Max Payne 3... 6 Years Later

[Music] time moves forward and nothing changes a metaphor that doesn't apply to this brand you can't spend nearly a decade hiding away and expect to be unchanged when Max Payne resurfaced it was to a whole new world of systems coverage people and leaders ones that had plans for it not to continue what it already did but to create what they wanted to recount the past Max Payne 2 is a wonderful game remedies sequel was confidently bold and its approach to storytelling in action games while ramping up the intensity it's missteps were ultimately negligent and not great enough to stop Max Payne from being considered a great series but within a single game it was no longer considered great in the eyes of its publisher take-two interactive rather than keeping pace with rockstars other big hitters Max Payne 2 failed to meet sales expectations a specific number of units sold has never been released to the public but it's been said by Matias from remedy that the games combined to sell over seven million copies being that we know 5 million of those are Max Payne 1 that means the sequel sold less than half of its predecessor this can even be reflected in attention the game receives today Max Payne 2 has less steam reviews less user reviews and less YouTube views in a particular series despite its quality Max Payne 2 didn't capture the public eye as the first did for remedy this wasn't the end of the world they made a great game its budget was brought back and they would go on to have a partnership with Microsoft Rockstar themselves were in a good place - despite all of take twos antics in the early 2000s Rockstar in the year after Max Payne 2 would release their biggest title yet grand theft auto san andreas the best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time in this environment Max Payne wasn't begging for a third installment with the tragic but beautiful ending of the fall of Max Payne it didn't even have a story waiting to be between the lower sales success in other genres and lack of arrangement the series did nothing to encourage its owner and yet take to publicly confirmed that there would be another Max Payne [Music] true to their word take two finally made use of marking dog studios redubbed Rockstar Vancouver who debuted in 2006 with a new intellectual property bully it was acclaimed and profitable selling nearly as many copies as Max Payne - despite being a PlayStation 2 exclusive after that Games success the developer wasn't offered to work on a sequel for their own project but for rockstars finish relic this isn't a traditional transaction entertainment is condition to immediately fund sequels for recent successes Rockstar was no stranger to this smugglers run Midnight Club in Grand Theft Auto all developed their sequels rapidly taking no more than two years to release them during the six console generation but by the seventh this philosophy had changed they weren't the only ones the higher fidelity forced replace studios to spend more time on assets but that wasn't rockstars explanation to quote the company's co-founder we like to take a little bit of time at the end of a game before starting a sequel so we can wait for the excitement or disappointment and everything else at the experience to shake down and really see what we should do in the next game there's reason behind this how many sequels are looked at differently in retrospect compared to launch and how many have been released despite little to no request for one by 2007 time was on Max's side the more years went by the rarer it's fast and furious gun battles became all the timeI have been standardized but it's utility wasn't if max Payne's usage can be called bullet time than the majority of video games use slow motion finding its way into far more than just third-person shooters from Need for Speed to fallout or 50 cent even the Tony Hawk franchise meanwhile the genre Max Payne based itself and wasn't focused on mechanics which encourage you to move taking cover was the craze now the only games during this generation that could be remotely compared to remedies noir shoot him up or stranglehold in wet the former incorporated max pains dodging and bullet time into the very framework it was largely inspired by Hong Kong action courtesy of John Woo and the latter attempted to mimic a grindhouse aesthetic complementing its violence and gore but the modest reception and mediocre sales of both ultimately ended this imitation game neither had the Invo following story or polished gameplay of remedies efforts this gave Rockstar free rein to do max Payne's gameplay justice but without filtering their own influences as detailed previously Max Payne is a collection of remedies inspirations film the wor Hong Kong action comic books Chow Yun Bogart these are the pillars which made Max Payne what it is it's what led to the creation of its characters writing an artwork which leaves a problem for whoever takes over a pre-existing franchise do you continue those inspirations regardless of your own connection to them or retool it to fit your influences rockstars response to this conflict wasn't a simple answer the company wanted to continue Max's legacy but to follow up with another atmospheric romp through New York seediest districts didn't feel exciting enough fans like myself would have loved that but after a Max Payne twos disappointing sales in rockstars own exploration of the American metropolis and GTA games shifting the setting makes sense from a creative perspective whereas New York had been thoroughly explored in gaming much more beg for attention more recent resilient films like city of God or elite squad inspired the developers with a tragic beauty that was fully realized and tragic beauty was at the heart of Max Payne having never made a linear shooter in the company's history and knowing the challenges that would come with meeting the standards remedy sent Rockstar decided it was best to face their ambitions head-on and indulge their innovations rumors started to spread that Max Payne 3 was in development in 2008 meanwhile ten members of staff were busy shipping 3d scanning equipment to Sao Paulo Brazil the photography references made during Max Payne 1 & 2 were child's play in comparison not only did the team take far more references of the richest and poorest neighborhoods they work directly with casting agencies scanning hundreds of locals in an effort to recreate not just the city but its citizens this setting was unlike anything Rockstar had previously done and so was their commitment the game's linear design only fueled their thirst for detail and momentum continued with the team's efforts to adjust their engine grand theft auto fours and long animations and heavy physics were the opposite of Max Payne speed and agility much of the development was spent maximizing input control while retaining the animation based systems of rockstars titles Max Payne - this was not enemies wouldn't be