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[adamsapple]

The recent news about MP 1 and 2 remakes made me look up the original games again and I recall the way a lot of people on GAF laughed when Max Payne 3 was first shown with the faux Homer Simpson looking bald Max.

As time has moved on, I've actually warmed up a lot to the third games presentation. They aped a lot from movies like Man on Fire and gave the game an extremely distinct and cohesive style.

I realize a lot of people are sticklers for the original comic book panel style story telling from the first two games.

Wanted to get a more recent idea from other users on this.

vs

 

[Skifi28]

I like both, I just wish 3 took control from you less often. There were moments where you would play for 15 seconds after a cutscene only to have another one.

 

[Sleepwalker]

I really love 3. Dont care much for comic book style and hopefully *raises shield* it isn't there in the remakes.

 

[adamsapple]

I like both, I just wish 3 took control from you less often. There were moments where you would play for 15 seconds after a cutscene only to have another one.

Yeah it was made right in the heyday of the cinematic walking/talking shooters that permeated the early 2010's. They have a story to tell and by god they're gonna lead you through it.

But the game play is extremely good, I can't deny that.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

It’s one of the best third person action games ever made in my opinion. The soundtrack is fabulous too.

 

[Killer8]

Max Payne 3 is an excellent game and I loved the style they went for. Rockstar namechecked Elite Squad as a major influence on the game's style:

Rockstar Recommends: "Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite)" - Rockstar Games

As we prepare for our first game set in the fascinating, beautiful and often very volatile land of Brazil, we present the first film in a new series of Rockstar Recommended movies to help prime you for the atmosphere and setting in which Max Payne will...

www.rockstargames.com

Rockstar were never going to be able to copy the trademark film noir of Remedy so i'm glad they forged their own path.

Controversial opinion time but I do think the comic book presentation of the original Payne games has aged somewhat. For the remake i'd like them to try keeping the film noir motif but go for something like the Sin City movie for the cutscenes.

 

[Alexios]

Biased poll to have 3 get a win, lol, obviously it has objectively better presentation (light years ahead tech & budget even comparatively to the different eras, Max Payne was no MGS) but 1 & 2 have the better gameplay and way better gameplay to break ratio.

If they remade the comic scenes to full cut scenes & elevated the existing in game cut scenes to Max Payne 3 quality that'd obviously be great, so long as they didn't lengthen them, change the writing/mood too much or add 100 more scenes per level and such.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Never played 3, but I know I love the presentation of the first game.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Max Payne 1/2 are classics with a very unique style. MAx Payne 3 was a good shooter but way more generic. Not even close in my book.

Been meaning to check this out. Gerstmann loved it.

 

[lethial]

1 and 2 were so unique for the time and excellent games. 3 is a great game as well but the presentation of 1 and 2 I like a bit more.

 

[Alexios]

Max Payne 1/2 are classics with a very unique style. MAx Payne 3 was a good shooter but way more generic. Not even close in my book.

Been meaning to check this out. Gerstmann loved it.

I wanted to like this but it's a bit too simple, especially with the first levels only having melee enemies so it's basically nothing like MP beyond the basic controls. I've seen later levels with some nicer enemies that lunge at you so you gotta keep mobile but nothing with awesome firefights a la MP.

Not to say that even without that it's not worth playing for some good arcadey shooting fun but other than being inspired by MP to a degree it is its own thing and doesn't scratch the same itch at all. Again, at least in the portions I've played through (and if it only does it way later that's meh too).

It's also a bit too low fi for its own good with mechanics like especially the heavily used melee attack which doesn't have any crunch or good feedback to it like some old FPS/TPS crappy melee attacks. Even Pixel games like Hotline Miami make that awesome, it's not a budget/fidelity thing really.

 

[mortal]

Although I'm a fan of all the games in general, the noir & comic book presentation of Max Payne 1 & 2 trumps Max Payne 3 for me.

 

[Holammer]

Payne 3 was fine, but the relentless suffer porn became too much. 1 & 2 had smarter writing and a layer of levity.

 

[mortal]

Payne 3 was fine, but the relentless suffer porn became too much. 1 & 2 had smarter writing and a layer of levity.

Yes the writing was more clever, for sure.

 

[Kacho]

Max Payne 1 & 2 are classics but super corny these days. They had a tongue in cheek vibe about them.

Max Payne 3 is a masterpiece. Max’s “get off my lawn” demeanor, gritty presentation and Euphoria gore gives me a fucking boner. Also

 

[A.Romero]

All of them have their own merits but 3 is the best for me.

The main drawback is that it seems they failed to plan the cutscenes correctly. I understand loading is happenning in the background but don't put less than a minute of gameplay sandwiched between two cutscenes.

Other than that, great game. Really enjoyed it.

 

[SirKicksalot]

Max Payne 3 is an excellent game and I loved the style they went for. Rockstar namechecked Elite Squad as a major influence on the game's style:

Rockstar Recommends: "Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite)" - Rockstar Games

As we prepare for our first game set in the fascinating, beautiful and often very volatile land of Brazil, we present the first film in a new series of Rockstar Recommended movies to help prime you for the atmosphere and setting in which Max Payne will...

www.rockstargames.com

I preordered a bundle for PC that came with the Elide Squad Blu-rays and a pen. The pen was not in the package and I did not have a Blu-ray player...

