Max Payne is one of my top 10 favorite video games ever. What a way to start a review, eh? Seriously, it is. I have played this game countless times since I got it nearly ten years ago for the Playstation 2, and I am continously thrilled to play this profound masterpiece. I've always had a love for the film noir genre; think to the great gangster movies of the 1930s and 1940s that starred Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, or Edward G. Robinson. Films like The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, or Double Indemnity come to mind. Anyway, Max Payne offers a modern tale in this somewhat by-gone era of storytelling - and the story is told in a brilliant manner using some cutscenes but mostly by a comic book cell style format, which was new to me back in the day.

     There is a lot to see in this game, while not an "open-world" game like Grand Theft Auto III for instance, you do have a nice bit of exploration at your disposal, if you should desire to pursue your curious side. There are always things to inspect and discover, whether it is simply opening up lockers or drawers for more bullets or painkillers (Max's way of regenerating health) or to listen to TV or radio broadcasts that further flesh out the story, it certainly feeds our curious nature. Plus, with these rather expansive levels, you are given a large variety of weapons, and can use your arsenal as you see fit. Early on, I stuck with the Berretta pistol, the shotgun, and the Desert Eagle mostly. Later in the game, I usually weilded the machine gun and kept the shotgun handy for close-quarters-combat. The depth in weaponry is astounding if you really think about it, and it keeps things fresh throughout.

     Another highlight of this game is the dialogue. The comic-book style cutscenes feature some tremendous monologues from Max himself (voiced brilliantly by James McCaffrey), and invoke Nordic religious texts, Satanic texts, love, revenge, despair, shattered dreams, morality, and mortality. Also, if you take time to listen to the enemies yap away with each other, it can often be laugh out loud funny. Some of them get frustrated with one another, some talk about movies, or some have some generally heart felt things to say...until you blow them away obviously...but then again, they are out to kill you so, someone has gotta bite the dust.

     As the game progresses, the plot thickens greatly. It never becomes too complicated, but things start off on a relatively small scale in terms of objective and such, but things explode and encompass things on a more grandiose, corporate level. The complexity of things never hinders your desire to keep playing and moving forward, as you always feel compelled to see whats next - perhaps largely thanks to the chapter structure of the game - the chapters are kept fairly short, some longer than others of course, but never too long. It is structured like a great novel, always keeping the suspence palpable.

     I've said a lot about the comic-book style of the game, but haven't delved into the graphics of the actual game itself in action. While it is a game from 2001, fairly early in the PS2's life cycle, it still holds up pretty well today. Sure, some things look a little blocky and pixelated, but overall, it is strong. I have also played Max Payne on the original XBox, and yes, it does look a lot better on that system, but I still prefer to play it on the PS2, I suppose I am more comfortable with the control style of this platform, at least for Max Payne anyway. All things considered though, it has a great look.

     If I have any quams with the game, they lie in the psychedelic dream sequences. They are the only reason as to why this game does not get a perfect "5 out of 5" rating. If you have played them, you'll know they are completely infuriating. To be frank, they are some of my most hated video game levels in history. They go on way too long, they are absurdly confusing, and greatly disturbing. They certainly get their point across, but the screams of the baby are just too much to stomach sometimes in these sequences. Thankfully, you can enter a cheat code to skip these, and continue on with the good fun of the rest of the game. They happen at the very ends of Acts 1 and 2, and they don't dominate the game, which is a relief! In Max Payne 2, these dream sequences are exponentially more tolerable and easier to follow. Lesson learned I suppose.

     Aside from that, Max Payne is virtually flawless. It provides you with thrilling action gameplay, an unforgettable presentation inspired by the best of the film noir genre, a fantastically deep story that keeps you interested and in suspense, a great atmosphere (New York City is undergoing its worst winter storm in history throughout the duration of the game), it has attitude, heart, and intelligence, and ultimately it is grand fun. To me, it is one of the defining video game experiences of my life, as it has left an indelible impact on me. There is a reason why this game is in my Top 10 Favorites of all time, I hope you'll play it too and see why. Wow, all that, and I never mentioned "Bullet Time!" Another awesome feature of Max Payne is "bullet time" where you, by the click of a button, slow the gunplay action down and get a Matrix-like effect, giving you the advantage over your enemies - it's unique and very helpful, and cinematically, it looks great too.

     Play this game. It's just that good.

-Kurt L.

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