juggled in the air they've clutched deadly wounds and collapse to the floor when shot in the leg more vibrant and gritty Max Payne 3 was announced officially in March of 2009 scheduled for release in December of that year it featured many impressive screen shots for the time and used its favelas to showcase rockstars style and technology being two years into the project and only months away from launch the team firmly believed in their vision the sleepless nights and hours spent detailing the setting engine and gameplay was exhaustive but audiences didn't share rockstars immersion so the public Max Payne was thought to be dead between remedy moving on to Alan Wake and the poor quality of its film adaptation there was little to no hope for a proper follow-up to the fall of Max Payne in this environment it's easy to see why Max Payne 3 generated so much controversy the announcement of a third game thrilled people only to see nothing that resembled past entries not because the game doesn't have anything in common of the franchise it does just not in this reveal there's empathy to be had for both sides of the debacle Rockstar should have prepared their marketing to ease fans into the new direction then again it's what the team had focused on heavily for two years and naturally they'd want to show it what's fascinating about the game and former cover story is what it hints about the games development one would very little information firstly according to page 40 it said that Rockstar decided against recasting James McCaffrey due to Max's older age bizarre Kansas sitting that the actor is older than the character according to the now-defunct gaming Liberty mr. McCaffrey heard of the third game through a friend and requested his agent to get in contact with Rockstar they followed through and the game ended up using James's voice and face as he went on to do full performance capture for the game but in 2009 they didn't have a voice for max which raises the question of its proposed release date did Rockstar really plan on finding an actor recording all of their lines and capturing their performance in the last eight months of development well there's another questionable piece Rob Nelson the game's art director said won't will there be nighttime levels in the rain probably but level after level of that stuff would get old so we thought it would be interesting put him in this environment the word that concerns me is probably because it makes it sound like the games levels are still being laid out I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that this quote was to let them cut levels without misinforming audiences but combined with the lack of a voice actor the development target was optimistic at best in 2009 Max Payne 3 wouldn't come out instead a letter by the wives of Rockstar San Diego would listing accusations such as reducing benefits salaries failing to keep up with inflation bonuses being cut in giving false deadlines and while the letter appeared to focus entirely on Rockstar San Diego branch it wasn't long until someone from Rockstar Vancouver echoed the letters claims the unnamed source from engagement claimed that Max Payne 3 had gone through a total of three rewrites with that final one taking place in January 2010 a month after the original release date and this was being tackled with 14 to 16 hour workdays 6 to 7 days a week for years the combination of ambition and mismanagement is what made rockstars linear shooter take more development time than any of their open-world projects before or since and why it evolved from a rockstar Vancouver game to a collaboration between studios all over the globe the only news of Max Payne 3 after that Game Informer cover story was either it being delayed or development being a gong show the game finally resurfaced in 2010 with a brief announcement trailer that showcased the new setting featuring James McCaffrey reprising his role in the wide variety of levels that max would partake in the experience wasn't nearly as simple as audiences thought rockstars journey would take max from New Jersey to Sao Paulo and Panama after keeping Max in the dark for five years Rockstar six and final year development would endlessly promote the pain releasing a multitude of trailers featurettes and a television showcase on Spike that has been lost to the internet data Shores Rockstar themselves called it the company's biggest and boldest marketing effort not only including the usual array of billboards and promotions but playing TV spots during the UEFA Champions League final similar to Red Dead Redemption the years of dvelopment obscene working conditions and millions of dollars spent wouldn't stop them from pushing the games quality as as possible after a brief two-month delay the game finally released in May 2012 [Music] in Max Payne aiming didn't matter there was strategy and movement placement and leading her shots but in terms of aiming with the mouse your fists could be made of ham it led to moments of frustration and inconsistency with certain weapons but effectively recreated the ballistic shootouts of Hong Kong in Hollywood cinema Max Payne 2 evolved the gunplay with pistols and assault rifles being able to get someone right between the eyes but hitting enemies was still the priority over where you hit them it had just the right balance of spectacle and precision Max Payne 3 changes this making accuracy the highest priority in combat the doubt for a crosshair is now quite literal and where your bullets are going a curious choice as being handled by Rockstar the game flipped platforms Max Payne 1 & 2 where PC games brought two consoles and Max Payne 3 is the opposite yet its design isn't suited to the platform it's rather fitting the last video I did was about quantum break not only because it's made by remedy but its design can be seen as an amalgam of genre tropes that changed in response to the popularity on consoles it's inaccurate weapons cover system and large safety window for the player are routine compensations for the inherent limitations of analog sticks just compare the accuracy of quakes automatics to Halo Max Payne 3 is a rare example of the opposite but only in regards to aiming it shares the heavy movement hover system blow Arsenal capacity and pacing of contemporary shooters unlike quantum break however the precision of shooting is all that's needed to make the game ultimately more engaging with a mouse and keyboard over a gamepad ultimately there is method and rockstars madness in regards to this control scheme regardless of the platform entering bullet time and picking off a squad with one bullet to the head of each is emphatically satisfying and Rockstar do everything in their power to make it so being familiar with this already oversaturated genre it speaks volumes that this game can make you desensitized and jaded TWRP like me go weapons are hardly the most impactful I've heard in a game but in bullet time they have the punch to make