Fans Feeling Apprehensive About Max Payne 3
June 26, 2009 by srfto
It’s been over five years since we last saw a Max Payne game, and fans have been been eagerly awaiting a return to the gritty film noir world presented in those games. Most people were initially pretty excited when the game was announced back in March, but since then some people have started to feel a little bit concerned that Max Payne 3 won’t live up to it’s predecessors. While the game does retain a lot of signature elements of the series, it does also break tradition in a lot of ways, and that has some fans second guessing the title. Here are some of the concerns fans are having:
- A Change in Creative Control: The mastermind behind the superbly pitch-perfect noir-inspired writing style of the previous Max Payne games was Sam Lake, who is not associated with this new project. Along with Lake, the developers who created the prior Max Payne titles, Remedy Entertainment, are off working on Alan Wake – leaving Max Payne in the hands of Rockstar Vancouver. Now Rockstar Vancouver aren’t exactly slouches, but people are worried the game might fall a bit short in new hands.
- A Change of Looks: Max Payne 3 brings the storyline ahead perhaps a little bit more than people were expecting. Only two years passed between Max Payne and Max Payne 2, whereas 12 years pass between 2 and 3. The initial concept art of Max just turned some people off – to put it plainly, Max looking pretty damned old and bald (which is partially explained by his downward spiral into alcohol and painkiller addiction). It doesn’t exactly jive with the John Woo-esque jumping and diving “bullet time” scenes in the series. However, Rockstar Vancouver assures us that those elements will be in the game – along with some new, fresh takes on bullet time.
- A Change in Voice: While it’s unconfirmed if the excellently narrated comic panel scenes that told the story in the first two games will return, we do know for sure that the voice actor behind Max Payne has been changed. A lot of fans felt that James McCaffrey’s voice is just iconic for the series, and are a little distraught that he won’t be returning. That said, Max is looking older and… thicker, so it probably wouldn’t make a lot of sense to use the same actor.
- A Change of Scenery: It’s kind of hard to think of a Max Payne game that’s not set in the oppressive shadows of a big city like New York. In a lot of ways, the city felt like an important character in the storyline for the games. Max Payne 3 takes Max way out of his element: he’s now in Sao Paulo, no longer a cop, but rather working private security for a rich family there. Apparently, much of the gameplay will take place outdoors and in the slums of Sao Paulo, and in broad daylight no less. People are comparing the screenshots to the likes of Uncharted, of all things. Given that everything in the previous games was shades of gray, some fans are having trouble adjusting their eyes. To ease concerns, the devs have stated this they’re taking a more “contemporary” view of film noir – stating it’s more than just a set of colors, but rather a way of thinking about the world.
- A Change in Play: This is perhaps the weakest criticism, but some fans reacted poorly to the news that there will be a cover system in the game. The series has always been more about maximizing the use of bullet time to mow your way through hordes of bad guys, so people are concerned that cover will take the focus away from that. Rockstar Vancouver has stated that cover isn’t going to be a focus of the combat, so hopefully there’s not much to worry about here.
Max Payne 3 just got it’s first major exposé in Game Informer magazine, and that’s just about all the info we’ve got. The game at least looks good, even if Max has let himself go a bit. While the game does present a bit of culture shock for fans, it may also win over a whole new crowd with the new look. Here’s hoping that the community is just being overprotective and that the game will end up living up to the series’ high standards. What do you guys think?
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what is this game ! 50cent ? and i know max payne is a american guy and now he is african american ?
) why he looks like BASIJ in iran
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Amir! kiss ikhtak shee3i zib!
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all i see is disrespect towards this game im a huge fan of it yea He looks nothing like max payne bald etc… but did everyone forget the story behind max payne 1 & 2??? or am i the only Fan Left… hmm….. i guarantee all who talk smack about it still goes out & buys it unless there the 1st person shooter or Halo fags who dont know wtf a good game is & dont excuse my language idc fudge all you people who talk down on the game oh & your mothers should’ve swallowed you
I agree….I’m hyped for this game….it kinda of reminds me alot of the later versions of Die HArd, Where John MCain is a little bit older rocking the bald head. Shits going be awesome…,,and alot of people are going to eat CROW.
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R* is making it so of course its going to be a good game.
have they ever made a crap one?
ok besides GTAIV i cant think of any.
ive got complete total faith in R* and i hope BOTH of there cop games due out this year do so.
being this and LA Noire i havent herd anything about that in months
You mean “their”, idiot.
