Max Payne 3
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♥ | This article is dedicated to James McCaffrey, the voice actor of Max Payne, who died from multiple myeloma at his home in Larchmont, New York, on December 17, 2023, at the age of 65. (March 27, 1958 – December 17, 2023) |
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Max Payne 3 a 2012 third-person shooter video game developed by Rockstar Studios and published by Rockstar Games. It was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, and OS X. The game is the third entry in the Max Payne series and the sequel to Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. The game is also backwards compatible on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Plot
Nine years after the events of the second game, Max Payne (James McCaffrey) has retired from the NYPD and spends his days nursing his alcoholism and addiction to painkillers. After an incident in a bar in Hoboken, New Jersey, forces him to leave New York, Max accepts an offer from Raul Passos (Julian Dean), whom he met during the incident, to become a private security contractor in South America. Max finds himself working for the Branco family, consisting of Rodrigo Branco (Frank Rodriguez), a wealthy real-estate mogul; Fabiana Branco (Benedita Pereira), Rodrigo's trophy wife; Giovanna (Shirley Rumierk), Fabiana's sister; Victor Branco (Robert Montano), a local politician; and Marcelo Branco (Dillon Porter), a hard-partying socialite. Operating in São Paulo a few months later, Max thwarts a kidnapping attempt on the Brancos by the Comando Sombra, a local street gang, during a private party. A week later, the gang manage to kidnap Fabiana at a nightclub while Max is overseeing her protection alongside Marcelo and Giovanna.
Why It's The Last Payne in the Butt
- Insane and improved Bullet Time physics.
- Awesome graphics that look incredible 2012 standards and still look nice to this day.
- Dark and interesting story, just like the previous games.
- The final level and the ending is quite good unlike in other games, which were trial-and-error focused.
- The Euphoria engine is even more improved from Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption in this game. Enemies will react realistically to being shot. They can clutch wounds, stagger erratically, trip over themselves, and sometimes even fall over ledges. The Bullet engine also is present in this game, providing the bullet physics and environmental physics in the game. Wood will splinter when shot, glasses will procedurally shatter when shot or dove through, and bullets will fly in realistic patterns.
- Awesome and great music, composed by HEALTH.
- Good depiction of São Paulo, at least when compared to other pieces of media.
- After beating the game, you'll gain the ability to play as Max's Old School (MP1) or Classic (MP2) skins. While beating Old School difficulty unlocks the Max Payne Advanced skin in its all constipated glory.
- The game features Multiplayer mode. Also, you can play as Mona Sax, Vladimir Lem, and many more characters from the previous games during this gamemode.
- Good optimization, as the PC port is quite polished.
- Great voice acting, especially from James McCafrey as Max Payne once again.
Bad Qualities
- Some cutscenes are long and can't be skipped.
- The Portuguese dub isn't the worst, but it's inferior to the English one. Additionally, things said in Portuguese don't have an English translation.
- While the facial animations are quite good, sometimes, the same cannot be said about the Old School! Payne skin which falls into the uncanny valley.
- The Multiplayer mode is barely hanging on by a thread. Not only that, but this mode is littered with paid DLC (map packs, gun packs, skins, bursts) and matchmaking is needlessly convoluted (The game quite literally puts you in matches depending on your aim mode. That and also you will be kicked out of lobbies automatically if a DLC map is chosen), and the console versions had the multiplayer servers closed down on September 16, 2021.
Reception
Max Payne 3 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic, calculating an average score of 87 out of 100 based on 31 reviews for the PlayStation 3 version, 86 out of 100 based on 80 reviews for the Xbox 360 version, and 87 out of 100 based on 30 reviews for the PC version. Among its strengths, reviewers cited its story and action; reviewers were critical of the sharp departure in tone and style that defined the original games. According to Take-Two Interactive, Max Payne 3 shipped approximately 3 million units in its first week. In the first month, the game sold 440,000 units in the United States. One year after its release, the game had managed to sell 4 million copies. Max Payne 3 received Best Animation at the 2012 Inside Gaming Awards. It also received multiple nominations from other gaming publications, including Best Shooter, Top Gaming Moment (Hoboken Graveyard Shootout), and Ultimate Game of the Year by Golden Joystick Award Best Action/Adventure Games of 2012 by Destructoid Best Shooter, Best Song in a Game ("Tears" by Health), Best Original Score, and Best Performance By a Human Male (James McCaffrey as Max Payne) by Spike Video Game Awards PS3 Game of the Year and Shooter of the Year by GameSpot; and Best Animation by the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers
Trivia
- Unlike previous games which were inspired by Twin Peaks show, this game is mostly inspired by Man on Fire movie.
- Also unlike the previous games, this game wasn't developed by Remedy Entertainment.
Videos
TBA
Comments
References
- ↑ A collaborative effort between Rockstar Vancouver, Rockstar London, Rockstar Toronto, Rockstar New England, Rockstar San Diego, Rockstar Leeds, and Rockstar North.
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