Max Payne - Game Review By Darling

I am a pretty die-hard KingPin fan so I was having a bit of a hard time getting into it at first. After the first level I found myself engrossed in the story line. Once I mastered the controls it was all night long!

Here is the basic story: Max Payne is a fugitive undercover cop sworn to avenge the death of his wife and infant daughter. He sets out to find the thugs responsible and what he finds is an enormous mob sydicate linked to a huge drug ring that eventually leads to ... well, you'll have to play it to see how high the ladder actually reaches.

The control set up is very simular to Tomb Raider. If you are use to the traditional first person shooter game it may take some adjusting. I used my usual config and it worked very well. There are some additional features to the game play that make it very intense. A "Matrix" look. Choose a control key such as "shift" and you kick into slow motion! It's an incredible way to see the bullets actually whizzing past your body as you dive and roll. Ares played and used this feature quite a bit. He was really good at it. I stuck to the regular way of playing but the slow motion feature does help if you use it wisely. Sorry guys ... no bunny hop! I caught myself trying to BH about a thousand times !!! LOL

The game starts you out on the easiest level and after you beat the game you can go to a harder level of play. I wasn't real sure why they did it that way. I played and beat the game in one day. But it was all consuming and I only took breaks to eat and ... THOSE things. The levels get more intense and the story line becomes more and more interesting with every level.

I liked the way the movie sequences were set up. More like a comic book. The voice characterizations were perfectly done as well. It made the narration exciting and extremely nail-biting! This game is definitely NOT for children. If you have small ones I do not recommend that you allow them to get in on the game with you. The sequences of his wife and child getting killed are continuously revolving throughout the game and it can be pretty disturbing to younger children.

I also noticed that the language is quite mild compared to KingPin. I am used to some hair-raising cussing and this game seemed pretty relaxed. Overall, the game was interesting up until the end. However, the ending was less than expected. I was grossly underwhelmed but the front end of the game made up for the lack of a strong climactic ending.

This game is worth every penny, though I recommend you buy it used. After you play it once the thrill is gone, if you know what I mean. You may want to buy one copy and sell it to a friend for a few dollars less and then you get your monies worth. This game is all the rage right now so play it while it's hot!

Game :	Max Payne - Official Site
Publisher :	Remedy Entertainment for 3D Realms
Price :	£28.99 UK - $44.95 USA
Release date :	Out Now
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