every headshot followed by gnarly wounds and blood spray hit like a freight train actually that weight extends to the rest of the experience max isn't light as a feather anymore which coincides with the game's efforts to feel mark rounded max will snap at a bullet time when colliding with objects he can't do a wheel without discarding a rifle or shotgun and his animations all blend to react accordingly to the player's actions this is where Rockstar put in a lot of effort creating thousands of animations that blend into one another can buy with their euphoria system that both gives the player enough control and makes every killer death feel unique and specifically for the enemies it works beautifully Rockstar lifted the climactic camera shots which appeared in previous games and manages to use it far more frequently without frustration impressive since the original max pains to be 60 shots became a bit repetitive the leap and Technology compared to what was available to remedy in 2001 allowed Rockstar to refine the concept there's a variety of cameras which factor in the weapon you're using an enemy's location where they're hit and how they fall it also helps a game transition to scenes being able to cut from final kill to cutscene rather than a final kill gameplay cutscene the satisfaction of shooting in the lack of Luke death animations is a hefty contribution to this game's enjoyment words climactic shots that have the repetition of quantum break where if the shooting had the impact of Kane and Lynch Max Payne 3 would be in a world of hurt which may hint towards my criticisms but to remain on topic this enjoyment was somewhat neutered in my time replaying the 360 version of the game while that may be rockstars best combat system superior to even the game its combat was a blueprint for this games aiming and movement is far inferior to the competition it doesn't matter which customization options you choose controlling max feels like a wrecking ball and the options themselves aren't deep enough to mitigate problems sensitivity which feels smooth enough an aiming mode is far too drastic when hip firing using soft luck may be the solution but not only is it quite outdated to have to lock on enemies it can potentially put you in danger as the auto lock is sporadic sometimes pointing you directly at the enemy's head or having you aim at targets through walls not to mention these problems only get worse the further you progress into the game when against enemies and full body armor with more powerful and accurate weapons that accuracy also exposes why console shooters moved away from the pinpoint weapons of arena FPS --is that being when you miss it's likely not far off target in fact it may be your mere pixels away but it doesn't register but what magnetism is a mechanic that I've heard being referenced far more since 3 / 3 Industries aired an episode of the Sprint but this is something that combat Evolved innovated with it's meant to prevent the frustrations that can't be done with subtle auto aim and has become commonplace as a result this is something that can really only be confirmed if explored in debug mode or a test map so I won't state it as fact but I don't believe Max Payne 3 has lists it certainly got weapon bloom and auto aim but you'll still have occasions of missing by a hair in the moment and when it causes death there's no satisfaction involved I apologize to sound like a broken record for a long time viewers I'll have to always confirm that this isn't a problem with difficulty the problem is that dying because you weren't pixel precise enough in a game of sluggish inputs on a platform not made for precision isn't a dynamic challenge for the player there's no decision-making or tactics to employ just try to move your stick a millimeter to the right next time it makes a game more brutal and for the wrong reasons that hard difficulty on PC feels easier than medium on Xbox illustrates just how much laser accurate weapons don't fit rockstars main systems what about movement then well rockstars talent and effort into this one aspect of the game can't be overstated but I'm afraid that despite all of the blood sweat and tears put into it the only conclusion I can come up with is that there's no way to make completely accurate animations without sacrificing player control first off there are improvements made here one of the major benefits of shoot dodging now is that max will remain prone until you decide to get up and evolution of Max Payne 2's adjustment from the original max can also roll in Vault now giving you greater control over things that characters should have always been able to do I particularly love the way max picks up weapons off the floor it feels intuitive and seamless while looking great at the same time credited the developers making a shooter be so heavily animated yet generally smooth is very impressive and there's plenty of details I wish appeared more often in games such as max struggling to get up after a shoot dodge or the way that enemies their wounds after getting hit in its best moments the game has an air of authenticity which no other action game can match and its worst they can get you killed what this games animation presents the most is rapid movement any motion has momentum behind it making what was previously a light and easy step in the original games a clunky stop here it's particularly evident on PC with a keyboard but it's also present in the console versions for the most part it's tolerable but on occasion the system flips out and insists to complete whatever it's doing despite you telling it otherwise it can't keep up with the player I think it's to do with certain animations not being able to blend into others here I'm holding a manned fire the whole time Max is getting up but the system doesn't blend him moving away from the cabinet and turning around it has to complete those two animations separately this may sound like a nitpick and it would be minor if Max Payne 3 had the safety window of other shooters but it doesn't make the wrong move in this game you're dead and it's something I really like about it it's refreshing to play a shooter we can't rely on the enemy's stupidity and inability to shoot but any hesitation from max puts you in danger and will get you killed it even presents itself in non-combat scenarios I'm holding forward but because I tapped right previously the animation has to complete before registering the immediate input at the end of the day no matter how many years are spent polishing blending and creating animations players are going to find ways to mess them up and break the flow in that case controls should be prioritized over immersion because the latter is something players are going to inevitably break but the former is one they'll never want to be broken then there's the level design this is one of the most linear games I've ever played but that doesn't surprise me because it's Rockstar the company's reputation is