Max Payne 3 (PC)

Hello and welcome to my humble website where I share my first impressions of video games in "humorous" long-winded "articles" that are totally not just lazy game "reviews".

Today I'm taking a quick look at the first few chapters of Max Payne 3. Seemed like the thing to do, seeing as I already played the first two games earlier this year (and the GBA game a few years before that).

Max Payne was originally Remedy Entertainment's series, but Bully developer Rockstar Vancouver took over for the third instalment (presumably because Remedy were busy making Alan Wake). I'm just hoping they're better at making games than they are are making logos because... well just look at that thing! I've never seen a title screen in a AAA video game flicker and glitch out so much.

(Click screenshots to... maximise their resolution. Heh heh.)

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (PC)

Today's 'F' game is... The Fall of Max Payne. Yeah sorry I totally cheated there (and I'd do it again without shame or hesitation). I'll be playing through Part One, mentioning anything that comes to mind as I go.

Max Payne 2 came out in 2003, two years after the original game, for PC, Xbox and PlayStation 2 (the GBA had to sit this one out I'm afraid). Critics and players loved the game but it didn't end up selling all that well and with Remedy Entertainment moving on to making Alan Wake the series lay dormant for almost a full decade after this before Rockstar Vancouver stepped in and gave it a big-budget blockbuster makeover with Max Payne 3. Whether it stayed true to the tone of the franchise is debatable, but critics and players agreed that it was a hell of a lot better than the mid-budget Max Payne movie released four years earlier.

But I'm meant to be talking about Max Payne 2 right now, so... uh... what about this theme tune huh? Pretty awesome and haunting right? Oh, here's a link so you can listen to it yourself while you read: youtube link. It's basically the song from the first game, except a bit slower, a bit sadder, and the piano has been replaced with violin.

(Click the pictures to inflate them to 1280x1024 resolution if you want a closer look at anything.)

Max Payne (PC)

Super Adventures in Gaming Replay 2014 - Game 4

Today on Super Adventures, Replay Week continues with my second look at Remedy's Max Payne, as seen on PC, Mac, PlayStation 2, Xbox, iOS, Android and, uh, Game Boy Advance. It also got a movie in 2008, which was utter shite (no huge surprise there).

I suppose this one's not actually technically a replay, seeing as first time around I was mostly talking about the GBA version instead, which is a great deal more isometric and a great deal less 3D. It wasn't all that terrible either (genuine huge surprise there!)

Here, have Max's theme tune to listen to while you read: youtube link, it's one of my favourites.

(Click the images to view them at a fascinating 1280x1024 resolution.)

Max Payne (GBA)

Aka Max Payne Advance. Yeah I'm playing a Game Boy Advance port of a third person shooter, but keep an open mind, maybe it's not that bad!

(Click the PC game screenshots for a massive 1024x768 version.)