Max Payne, Creating More Pain For
The Mob On The X-Box!

Written By Style Rodriguez

Max Payne is one game that cannot help but keep making waves. First on the PC, then on the Playstation 2 (Click here now for the PS2 Review), and now on the X-Box, this game is the definition of action. Max Payne gives you all you want and more, a gripping storyline, amazing graphics, and control just the way you want it. When this title was released so many console owners were constantly asked if Max Payne would make it to consoles.  We now have the opportunity to play the X-box version, and a great one at that. Here are the reasons that make this a great title for those that need a little more info.

The storyline is one that has been done before, on the big screen that is. Max Payne, our hero and a New York City cop, after some convincing by his partner and friend becomes a DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) agent. After a hard day at work Max comes home to find that everything is not so well. There is graffiti on the walls and the house looks like a group of elephants used it as there personal play room. Once he begins to investigate further, Max hears noise upstairs. The sounds of his wife and child screaming are all you can hear at first, but then you hear the gunshots. Max finds his way upstairs and runs into a couple of hitmen. After dealing with them in the proper manner he finds his wife and child dead. This is part of the scheme that was premeditated by the mob. Max is on a case investigating about a new drug called Valkyr, a drug that, when injected, makes heroine look like candy. His investigation leads him to the subway to meet with his friend Alex. This meeting turns sour and his partner ends up getting killed. Of course Max gets blamed for the murder and is now on New York’s Finest most wanted list.

The storyline is told in two fashions. The first is your typical real-time cut scene. The second is located between levels and at points where you find information that is important to the case. This second manner is a humorous way to play because it is done in an old comic strip style. I have to admit that some of the story kept me thinking of the movie Payback with Mel Gibson. Now, I know Mel was a professional thief, but I’m talking about the mood of the movie as compared to the mood of the game. This is one of the darkest stories that I have ever seen in a console game before. It has many different twists so you won't be bored, and just like the movies, every time you think you have it solved something else happens.

The gameplay is simple.  Your Right Trigger button is for firing. Your  B Button feeds you painkillers. Painkillers are basically to restore your health. You move Max around by using the Left analog stick. The right stick is used to control your camera angle and is used for targeting the enemies on screen. The Directional pad is used to toggle between your weapons while the X Button is used for Jumping. Last and least are the White, Black, and A buttons. The White button is used for looking around and the A button is used for reloading your weapons, and the black is not used. Sounds complicated, right? Wrong, even though your using almost every button on the controller it is very simple and you don’t even realize that you’re using all of them.  And on top of that, if this configuration does not suit your needs, you can customize it.

Wait, I didn’t tell you about the Left Trigger button. That is because this is the button that helps make the game worth so much more. This button, if you already didn’t figure it out, is your Bullet Time button. What is Bullet Time, you ask? For those that don’t know what Bullet Time is, "Bullet Time is what I Break for" (just kidding). Bullet Time is what you do when you are surrounded by enemies and need to pick them off one at a time. The game slows down and the sounds of the game are heard in echoes. The moment you do this, you know what it’s like to be in a John Woo movie or in The Matrix. That’s right. Bullets are flying by left and right, and you see them traveling into your enemies. What makes this even more fun is the fact that you can use Bullet Time with any weapon, be it a Shotgun, twin Ingram’s, or double Berettas. Heck you can use it when throwing grenades, just make sure that your jumping backwards when you do.  If there is one thing that helps show off the power of the X-Box is Bullet Time.  While working on our reviews, we played Max Payne side by side, X-box and PS2. When in Bullet Time everything is very smooth and has no type of jerky camera angles on the X-Box.  I wish I could say the same thing about the Playstation 2 version.  If there is anything I would have to complain about on the PS2 version it is the way it handles Bullet Time.

Let’s talk weapons. Oh, the Weapons are great in this game. First off, my favorite, the twin Berettas. There is nothing like them. You have two types of Shotguns: the Pump-action and the Sawed-off. The Sawed-off is the more powerful but holds only two rounds, causing a slower reload time. Then you have Grenades and Molotov cocktail, both great for throwing from elevated platforms at crack heads that will try to take you out when you turn your back on them. Then you have the big bang handgun that is the Desert Eagle. You have double Ingram’s, these are my second favorite. You also get a single Ingram. There is the distance rifle, which is also known as a sniper rifle.  The sniper rifle is lot of fun too, because when you hit a target the bullet goes into a bullet tracking view.  No, not first person, because Max is not the one hurling towards the enemy. You also get a Colt Commando, Jackhammer shotgun, and of course, a bat and a pipe. The bat and pipe are very useful in situations where you’re low on bullets or need to break cartons, boxes, and crates that can be filled with either Ammo or Painkillers.

If you’re wondering, "Hey this game is a mystery at the same time, where are the puzzles?" Don’t worry you have enough to keep you happy but not too many to annoy you either. The puzzles are fairly simple and never slow you down to the point of frustration. Keeping in the gameplay, the environments are very well detailed. Whether on the street, in a crack house, or visiting some other type of illegal front, the graphics recreate  these types of areas very well.

I guess this is all I need to say, now all you have to do is go out, buy this game, and enjoy some serious action, some comedy, and intense gameplay. If you don’t want to go out and buy it then click on the Box image to the right of this page and you can order it online. Happy Bullet Timing. 

Publisher   Rockstar   Developer   Remedy   Platform   X-Box   Player   One Players

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