that of gaming's rock and roll sex drugs and violence in an open-world where the player can do anything their perverted mind can conjure up but when it comes to mission design rockstars are the most obnoxiously restricted in the industry and Max Payne 3 is no different the levels are extraordinarily detailed right down to puddles of water blades of grass and micro destruction but in terms of how you navigate them they consist almost entirely of narrow or adores the game does everything it can to give the illusion of scale with gorgeous looking backgrounds but it's fragile the moment you try to deviate from the intended path or explore the illusion shatters looking for secrets leads to repetitive nagging from Max or the NPCs to move on levels are claustrophobic Lea small previous sections are frequently locked off once you've gone past them and there's almost nothing to interact with a charm 'full part of Max Payne was the world the levels look like cliched dingy porn neighborhoods in America but almost anything could be interacted with and in the sequel NPCs with the unique personalities were encountered it's what gives the game so much character that hasn't aged like its graphics Max Payne 3 by contrast only has fidelity very impressive fidelity that's aged far better than other Rockstar titles because of its detail but is still aging nevertheless and despite looking so much more impressive than the older games its levels are far more static and lifeless the lack of scale within the levels also has a negative effect on combat claustrophobic environments are a challenge for third person games to overcome which is traditionally why most that use them are in the horror genre but in Max Payne 3 even areas that take place outside of the favelas are quite limited filled with objects in your way in little room to maneuver I've heard many critics say that the shoot dodge isn't useful but as it allows you to enter bullet time even when you don't have any I disagree what discourages its use isn't due to resource but usability many spaces are just too cramped to make the shoot dodge effective it's why levels like the nightclub and conclusion are the game's best moments they give a little more wiggle room than areas like stadium or police station and another thing that determines the levels enjoyment is how much is broken up with cinematics in the story [Music] we're quantum break and Max Payne 3 continued to be polar opposites is its ratio of story to storytelling remedies time-traveling drop is as I said previously a strong story told poorly Max Payne 3 storytelling is abundantly strong from the moment it starts using an entirely string based composition of Max's iconic theme compiled with a doubt drinking and damaged mind of our protagonist on screen the characters drama sat the stage that doesn't even depart in the menu in fact it cuts seamlessly to the opening that transitions from Max's arrival to his conclusion this elegance is Max Payne three's greatest strength it uses transitions and editing to make for one continuous experience without a break except for the halfway point these techniques are a perfect fit for Max's narration he always speaks in retrospect some of the scenes regardless of time or location blend into one another so seamlessly it effectively displays Max's introspection rarely do memories organise themselves in a linear pattern and Max's mess of one is relatable the transitions are assisted by heavy use of distortion glitch and chromatic aberration filters that sync up with Max's deteriorated state but what ultimately cements the presentation is by far the score la noise rock band health had a promising start to their career releasing two critically acclaimed albums with two successful remix compilations in even opening for Nine Inch Nails to do a video game score for rockstar was a big opportunity but also one with plenty of risks in its own right the amount of music that games require is vast and as a result takes a lot of time and work neither of which is able to be put towards a new album for the band one that may have been the better option if success wasn't achieved here being in a spotlight this large can be as deadly as it can be a benefit the pressure was on Hell to deliver a unique and compelling score that not only please the ears but also worked with the game's atmosphere story in gameplay they didn't disappoint [Music] it's such a radically different style compared to Max's previous adventures and yet it works because it achieves what the game mostly does the pillars are constructed with different materials and procedures but the underlying purpose is the same The Melancholy that's always been present in Max's sound is here the electronics consistently unease with their harsh frequency resilient percussion adds to Max's separation and drums match the weight and brutality of combat health were a band that already had a unique sound so rather than searching for something exclusively from Max the man took their own techniques and found ways to incorporate other instruments into it and while their own sound took priority it was always in service to the story and gameplay and respectfully referencing the works of Max's past when required ded is one of my favourite tracks in the score in large part due to this little detail [Music] [Music] using the scream of Max's deceased daughter during his final goodbyes to her grave his poetry while this game may sadly lack nightmare sequences the incorporation of filters and cinematics and details in the score make their unnerving quality present in this game and while health may be labeled as noise rock I think this game is a great opportunity to show that description doesn't give them enough credit they absolutely nail the ambience in more sombre pieces by far my favorite track created is undeniably regretful and reflective [Music] [Music] but I can't talk about the score without giving some love to the popular favorite however the version you hear in the soundtrack and is constantly referenced isn't the exact version used during the airport scene that we remember [Music] it slowed down and uses a lower pitch as a result which in my opinion only compliments the game's heavy tone and brutal violence it's also in tune with other songs that were similarly tweaked to suit the game playing cutscenes what makes the song however isn't just it's excellent melody but the lyrics trust us now it's time to let me go give up on us follow what you want now it's time to let me go give games abused licensed material before and a great effect but having a song with lyrics dedicated to the character is a concept that hasn't been toyed with nearly enough not in proportion to its power in Max Payne 3 that said power is also possible because of Max's portrayal which is brought to life by James McCaffrey once again and in arguably his best performance the actor hasn't gotten nearly the opportunities he deserves and his ability to embody the character