How Max Payne 3 reminded me that mainstream gaming is doomed

MMGN.com writes: I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine who has been without internet for about nine months now. Personally I would go insane, but now he's back online he is desperately trying to catch up on all the gaming he missed out on while he was out of action, which is hilarious when he asks me if I've heard of the new game from id Software which came out almost twelve months ago now.

[LOGICWINS]

I understand where your coming from. Max Payne 3 is an excellent action experience, but its not one that you would want to constantly revisit due to it's linearity.

And given the fact that the game is so story driven, knowing whats going to happen in your second or third playthrough takes away much of the excitement you get from playing it.

It's not like Mass Effect 3 where you have tons of reasons to replay the campaign. Playing as Male/Female, then choosing a class(biotic/soldier), then chose renegade/paragon focus etc.

[frjoethesecond]

If you said Mass Effect 1 instead of Mass Effect 3 I would have clicked agree.

[Perjoss]

Agreed, its quite hard for me to compare ME1 to both its sequels, the first one felt so much like an RPG where as the other 2 felt like long third person shooters.

[Hellsvacancy]

Thats why I loved/hated MP3, I think the main reason I liked it was because of the awesome soundtrack, and the cutscenes with Max where really enjoyable "does a piece of sh!t feel popular because it attracts flies"

I was bored of the gameplay pretty early on, which I knew would be the case, hence why I rented it

[Captain Qwark 9]

so he is basically just saying he likes xp systems in games because they add to the experience.

id be inclined to agree because imo they add a much needed depth when you have some type of character building, even if its as simple as say god of war where you upgrade your weapons a bit. i could be a bit biased too though since i still think rpg games or rpg hybrids are by far the best games

[Picnic]

At some point someone at Rockstar decided that Max Payne mainly about shooting bad guys in 'awesome slow-mo'. If that was Remedy's main intention then why would they have gone to all the bother of the most compelling psychological set up to a series, the murder of his wife and child with some disturbing dream sequences? The first 2 games were not just arena after arena where they threw in a wave of bad guys - there were some examples of that but most of the game saw you travelling down corridors. There was a kind of survival horror element in atmosphere- you could have been playing the lighter parts of a Silent Hill game, albeit with a good tongue in cheek line in humour sometimes. Max Payne 3 is tougher than ever because of the number of enemies but it's more workmanlike in setting the scene of who Max Payne is. Some of the ideas of the original games remain but they've been put in to a different style of game. If you want to play a game more like the first 2 Max Payne games in terms of atmosphere, you'd probably be closer to them playing Sam and Max!

[8BitSoul]

I wouldn't say Max Payne 3 is just another forgettable shooter. If anything, Max Payne 3 is one of the few true gaming experiences I've had this year.

Storytelling and character development is something that seems to be dying, and Rockstar Games are the freaking masters of this art! Even though I haven't gone back to it since i finished it, it still sits in my mind as a extremely well executed and thrilling experience.

While I do appreciate the recent XP-trend in games, it isn't necessary in order for me to enjoy a game. Sure, it's addictive as hell, but it doesn't really add anything to the experience, unless it's an RPG, like Skyrim, Mass Effect or Dragon Age, where leveling is a huge part of the games core.

Max Payne 3 managed to hook me with it's story and characters, and that's one of the things I've been missing in games recently. Most releases seems to aim for multiplayer these days, and gamers just don't seem that interesting in well written stories anymore. It's just like Hollywood and their so-called "blockbusters", most movies are very average, but they hide it by drowning them in CG and special effects. All I'm saying is this: games like Max Payne 3 are becoming a rare thing! I won't play it again for at least a year, but when I do, I'll enjoy the f*ck out of it!

Just my personal opinion ofcourse. I respect that people may like different games, and even hate games like Max Payne alltogether. It's a simple matter of opinion and taste. Play what you like, and respect other gamers' choice as well ;)

[Statix]

Just out of curiosity, did you play the original Max Payne games (1 or 2)?

[8BitSoul]

Yes, I played both Max Payne 1 and 2. I even played through both games just before the third one came out :3 Still love both games, and they've held up extremely well even after all this time. I'm not trying to hate here, but I don't think that this will be the case with games like Call of Duty and Battlefield... People will remember them for the multiplayer and the fun they had online with their friends, not the story. That's sort of my point with Max Payne. The story is much more personal, and because of that, it leaves a much bigger impression. Honestly, who doesn't remember the f*cked up nightmare levels in Max Payne 1?

But again, it comes down to subjective opinion. I just prefer a great story and artistic art direction in games. I do play online multiplayer games such as BF and CoD as well, but they just don't stand out as anything special that I'd like to go back to and play in the future.

[NYC_Gamer]

I liked Remedy direction for Max Payne much better..There are so many classic moments in the past games that still remember even though its years later.

[GiantFriendlyCrab]

gaming industry has gone to the crapper since Internet became popular and especially from the web 2.0 era. This allowed to over expose & commercialize games, this resulted in huge profits and lack of quality of games. I remember when internet was still new in 2001, in wich imo was the peak of the golden age of game

[floetry101]

Max Payne 3 was a frustrating game for me. Level design that inhibited diving, the camera, the lack of enemy types, the horrendous and repetitive cutscene filters. I really felt that the game got a pass because 'Rockstar' was attached to it. Really though, aside from nice production values, it was about as generic a shooter as I've seen this generation.

[lonesoul65]

I thought Max Payne was an outstanding game for the PC. Tried it for console and it just didn't feel quite right so bought the PC version and wow. Not only were the controls tight and responsive...the game looked about 5x more impressive. The story telling was excellent and for all the people who complain that gaming has become to easy...even the normal mode is challenging but the higher difficulties are brutal!!!
I loved the first Max Payne(s) and I appreciate the evolution to where it is today.

[Statix]

How is the game harder on the PC, yet the controls are more "tight and responsive?" Wouldn't easier controls make the game easier? Unless they designed the PC game differently and made it harder (which I highly doubt).

[lonesoul65]

I was stating that people think that games have become too easy...its a very challenging game was the point I was making(and yes PC is more difficult anyways because they turn off the autoaim used by console games)

[danieldeath]

I liked the gameplay but not the art ,story and concept direction.
It missed memorable levels like Nightmare and the "Baseball bat".

[Tonester925]

That's crazy. I love MP3

[schlanz]

Gamers are so goddamn jaded.