and Max Payne 2 made shooting look like a ballet, Max Payne 3 makes shooting look like a ballet directed by Michael Bay.

That's not helping.

I agree. That analogy horrified me a little.

I'm crying inside.

Why does that put you guys off, you don't want expertly crafted slow mo explosions and special effects? Max Payne could benefit from this, considering this angle of the games were about that exact thing anyways, slow mo etc. Or do you just like to hate the name, Micheal Bay...

I want exertly crafted slow motion and effects by John Woo, which is what the first two Max Payne's were modeled after. Micheal Bay just throws slow motion and special effects into as many shots as possible.