physically as well as vocally cements his talent having used full performance capture the actor really is Max Payne now and his sarcastic quips and laced metaphors are delivered with a signature tone that no one else can replicate any of the issues I have with this games story none of them stem from McCaffrey's portrayal he makes magic with the material but this said material doesn't have the consistency of fidelity music are acting in this game the writing has been applauded by many outlets and I can understand why there's plenty of great quotes in even more details such as recording dozens if not hundreds of lines just for collecting painkillers rock stars signature detail truly is in everything the width that comes rockstars signature cynicism putting Max's mind in the hands of company creative dan Houser may seem like a good fit max has always been sarcastic and skeptical and so are rockstars games but in very different ways I think the best way to illustrate this point is to demonstrate we come to you now live from the crime scene niagara peasant you cry a lot and here I was thinking conspiracy theories had gone out of style here enough for Halloween this place was like back g-strings I didn't know what the hell I was gonna find up there but I sensed it wasn't gonna be a stripper bursting out of a cake and I feel under my way into enough [ __ ] say one day the ladder is certainly more vulgar than the former now I spent far too much time rewatching flashback levels to figure out if this was intentional and part of Max's character development the only other likeable character pathos has this kind of foul mouth so it's possible the character could have had an influence on max two equally cynical viewers that may be giving Rockstar too much credit and it is because Max's tone is unchanged and I'll chalk up his slightly lower swear count in this instance to luck being that these are some of my favorite music movies and shows I've got no problem with profanity you're insane you sick [ __ ] [ __ ] [ __ ] you [ __ ] up his [ __ ] but not only is max throwing f-bombs like grenades out of character the greater problem is that it's generic Max's metaphors wordplay and references had the priority of exploring or explaining his character even the most outdated reference in Max Payne y2k is not to poke at the world but to show how personal Max's journey is not only as Max Payne 3 referencing current trends events and struggles far more frequently it does so at the expense of character consistency Baghdad the internet and strippers have nothing to do with this story and it doesn't build Max's character so while these over-the-top lines may have appealed to my teen edge when I first played this game they've only become an eye roll with time and so has Max's nihilism which Rockstar have seemingly conflated with cynicism what's awkward is that this state of the character might have made sense if Max Payne didn't have a sequel I could buy that after avenging his wife and daughter he would have felt empty and spend his life stumbling along until a dramatic situation finally wakes him from a drunken stupor but Max Payne already went through a low point was reawakened from drama accepted his grief and moved on I'm not saying anything new this is one of the most common criticisms with Max Payne 3 and the counter is that max failed to live up to his word it's not the first time he's done that and you'd probably be a bit of a downer too if you lost your wife child best friend and love that's true but even accepting that it doesn't solve the problem that expain three is dealing with drama we've already seen the ending of Max Payne 2 our hero kills the Big Bad and moves on with his life Max Payne 3 our hero kills the Big Bad and moves on with his life it's a retread and you can only experience something for the first time once the final chance to overcome this fault is to improve upon Max Payne 2 with a deeper plot and while this game is certainly the most brutal it's thinner than a postcard it's a tale of flashbacks during a flashback that ultimately forces events to occur it's not so much riddled with plot holes as it is cluttered with contrivance 'as the biggest of which is its reveal I'm not going to bother discussing the question that's been brought up every time without a decent answer that being why would you hire a cop with America's biggest body count to take the blame for your scheme being a Max Payne game the biggest problem is Maxim self doesn't put two and two together I understand alcohol making for a fuzzy memory but after wiping out an entire army and seeing all of the people you were meant to protect me executed while your friend and client are suspiciously absent smuggling wouldn't a detective figure out something's up the player is never made aware of this event until the game's third act which is convenient because we're the story to be told linearly there'd be nothing to reveal the player would be completely disconnected from Max's inability to register what happened and while the game conjures up contrived events to force the plot and revelations into action there's plenty that could have been left on the cutting-room floor the events of the partying nightclub could have easily combined into one stage as both involve a kidnapping with the same enemy as it stands the opening only serves as an exposition dump conveniently introducing almost every character involved in the story this is echoed by the docks in favela stages both involve the same objective of rescuing Fabiana which goes nowhere but what ultimately brings down the plot isn't the inconsistencies and redundancies it's the characters that exist only to dance to the writers tune fabiana's involvement consists of one paragraph on the game's wiki page Marcelo is summed up by the only intelligent character in the story as an idiot and the villains are properly introduced around the same time max kills them the game even breaks its rule of always staying in Max's head by cutting to the antagonist during the stadium level because if it didn't your introduction to them would be from a photograph and while I could continue nitpicking every little line of dialogue or nonsensical action by a character there's small fry to the big issue that being levity or rather there isn't any there's a sliver of it with references and easter eggs but in the main story there's nothing some may count Max's monologue but it's without a doubt the bleakest of the series and it doesn't match the funhouse NPCs or characters of previous installments Max Payne 3 story is a mean tale where all the heart comes from the effort poured into its presentation rather than the narrative being presented I thought that the prequel comic would alleviate the shift in Max's character but it doesn't only giving hand-wave explanations for why he left the NYPD and what occurred after the fall of Max Payne ultimately then Max Payne 3 is a story driven experience where gameplay as the hook