After the release of Max Payne and its sequel, The Fall Of Max Payne, Remedy Entertainment sold the rights of the games to the ever charming and totally not money hungry Take-Two Interactive, deeming the story of the character to be considered finished. Not long after, the CEO of Take-Two announced a sequel to the pill-chugging matrix cop despite nothing being shown about the third installation (besides a mediocre film adaptation starring Marky Mark & the Wild Bunch) until 2009, when it was set to release in the winter of that year. However, in what can only be described as pure development hell, the game was not released until May of the legendary year of 2012.



The story of Max Payne 3 is a blend of Man On Fire with a dash of City of God, seeing Max, after coping through the events of Max Payne 2 and Hoboken in 3 a drunken pill-chugging mess, as a bodyguard in Sao Paulo, Brazil with fellow ex-detective and friend Raul Passos for the wealthy Branco family. When a kidnapping occurs on Fabiana, the wife of Rodrigo Branco, it is up to Max and Passos to tread through the foul underbelly of Brazil to rescue her, while corruption, secrecy, and conspiracy lurks through every corner and hallway they shoot through. Written by Dan Houser, it may not be the best story compared to 1 and 2 with it leaning more towards satirical drama than the noir style by Sam Lake, but it has that one liner feel as any other game in the series.



Max Payne 3 is in a word, ugly. It replaces the comic book style cutscenes it was known for and makes it contemporary by adding flashing visual effects, and while it may not appeal to some players, it has the feeling of bleak, miserable darkness it has like the other games. The change of location to Sao Paulo in a way gives a breath of fresh air, replacing winter with summer, mob bosses with paramilitaries, the dank alleyways of American soil to rundown favelas and undecipherable Brazilian territory, and the mysterious everlasting war against crime and drugs with the corruption in the face of local justice, greed through inhumane and evil ways, and the personal journey of one man's salvation from a history of failures. And as always, the self narration from James McCaffrey will never not get old. Graphics wise, for a game made before the beginning of next gen, they have aged so well and beautifully.



While the first two games are more of an run-and-gun action shooter feel, given the structure and feel of the game, 3 takes on a different approach. With the game now running on the RAGE engine, and Max now older and less agile, it never felt more realer and deadlier than ever before, with you now being able to use cover, though the durability and the amount of cover varies per level. Using the latest in motion capture technology, Max moves like never before, providing real time mobility at every moment, being able to pick up any weapon on the ground, roll and dive into different positions, even shooting on the ground is possible. All of these games have one thing in common, in that Max is a mere ordinary grizzled cop and can easily die with a few shots. Fortunately, Bullet Time returns, with you being able to line up that perfect shot and can now shootdodge even if the bar is empty, and the ever so craved painkillers can heal a part of your health at any moment. And being the game was developed with the engine used in Grand Theft Auto IV, enemies reactions and ragdolls never felt more bloody and satisfying, with almost lifelike if a little ridiculous movement. Finally this all comes together in a linear level structure with levels seamlessly transitioning to cutscenes, perhaps the most divisive aspect of the game, because unless you have a powerful enough PC to skip these, be prepared to wait minutes just to get right into the action. All in all this makes the game a explosive if a little sluggish good time, and while it has downsides, like you being limited to only three weapons at a time and the sometimes clunky responsiveness of the aiming in certain positions, the fact you might not like its more compact gameplay sections and THOSE UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENES, you might love this game. There is also multiplayer for the first time, and its probably the best one I have ever played.



Perhaps the most well known and personal favorite aspect of Max Payne 3 comes from the soundtrack. For 1 and 2, Remedy had a mix of a late 2000s action thriller and cop drama love story composed by Kimmo Kajasto and Kimmo Hatakka, with a special appearence by Finnish band Poets of The Fall for 2. Rockstar, however, went for a more grittier and frayed, if a little ambitious vision of the score in mind when they tasked the L.A. based heavy rock band HEALTH to produce the music, and trust me when I say that they did not disappoint. Every track is brimming in harsh, haunting and gloomy vibe, some with jungle like aesthetic, and even eerie symbolism to the tragic history of a man with nothing to lose, structured in stems that play depending on the part of level and what is currently happing in the moment to have a seamless transition of nonstop tense feel in every shootout. The best one will always be the airport section in Chapter XIV, TEARS playing in the background, slowly shooting the bad guys out of the way in a sense of release of the past and moving on with what you have left. It also features music from Emicida, NYC DJs Trouble & Bass, and blues in the Hoboken chapter. Ever since first listening the music, I have been a deep fan of HEALTH ever since for it absolutely unique sound of rock and electronicish music, and I would honestly never want it any other way. An official soundtrack was produced with edited tracks, although there is a chance the updated version in the future will include unreleased tracks, and to that I say, the more HEALTH the happier.



I have so much to say about this game I literally don't have enough characters to explain this review. Development as with many R* games is faintly known, the cost of this game was half of GTA V's budget, and it was ultimately considered a 'flop' to Take-Two, but to many, including myself, it's the swan song we, and the character so much deserved. It's in my favorite games of all time, and one game I have a deep connection towards. It may be considered to be the last in an era of groundbreaking classics from Rockstar, perhaps even the last true R* game, and it may not be the best Max Payne, but it is certainly one game that people can relate to and will be remembered for a long time.