MEMBER PROFILE FOR stewy_gt
Average Overall Score Given: 10.00000 / 10
Total Forum Posts: 45
Reviews
Max Payne
Overall: A truly outstanding game, different from what you would expect from games in the past. It takes some time to get use to the controls, but once you get use to it, nothing can stop you. Great implementation of bullet time. I would say the game is a bit short, but the level of difficulty makes it worth while. Theres nothing like seeing a bullet in time. If you like action games, just read the title, Max(maximum) Payne(Pain). You know this is the one. The different difficulty levels doesn't do much for replay value, but after beating the game, you'll want to play it one more time, just to try something different. The characters in the game give a real challenge, and the AI is really good.Gameplay: The first thing I had to try was bullet time. What I think was a good idea, was to give a limited amout of bullet time. Bullet time helps you to have the advantage in a gunfight, but it has to be used wisely.The characters in the game give a real challenge, and the AI is really good. As you play through the game, you will notice that you rely on the bullet time feature more often; however, the game can be played without it, but that would be too difficult(even on the easiest level). Max Payne is only human, he can't take a million bullets and keep standing. A few well places bullets or a grenade can mean sudden death so play smart. Aiming can be a bit tricky when using bullet time. As you dive across the floor, you have to aim up your enemies before hitting the ground. After you hit the floor bullet time stops, and the game goes back to its regular pace. You can also use all the bullet time at once, but this is not the best option unless it is really called for. The camera is perfectly placed most of the time, but sometimes you will find yourself in a position where you are being fired at and you can't tell where the bullets are coming from. If your fast enough, you can use bullet time to actually see the bullet fly by. There are a wide assorment of weapons to utilize in the game. The game follows the usual story(someone dies, take revenge), but the actual gameplay is the more exciting part, something you don't experience in most games. You can also save the game at any point you want.
Graphics: The visiusals for are very good, Max Payne's character doesn't have any facial animation, and always has a wise guy look on his face. One of the first things you'll notice is the cut scenes. Instead of going with animation, they used paintings. This doesn't take away the appeal of the game, and some how fits the story. The reaction of the bullets when they hit the wall is outstanding. When a bullet hits a tile wall, you will see pieces of tile break away, and the bullet hole remains there no matter what you do or where you go. There was a part in the game where I used bullet time and shot an enemy. I could see the bullet leave the shotgun, hit the character(blood all over the place) pass through the character, and hit the door behind him. Truly amazing. There isn't any noticeable loss in frame rate throughout the entire game. After dying, the game quickly reloads the last save.
Audio: Nothing to spectacular for the sound. I don't have surround sound, so I can't really determine how good it is. However, the voices are done right. There are one or two time that you might get annoyed with the voice, but if your not taking notice of the voices, you'll probably miss this part. The bullets sound like they should when hitting diffent objects(I've watched the movies). You'll also notice the change in sound when he walks Max Payne walks on diffent surfaces. Don't expect to hear music throughout the game, most of the music is made from the firing of the weapons. This is not a bad thing as you probably wouldn't have realized it yourself. You'll spend a good amount of time listening to Max Payne talking. The good thing is that you can speed up the cut scenes(unlike in Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time for the N64). This helps if you are playin it again and don't want to hear what is being said.
Suggestions: More should be done to improve on the replay value of this game. It already has a solid gameplay. The game was a bit short, maybe for the sequel(assuming there will be) you could make Max Payne go to diffent locations. The locations looked too familiar. Also, it would be good if he could more interactive with the environment. Special effects like leaves blowing, rain, and snow would also make this game more appealing. Finally, I would prefer the animation for the cutscenes, the picture lowerers the adrenaline built up after completing a level.
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
