MAX PAYNE

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : Remedy Entertainment, 3D Realms, Rockstar Toronto, Rockstar Vienna, Rockstar Leeds and MacSoft

Publisher : Gathering of Developers, Rockstar Games, Feral and MacSoft

Engine : MAX-FX

Genre : July 23 , 2001

Release Date : Third-Person Shooter

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows 95 / Windows 2000

CPU : AMD Athlon XP 1500+ / Intel Pentium 3 Processor

Memory (RAM) : 128 MB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 8.0 Compatible Video Card with Memory 16 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 4 Series
ATI : Radeon 8500 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 900 MB

GAME FEATURES :-

The story begins in 1998 with Max Payne, a New York City police officer, returning home to find that a trio of drug junkies high on a new drug called Valkyr have broken into his house. Max rushes to the aid of his family, but he is too late; his wife and newborn daughter have been murdered. After his family's funeral, he transfers to the DEA. Three years later, he is an undercover operative inside the Punchinello Mafia family, which is responsible for the trafficking of Valkyr. B.B. Hensley, a colleague in the DEA, gives Max a message asking him to meet Alex Balder, another DEA agent and a good friend of Max's, in the Roscoe Street subway station. When Max arrives at the subway, Alex is shot by an unknown assassin. As a result, the police consider Max the prime suspect in Alex’s death. Additionally, the Punchinello family finds out that he is a cop and wants him dead. Max goes after Jack Lupino, who oversees Valkyr distribution for the Punchinello family. After gunning him down, he meets Mona Sax, a hired killer, who laces his drink with a sedative and leaves him to be found by the Mafia, who proceed to interrogate him. Max escapes the Mafia and gains access to a shipment of guns belonging to the Russian mob after killing one of their traitors. Max uses these weapons to infiltrate the house of Don Punchinello, the head of the Mafia. Max discovers that the Don is only a puppet in the Valkyr market when the Don is killed by agents of Nicole Horne, CEO of Aesir Corp, in front of Max. Horne herself then injects Max with an overdose of Valkyr and leaves him for dead, leading to Max having a drug induced nightmare. When he awakens, he pursues his only lead, Horne's last words, “Take me to Cold Steel”, heard just before he passed out. It leads him to a foundry with an old military bunker under it. He discovers that Valkyr was the result of a U.S. military project to improve its soldiers’ stamina and morale; the project was halted shortly after it began due to lackluster results. He also discovers that his wife accidentally found out about the project while working at the District Attorney’s office, so Horne let Valkyr junkies loose in Max's house. After leaving the bunker, Max gets a call from B.B., who asks Max to meet with him at a garage lot. There, Max realizes that B.B. was the one who shot Alex, framing Max for his murder. A huge running gun-fight begins with Max giving chase through the garage lot.

Alfred is part of a secret society called the "Inner Circle". Woden informs Max about who Nicole Horne is and says the Inner Circle cannot pursue Horne because "their hands are tied." They ask Max to kill Horne in exchange for ensuring that any criminal charges against him are dropped. After the meeting, the room is stormed by Horne's agents. They kill every person in the room except for Max, who manages to escape, and Woden, who pretends to be shot. Max enters the Aesir Corp. main office, where Horne is located. As he makes his way past security guards and mercenaries, he runs into Mona Sax again. She is shot by Horne's after refusing to shoot Max; yet her body vanishes. Max confronts Nicole and states that this whole thing started after Max's wife found out about the Valkyr project. Horne runs to the roof of the building, boarding a helicopter. Racing up to the roof, Max shoots the guy wires of the building's antenna; the antenna snaps off the roof and comes crashing down on the helicopter. The NYPD arrive at the scene, arresting Max. As Max is being led out of the building by the SWAT team, he sees Alfred Woden. Knowing that Woden will ensure his safe passage through the judicial system, Max smiles genuinely. Bullet time is spectacular. The sounds of gunfire become muted and distant, and you hear a rush of air and then the pounding of Max's heart--and you'll invariably hold your own breath as all this happens, because the effect is so well done. Bullet time isn't just for show--it effectively gives Max superhuman reflexes, as while all the action in the game is slowed, you can still aim as quickly as you can move your mouse. The animation in Max Payne is also excellent for the most part, especially for Max, who is very lifelike in everything he does and looks exactly like the great heroes of Hong Kong action cinema as he shootdodges. Grenade explosions also produce spectacular results, as they send nearby bodies careening head over heels through the air. But most of all, seeing bullets fly by in bullet time is an incredible effect that never ceases to be thrilling.

When a game has been in development for an inordinate length of time, you never can tell how it will finally turn out. Oftentimes, such games end up overwrought, incomplete, or behind the times. But once in a while, the extra time and effort paid by the developers is plainly apparent in the finished product. The game's incredible technical accomplishments and its original play mechanics all combine to make it one of the very finest shooters ever made. It's an outstanding and original action game that's not just different from all other shooters to date, but also in many ways superior.

GAME REVIEW :-

9/10

Max Payne Trailer :-