Max Payne 3

one of my all time favorites amazing story and ofc iconic gameplay and characters max is a very iconic character

it's a great game, undoubtedly, but it didn't deliver a "max payne" for me, i liked max payne for it's atmospheric and Melancholic writing, you could easily say that sam and dan houser wrote this game, you could easily sense that GTA like narrative and character development and at it's own thing there is nothing wrong with that but it just looks bold and obvious in a max payne game, max payne supposed to be a narrative and character heavy game with touch of literary and max payne 3 wants to deliver that and sometimes it does and it nails but other times it's approach kinda ruins it and leaves a bad and unfamiliar taste. you go and play max payne 1 and 2 and you finish them then you start max payne 3 after a while playing you start asking yourself is this character max payne?... idk how to describe it... max payne 1 and 2 are Fi in cognitive functions and max payne 3 feels Se.

Max soy yo literal

I just finished best thing is gameplay but story mmm 👍 good 😊

Some truly fantastic gameplay paired with a generally enjoyable story. It's simultaneously so different and quite similar to its predecessors, shaking up things in the gameplay scene enough that I was quite engaged. As for the story, on the one hand, I enjoyed my time with it, but I really felt like Max didn't progress at all as a character-- like, he really didn't NEED to be the protagonist of this the way it had to be him in MP1&2, and while the presentation, animation, and performances were excellent I felt just as confused as Max most of the time as to who the hell we were shooting, and I never quite got that cleared up. It really didn't matter though, because god damn this game is fun, worth every buck I spent on it.

Max Payne 3 is a prime Rockstar Games experience, which I am a huge fan of. Gritty, much more realistic, and brutal evolution of the series with an impactful character development of Max as a character. The setting shifted from New York to the suburbs of São Paulo, which is a striking change of scenery that provides much-needed variety to the series and gives this entry its own identity.

Narrative, although being disjointed at times, is a memorable downward spiral of Max himself and the world around him, tackling themes like body trafficking, organ harvesting, and political assassinations—the themes I rarely see tackled in video games with such uncensored realism. The supporting cast is rather slim but pretty good, most notable being Raul Passos, a newcomer that you grow to respect rather quickly. Max himself is as great as always; late James McCaffrey provides a more gritty and pessimistic version of the character that still spews some memorable quotes.

Presentation drops comic panels to integrate them into ongoing cutscenes, which is an interesting creative choice that does make the game look visually unique. Visually it still holds up quite well, with at times looking even better than GTAV.

Gameplay is easily the highlight, this time around being all about precision and brutality of the end result of riddling bodies with bullets, making it a quite satisfying experience that you can see people still enjoying and making YouTube videos of even today. Levels are varied, with a lot of exciting set pieces not being part of the gameplay, which I really enjoy.

The soundtrack in this entry is also praiseworthy; a band called "Health" provides a high amount of quality tracks that enhance the atmosphere and thematic side of Max as a character, a seriously impressive accomplishment, with a track called "Tears" being a highlight. What concerns the cons I will mention disjointed narrative again, sometimes pretty cramped and restrictive level design, and the struggle of skipping cutscenes on repeat playthroughs.

Multiplayer is also a fun experience, but currently it's pretty barren, and if you want to play it, you will get pummeled by veterans quite quickly. The game includes passive challenges that track your total accomplishments across all playthroughs, which makes repeat playthroughs more interesting to me, making you change your fighting style to accomplish all tasks.

To sum up, Max Payne 3 is one of my favorite action games that still holds up well today. I can't wait to see what Remedy does with the MP 1-2 remakes, and I'm also hoping Rockstar will remaster this entry too for modern hardware.