SORRY MUMMY
You mean “Grammar,” moron.
why dont they just hire James McCaffrey and tell him to sound a bit older??
Good article, maybe we should just wait and see. “oppressive shadows of a big city like New York” Not sure if anyone knows this, but Sao Paulo is actually much bigger than New York, population wise… also I can tell you this from experience of going to both Sao Paulo is unfortunately MUCH more oppressive and scary than the worst neighborhoods of New York so I wouldn’t worry about that category.
This is proof that any gem, in the wrong hands and minds, could be ruined.
It was clearly made by people who weren’t fans of the game. People who wanted credit for a new look, rather than add more credit to the original developers.
Damn them for ruining MP.
have you even played the game?
dident think so.
so how can you blame them for ruining it?
i cant understand why people are so opposed to change, they see something different or with a new dev and instantly ZOMFG this games tripe it completly sucks ballz.
seriously wait till the games out, rent it than if it sucks than do knocking on R* doors.
if it doesnt apology accepted.
I will do more than knoking i will bring a battering ram and an angry mob of fans of the REAL max payne b4 the game is up for rental,(plus my game rental place went out of buisness so…. ill do that for fun too
)
They are obviously just cashing in by consoling the hell out of it. Cover system equals Gears of war. This really wont push the creatives boundaries explored by the first two because they want to appeal to the masses of nacho chompin console tards out there. Forget this game and gaming in general : )
Typos:
“live up to it’s predecessors” –> “live up to its predecessors”
“got it’s first major” –> “got its first major”
Max Payne has now officially jumped the shark.
What are you complaining about when you haven’t even seen a trailer or gameplay yet? So pretty much you’re popping off for nothing. Seriously, you dont want Max Payne to be totally repeatable. MP needs more than what made it MP. Look how long it’s been out of the loop and all these other games have copied the bullet time fashion in some way. MP needs change to catch up with and overcome the copycats. If you keep MP the same way it was..it’s not going to reach out to new fans and ppl are going to overlook it saying oh it’s just like the previous ones from before. So only buy it if u really are a fan.
I am eagerly anticipating Max Payne 3.
well just that he looks like sam fisher!
The game has always looked as campy, just with different clothes, why is anyone surprised. Not to mention no one has seen anything else in terms of how it plays.
What, did RockStar pay a bunch of 12 year old kids to come onto this board and flood it with positive comments about Max Payne 3? Because, “Pls what u tlkn bout dis game roxxor! OMFG can’t w8″ sounds nothing like the original fans of the series.
I, for one, agree that seeing Max Payne outside of the shadows of an oppressive city will be a huge culture shock – one to which I am not looking forward.
Yeah, 12 years old sounds right.
That’s actually the problem: Max Payne is a grow-up kind of a game. It’s not for people who jizz their pants when they see a big mtfkn explosion rendered in high res on their 29-inch computer screens. It is (was) a game with a plot, an atmosphere, a soul. There are so fuckin’ many video games where you can shot dead anything that moves and pretend to be a badass.
So why make this legend into another shoter for gore-whores?
And NO, I haven’t played the game, obviously. But I have a working brain and do my own thinking. Try that sometimes.
New York is smaller than SaoPaulo and also much less dangerous and oppressive, less noire-esque
I’m sorry, but Rockstar’s history with dialogue leads me to doubt their ability to match Max Payne’s narrative. That nice blend of melodrama, perfectly paced narration, and spice of action macho that came out just right.
What makes me feel especially bad is that Sao Paulo would be a great setting- it’s just that right now it seems like they inexpertly scissored out a Max Payne sized hole in the city and are trying to cram Max Payne in there- either the action hero narrative will cheapen Saint Paul’s city, or Max Payne’s will be warped and bashed to fit. Most likely both. Just feeling pessimistic is all.
Also, dualie deagles. Seriously?
Rockstars f…up this game…what are they thinking?…Sao Paulo?Too much sun in the city…we need more shadows and mob…not some kind of Portuges..they look like TERRORISTS!…And they want another voice actor?!WHY?!…ONLY ONE WHO CAN TALK LIKE A MAX IS JAMES McCAFEREY!…HE IS THE BEST VOICE ACTOR FOR HIM!