and both suffer negatively as a result unlike before though there's now a place for that gameplay to be at the forefront [Music] Rockstar said on numerous occasions that remedy always discussed multiplayer internally and simply weren't able to make it due to limited resources in time this is true but it's not the reason Max Payne 3 as multiplayer it's rarely discussed but this scheme is one of the most expensive ventures in gaming history with a roughly estimated budget of a hundred million dollars the same as Grand Theft Auto 4 meaning it cost more than Red Dead Redemption Rockstar wouldn't ship a game of this scale without something to entice players after launch but being in the generation Pulu to attacked on multiplayer components real effort needed to be put towards it if only to have a shot at survival on the surface Max Payne threes multi player doesn't make the best of impressions featuring every cliche of the 2010s regenerating health perks shrieks attachments XP progression season passes map voting yada-yada-yada entering matches with the handful of players left searching today results in you being paired with level 50 masters whose pings are almost as high as their kill death ratio using every exploit and tactic imaginable to crush newbies who boot this up out of morbid curiosity however as I hosted a multiplayer play session with fans of the channel something magical happened [Music] from your phone we were having fun good-hearted honest fun by the end of the night hundreds of encounters were dealt with some made a name for themselves and important questions were answered like how it gonna be in a YouTube video however because Max Payne threes progression system is quite extensive the hours spent beating this game down wasn't enough to make it up the ranks so to the people who played this game extensively I'm going to warn that this breakdown is more accurately an impression and that any incorrect information is likely set out of ignorance and I greatly appreciate any civil corrections in the comments what's most interesting about multiplayer is how its environment changes the core gameplay aiming movement and controls behave exactly as they do in single-player instinctively then you expect to play as you did there but by the end of the session my play style between the two modes couldn't be any more different in campaign I'd plan my attacks and use bullet time to line up precise headshots knocking down squads one soldier at a time and multiplayer I'd charge in a room slamming my mouse buttons spraying akimbo pistols that's because level design health of players and the unpredictability of human opponents makes for encounters you'll never experience in the campaign single-player specifically designs its levels to be arenas where a target will never be out of range flee or shoot dodge but in multiplayer its ordinary the speed of human opponents and their damage resistance exposes the inaccuracy of weapons such as the a K or the limited range of pistols which always existed but were never witnessed this makes what you bring into battle important you want a strong variety of play styles that will suit the different game modes the loadout system is reflective of this game's multiplayer as a whole what generic on the surface contains a surprising amount of depth and unique qualities that haven't been seen elsewhere equal parts good and questionable rather than predetermine classes or balancing between weapon types specifically Max Payne 3 uses weight with four levels light medium heavy and over this weight will determine your health regeneration in stamina what it effectively creates is a decision between specialization and generalization players who want to throw grenades carry multiple firearms and wear body armor might not be able to regenerate stamina at all meanwhile a light player can sprint all across the war zone but with limited weapons and gear everything you do in this menu will affect your weight except bursts this games version of the perk system and where you can select bullet time but there are other tantalizing options there isn't a vast selection but that's likely because each has three levels using trigger-happy as an example level one grants you armor-piercing ammo for a limited amount of time level two gives you a high caliber LMG and Desert Eagle level three spawns a grenade launcher it's a balance of risk versus reward the more time you spend not using an ability the more powerful it becomes when you do use it this loadout design has been thought-out and intelligently so it's what generates the game's variety in combat while avoiding many hurdles it's for instance why you aren't constantly on the receiving end of bullet time as people select other abilities issues don't really stem from loadouts themselves but instead the progression system in balance for instance each burst has three levels but levels need to be unlocked individually even though bullet time functions the same across the board just with a longer duration you'll need to be level 18 to use level 3 this is padding at its worst and in ways that unfairly frustrate players two people can have the same burst and one will have less options on the field due to simply not playing the game enough sneaky is first unlocked at level 8 and is fully unlocked at level 34 but what eclipses this by a country mile is locking bursts behind a paywall giving players who bought the season pass or individual DLC the ability to use explosive ammo or reduced damage taken by 40% is like Activision charging money for stopping power and juggernauts an ID I'm sure they haven't toyed with on the topic of balance concerns there's multiple bursts and weapons that frustrate such as Big Dawg which is basically a free painkiller that can save you in the middle of a fight or the FMP semi-auto sniper rifle with a 20 round magazine that can one-shot you in the hand yeah and the heavy armor to counter it can't be unlocked until level 40 in many ways this game allows people to utterly stop on newcomers with play styles that are the opposite of max pains appeal allowing those who grind for hours to deal more damage and retain health is an oversight that likely hurt this game's grow to enjoy this game to its fullest you should have players around the same rank which thankfully we were or have a code of honor and in fairness to Max Payne 3 most multiplayer games are at their worst when only populated by max rank diehards who only play to exploit features which should have been patched any issues with this game are also highlighted in its most basic modes those being team deathmatch and free for all the games at its best in the two most advertised modes painkiller and gang wars the former is most reminiscent of juggernaut from halo where one players Max Payne while everyone else works to stop him whoever kills him gets to become him but the twist is that there's an extra character Passos who works with max by having matches via two v6 instead