Since the beginning of the Max Payne series nearly a decade ago we have witnessed the former New York detective become a victim of some ill-fated incidents from the death of his wife and child to his trial for mass murder and the slaying of his previous love interest Monica Sax. So it’s of no surprise that in the introduction to Max Payne 3 we see the conflicted character still haunted by memories of his traumatic past and wallowing in a spiral of alcohol and pill addiction. Looking very different to its predecessors, Max Payne 3 moves away from the dim lit streets ofNew Yorkinto the favela’s and baking hot club life of Sao Paulo. Max is now working as a private security guard to a wealthy businessman where subsequent events lead him into a sinister plot.

 Rockstar has been able to keep a gritty feel despite the story line being set in totally different surroundings and without a doubt the ‘film noir’ narrative and violence has been fully utilized on the new consoles with cut scenes plentiful, adding to the depth of story telling and giving it a cinematic feel. 

 

The Game play has not been altered much but has been refined with its signature ‘Bullet Time’ and ‘Shoot Dodge’ mechanics making shoot-out’s intense and with no automatic health regeneration every firefight could well be your last. The games crisp graphics, fully destructible environments and kill camera slow motion feature create a choreography of gunplay and action emphasising the games cinematic origins.

The campaign lacks the freedom of your typical Rockstar game but keeps the Max Payne winning formula throughout.

Where the game will win new fans to the series is through its new multi-player with Gang Wars being an enjoyable mode. 

In Gang Wars you play four rounds with different objectives that change depending on the result of the previous one. Depending on how well your team is doing, you can pick up ‘Bursts’ (which are like Perks for your team) which induces paranoia in the opposing team making ‘friendlies’ appearing as enemies! The four levels include assassinating a team leader to diffusing bombs with the fifth and final round resulting in a Team Deathmatch. 

 Overall the game sticks to its origins and does not fail to deliver on its eagerly awaited follow-up after a 9 year gap. As a mature game this is a narrative masterpiece with the ensuing violence serving with purpose and style.

 

PGR Rating 8.5/10