Remedy neo-noir TPS with bullet-time mechanics and comic strip storytelling. Max Payne, a grieving cop, hunts his enemies across a rainy wintry New York. Gunfight slow-motion, noir atmosphere and intense plot make it a memorable PS2 title.
Your verdict
Category
Third-Person Shooter1 player16+
Description
A Remedy and Rockstar Games third-person shooter released in 2002 (Japan, Europe, US), a console port of the 2001 PC game. Snowy New York, winter, cop Max Payne tracks down those responsible for his family's death. The signature bullet time, hard-boiled monologues and comic-book aesthetic: a narrative classic of the PS2.
Max Payne review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
MAX
Story
★★★★★
"Masterful"
A cop broken by the murder of his family, Max sinks into an icy New York to slake a vengeance with no way out. Narrated like an illustrated noir novel, the tale distils fatalism, pain and hard-boiled metaphors of rare intensity. This despairing thriller imposed an unheard-of tone, imitated ever since.
A third person action game from Remedy, Max Payne imposes bullet time on the genre, letting you slow time for choreographed gunfights of unprecedented intensity. The despairing neo-noir narrative, told in comic panels, and the snowbound New York atmosphere give the title a real literary identity. The stiffness of some sequences and a dated PS2 production have aged. A classic of action gaming to recommend for fans of stylish gunplay and cinematic noir storytelling.