of a 1v 7 it prevents matches from becoming stagnant and predictable where there Passos and max are working together or split up you need to strategize in order to counter them and because max and passes are loaded up with painkillers instead of a mega health bar you can get the drop on them which is always a thrill you also score points for landing shots in them encouraging everybody to support the team rather than just waiting for Max or Passos to be one shot from death it's a mode I enjoy enough to wish it was poured into more games although none would be able to match the hilarious anger of Max's voice multiplayer is at its best during player driven chaos and the mode facilitates this beautifully as does gang wars rather than break up objective modes and in multiple playlists game Wars compiles all of them into a match consisting of 5 rounds what your objectives will be in each round depends on who wins though it will always conclude with team deathmatch with bursts that give you grenade launchers objectives located out in the open and the action taking place in one section of a map the chaos is staggering victory in each round will earn you extra points towards a concluding round which is both good and bad the good is that losing around doesn't guarantee a loss down the road the bad has certain rounds are a lot more work than others and points don't account for it the enemy may fight tooth and nail to secure a bomb in plants meanwhile in the next round you win a Last Man Standing that concludes in a minute and both teams will earn the same amount and because objectives focus the action at one part of the map it does lead to a lot of grenade spamming frankly I'm not sure why grenades are in this game at all throwing them is awkward and clunky and it doesn't flow naturally to max pains gameplay in single-player enemies use them to flush you out of cover and multiplayer enemies use them for easy kills not having frags available also what if may burst like trigger-happy unique something that you would time to prevent an objective plant instead of toying with your rivals but ultimately the chaos is preferable to the tedium experience in standard modes maps are surprisingly big in this game giving more advantage to long-range weapons in camping while painkiller and gang wars encourage the running gun at Kimbo action the series is known for there's plenty of little details that I love to see in other games such as vendetta's which allow you to put a bounty on someone who's killed you twice in a row there's an XP reward for whoever survives the next encounter or the death cams which show you exactly where you were shot it's these extras that make the multiplayer of this game more than the sum of its parts what's a shame is that these good ideas and designs are obstructed by the shoddy execution in practicality hitboxes actually are smaller for female characters here customizing your classes requires using the Delete key on PC playlists are not only broken up by modes but the two variants of each softlock in freeing the former does nothing on PC but mess with your sensitivity and to split the player base even further Rockstar released three map packs that when voted for remove everyone in the lobby that doesn't have them but underneath all of these exploits and oversights is a surprisingly in-depth and fun multiplayer component with ideas and concepts that are unique to this day and are worth experiencing it's not something you play competitively but for light-hearted rivalries and insane gun battles which is why I'll be hosting another play session after this video is uploaded if you're interested there's a link in the description they'll take you to my Steam page which goes into more detail [Music] Max Payne 3 is a wonderful game when you play by its rules when you progress down its intended pathways watch with undivided attention in its cutscenes and let it show you the hard work on display it's why I love this game at launch but admittedly while I still enjoy it the games gotten worse with each playthrough what I find most confusing about this game is its commitment to immersion and how inconsistent it is the game makes so many sacrifices and the team pours so many resources willing to grant unlimited ammunition and set pieces or have you somersault up staircases having cutscenes B as long as the game's absurd load times is a clever illusion for the person who buys and consumes at once but it's not an illusion of shared authorship which is probably why this game is the most controversial of the series it's excellent gunplay effects and presentation ultimately outshine what lies underneath a confined adventure with a frivolous tale but Max Payne 3 is a game worth playing and when played as its intended a beautiful and engrossing experience the ones who really suffered weren't Max Payne or his fans but the makers of this game a two-year project by a single team in Vancouver developed into a 6-year venture tackled by hundreds of people all over the globe without the pay or treatment they deserve all for a title that unlike Red Dead Redemption wasn't repaid several times over Max Payne said that we were willing to suffer for the things we care about and the developers of this game are living proof [Music] who is the character you relate to most in all the video games you've played and why this question is actually so good that I can't even think of a specific example right now however a general archetype that I tend to relate to our characters who care but don't want to make a show of caring they'll hold a conversation but they won't go searching for it if you know what I mean these are typically found in Bioware or obsidian RPGs characters like Aten Rand Alistair Varrick those characters are all way funnier and way cooler than I am but I do relate with their tendency to use sarcasm as a defense mechanism if you could kill a person with any kind of chocolate what would it be without of a question the worst pair of white chocolate imaginable if you were the filling inside a candy bar what would you be subtle caramel when will you come home dad badger stop it what's a game you wish you could experience for the first time again [ __ ] spec ops I want to experience back ops again as I've said previously that is the game that made me look at games in a different way and is largely responsible for why I do this today if spec ops is off the table probably the Mass Effect series who do you main in all seriousness I actually don't really main things in video games I find what I use the same thing repeatedly I actually get progressively worse because I'm making Dumber plays and I'm not adapting and therefore being more careful so in siege I will constantly rotate between operators and in games like Call of Duty I will constantly change weapons even if they're in the same category thoughts on leper leper he ruins shows in the best way possible do you love me now that's a mystery for another time [Music]