THIS IS NOT GTA WHERE YOU CAN CHANGE EVERYTING!!!!!!!!!!
idiots, i agree with someone who sayed that all of you people just hear that other company is making it or will have some changes and yu all think it will suck.. think about it… they’ll make max payne a old veteran, fir some reason he will be on action again.. the game will make alot of reference to his past history so that will engage us to the real max payne drama… also just to think that he will be working as a private security member and for some reason he will rise to what he was before sounds exiting…and remeber we played max payne for last generation consoles.. i cant wait to play it for my ps3 graphics will be grate also new improvements… rich ill bet ya you are going to me more fan of max payne after playing this new game… its like metal gear.. it was a big change to see old snake when i first new it will be old i tought ill suck.. but when i play it.. i love it …. veteran guys are grate you see
cant wait to get it
for the makers…
find a good story to raise max payne he deserves it we all dereve it we been waiting so much dont srew it
Sounds good but i prefer if they kept the voice over dude(James McCaffrey) Hopefully it will be good!!!
http://www.petitiononline.com/otnmxpx8/petition.html
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It’s this simple – MP 1&2 were unique to the genre. The atmosphere was central to the entire game, so if you substituted the moody atmosphere with this new colorful setting while keeping all of the other things that made the first two games great, it still wouldn’t “feel” like Max Payne. That being said, even if Rockstar nailed the dialogue, gameplay, and storyline (and let’s face it, they haven’t exactly thought outside of the box since GTA3 so growing pains are inevitable), it still wouldn’t feel like an MP game.
This is essentially the Die Hard 4 of the Max Payne series – good on it’s own, but so untrue to it’s roots that it’s almost painful to watch.
I’ve always been a huge fan of mp and now since I’m older like all other original fans I want the classics, but this game looks like fucking splinter cell. I hate gears of war and halo and call of duty so why the fuck would I wanna play another one of those games. The whole point of bullet time was to kill hordes of guys and have fun but now cover system? I shouldn’t need that. Plus they should have put him in some place like russia and not make him bald or a “addicted drunk” I’m not completely basing my opinion on just screen shots I’m gonna play the game too but is it so wrong that I don’t like what I hear?
Most of you,or I should almost all of you did not read the GI article properly.You would get to know all the PRECISE details.Cover system is optiona,MP3 would be in night mode also equally divided with day mode, and many other features you havent read.
One thing’s 4 sure. They have battered Max Payne. Why the heck did they have to change the way he looks. He was far better than chicken necks around in other games. And common he wasn’t as old as JM in Die-Hard series. By making him bald and fat they have murdered him and his image. That sarcastic smile and wet suits in New-York were haunting when I played MP1 & 2. This series was the only one which I have played twice over just to get the feel again. Looking @ the screenshot makes me puke over the SOB who designed his face.
The first thing I thought when I saw the screenshots was “woah, that’s not Max”. Unless MP3 bowls me over and I think it’s better than the MP1 and 2, I will constantly have that in my mind…
While making these changes to MP, hopefully they made it one helluva story.
Also, for the oldtimers hopefully they included a little summary of the 12 years since we saw him last. That would at least tell us how snd why he got to where he is in Brazil and give us a little tie into MP2.
I will buy it, but if the game doesn’t hold my interest I won’t be playing it very long.
This sucks big time feels like they are just using the succesfull name to promote sells, this really sucks
Max Payne 2 was the greatest game I’ve ever played.
I was going through a rough time when this game came out, and I felt exactly like Max did, dark, alone, in this dark noir city with no one to turn to and no one to trust, the gritty soundtrack and atmosphere played a big part in it all.
THIS so called sequel IS NOT Max Payne, it is a shitty mediocre shooting game with the title slapped on…MP2 was a proper sequel to MP1, this is an insult to the franchise
Well. We’ll see. That is all.
WTF is wrong with you people? Remedy isnt making this game, the whole set of ideas that made Max Payne what it is is thrown out the window, even MP2 had much better graphics than this piece of crap, James McCaffrey is not voicing it, film noir elements are completely gone(spare me your “way of thinking” bullsh*t R*…)and well to sum things up its now being called “Rockstar’s Dark Hero”… I hope that they delayed this game to reboot it, cause otherwise they’re gonna lose a very large part of the fanbase. I seriously cant understand these guys. They have one of the biggest game franchises in their hands, all they had to do was follow the pattern… If you want to create a new series then do it R*, but dont go screwing up classic ones like MP…