Channel: Raycevick

Views: 1,552,756

Keywords: Raycevick, CuHnadian, COG, connected, COGconnected, review, analysis, years, later, Max, Payne, Payne 3, Three, Rockstar, Game, Studios, Vancouver, North, Leeds, San, Diego, Remedy, Entertainment, Microsoft, Apogee, Software, 3D, Realms, Grand, Theft, Auto, Bully, Midnight, Club, Smugglers, Run, Alan, Wake, Quantum, Break, Halo, Quake, Fear, Tony, Hawk, 50, Cent, Blood, On, The, Sand, Need, For, Speed, Electronic, Arts, Take, Two, Interactive, 2K, Games, James, McCaffrey, Hong, Kong, Sao, Paulo, Brazil, Elite, Squad, City, of, God, retrospective

Id: X79uF_EYDnI

Length: 48min 49sec (2929 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 25 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

One of the best games of the last generation and imo the very best 3rd person shooter gameplay to date. The movement feels fluid and fast, yet none of it feels unnatural because the animations are nothing short of brilliant. The mere fact that you can still turn from side to side while Max is laying on the ground was mind-blowing to me.

The violence stays shocking throughout, every kill feels extremely brutal and oddly satisyfing. There may be no outright gore, but MP3 is one of the most violent games I have ever played.

It's a shame that imo no 3rd person shooter has come close since.

[u/Ad_For_Nike]

I would go as far as saying max payne 3 had some of the tightest third person shooter gameplay ive ever played (save for some awkward sections like the stadium sniper bit)

the meld of visual feedback and tight controls was amazing, I just wish it was longer. (and not as big of an install, jeez)

[u/TheAerofan]

I was just considering playing this for the first time because I heard it mentioned as one of the best third person shooters ever. Should I play the first two games or is it not necessary?

[u/ImAnOlogist]

My very first justified pre-order. I spent 100's of hours in the first two, 3 was such a mature ending for me. What an incredible trilogy. I don't care if they ever revisit the franchise.

[u/DawsonJBailey]

I would play so many reskins of Max Payne 3 it's not even funny. The gunplay is still unrivaled by any other game besides maybe R6 Siege but that's a completely different kind of game.

I'd say MP3 to the Max Payne series is like MGS4 to the MGS series. Both feature an old grumpy version of the main character and add soooo much in terms of gameplay. Also both of them were super polarizing entries in their respective series'. I think both are great though.

[u/itsaghost]

Really like how he described 3 as a game with pretty sharp storytelling but a pretty terrible story. Never thought of it that way before, but it really sums up much of my criticisms with the game. The detail is there, the set pieces are as well but the plot at large and the signature Dan Houser 'Crude language means mature prose, shitfuck yeah' script really bogs it down for me.

Even now, I can barely comprehend why the game goes to where it does in the last half, and why I killed whoever he was at the end of the airport scene. It was a very cinematic moment, and the actual staging was great, but I can't tell you who he was or why he had to die at all, and I remember feeling way when I first played it as well.

2 was the high point for me, its also one of my personal favorites in all of games, but because of that I don't think I could ever let 3 live up to the same impression so many others seem have had of it.

[u/RCFProd]

One of my favorite games. It felt far from being the most complete game in any way at all, but the story and soundtracks really combined well.

[u/ConstableGrey]

I'd love for a spiritual successor to Max Payne 3, it was probably the best third person shooter of its generation.

Grumpy Max really grew on me. Max Payne 2 is still tops, but I recently went back and played Max Payne 1 after a long time and the story just doesn't do it for me anymore, it's so over the top with the Valkyr and the secret society stuff.

[u/danvir47]

I absolutely loved this game. The shooting is interesting, just about every gunfight is set up in a very deliberate way, threaded together with brief in-engine cutscenes.

The game is sprinkled with mini set-pieces (Max pushing a bad guy through a glass window and having to shoot guys on the way down). The narrative is great too, although it felt more like a story about an aging action hero rather than a noire story to me (which isn’t a complaint). I haven’t played Max Payne 1 or 2, but this game stands well on its own.

The only things that annoyed me were some of the unskippable cutscenes at the beginning of levels, and the collectables you would have to find in order to unlock cheats.