 

[Kuranghi]

I love it, I wish the drunken/drugged effect was toned down a bit, sometimes it makes the image hard to parse and goes on a bit too long but I just replayed it fully literally in the last few weeks and it was as good as I remember. I can't wait to see the first two games remade with a higher budget and all the destruction and physics from Control, thats going to be amazing no doubt.

Max Payne 1 + 2 aren't games where you get explosive weapons as often as Control, so while I obviously want chairs and ladders and boxes that get shot apart just like the originals, it would be really cool if they use some of the rendering budget to make the wall destruction really advanced, even beyond Control, since there won't need to be 100s and 100s of objects in each room. Even if its just like Control I'd be happy though.

 

[Hayabusa83]

I enjoyed the entire trilogy. Fantastic games.

 

[bender]

God, no. It completely miss the mark of the tone of the previous games.

 

[KuraiShidosha]

Max Payne 1 > all. I can't stand what they did with 3. 2 was at least a serviceable sequel, just inferior to the original. Nothing will ever top that first game. Growing up in NJ across the Hudson from NY, that game resonated with me in ways I cannot describe in words. It's pure soul and I'll love it until the day I die.

 

[fatmarco]

Max Payne 3 was an embarrassing copy of Man on Fire, and also robbed you of control after essentially every shoot out to have a pointless cutscene. It betrayed the narrative of the first to games to have Max Payne return as a drunk, something he wasn't even after his family was murdered.

He wasn't even written as Max Payne, but rather as a generic and obvious character trope that we've seen over and over again in every form of media.

So yeah, if 3 was a different franchise its a fine game, but it's absolute junk as a Max Payne sequel.

 

[bender]

Max Payne 3 was an embarrassing copy of Man on Fire, and also robbed you of control after essentially every shoot out to have a pointless cutscene. It betrayed the narrative of the first to games to have Max Payne return as a drunk, something he wasn't even after his family was murdered.

He wasn't even written as Max Payne, but rather as a generic and obvious character trope that we've seen over and over again in every form of media.

So yeah, if 3 was a different franchise its a fine game, but it's absolute junk as a Max Payne sequel.

My soul hurt every time you took pain killers and Max started to self-monologue.

 

[proandrad]

Really didn’t like the setting of Max Payne 3. Felt like it lost a lot of its charm, an American detective not being in America.

 

[Ristifer]

I absolutely adored MP3. Everything about it.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Thanks for the reason to repost one of the coolest trailers ever for the best tps of all time



I miss rockstar

 

[Synless]

Confession. I played MP1 and 2…. Never played MP3.

 

[yansolo]

loved all three and hope they make more

 

[WorldHero]

Hated MP3 for the simple fact the cinematics could run long and you couldn't skip them.

 

[nkarafo]

Max Payne 3's environments and absurd detail blinded me at the time. I remember being impressed at how realistic indoor areas were, it felt like i'm exploring real ones instead of videogame boxes.

I still prefer Max Payne 2's style though. And it lets me skip cutscenes.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Max Payne 2 shits all over Max Payne 3. 3 was good, don't get me wrong. I liked it.. but, I am severely biased toward MP2. I was in a very fucking dark place in life, when I played it and it was a sort of help to get my mind off the dark shit. It has a very special-type of place in my life. I played MP1-2 back to back and it was an amazing experience. I hope they don't fuck up the remakes.

 

[VeganElduderino]

1and 2 was the shit , the 3rd one dint really feel like a Max Payne game for me.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Max Payne is the John Wick of video games, I liked Max Payne 3 because of the ost and the action, I still have to play Max Payne 2.

 

[Sensates]

Like MP, didnt play 2, and loved MP3, but probably because I was in a similar drunken hopeless situation when I played it.

Although I must say I'm surprised by all its critics, it is the only Rockstar game I manage to finish and love.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I beat Max Payne 1 & 2 like 10 times. I beat Max Payne 3 once. It didn’t feel like a Max Payne game.

 

[supernova8]

Max Payne 1 > all. I can't stand what they did with 3. 2 was at least a serviceable sequel, just inferior to the original. Nothing will ever top that first game. Growing up in NJ across the Hudson from NY, that game resonated with me in ways I cannot describe in words. It's pure soul and I'll love it until the day I die.

Exactly.

Remember trying the first game and instantly being like (in a good way) woooooooooooah what the fuck is thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis

 

[Salmon Snake]

Both styles were great (that's what I voted) but my heart goes to 1/2 style all the way.

The style had so much more atmosphere.

 

[xrnzaaas]

I don't like the text appearing on the screen too often, like in almost every sentence. Other than that it was something refreshing and I think I liked the game more after replaying it recently.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Good question. I'd say I enjoyed 1/2 comic book style more. Which is funny as it was chosen due to budget limitations but it just works so well that I'm shocked why more developers didn't adopt it as a story telling device. It's cheap. It's fast. It's easy to go in, change and adjust.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I have a very particular experience with Max Payne 3 because I was playing that game religiously at the time when I was quitting drinking myself so it was a pretty surreal and emotional experience for me. Still love the game but even just thinking about it brings back some painful memories, so I just avoid it altogether these days. I have much happier memories of playing MP 1 and 2.

Besides, there's just something about that noir atmosphere and NYC as a setting that instantly draws my attention, while running around the favelas and jungles of Panama in MP3 just made it feel like a really depressing Call of Duty game or something.

 

[SJRB]

I think Max Payne 3 is an incredible game. Especially when you play in one go it really sucks you into its depressing atmosphere. It's dark, gloomy and oppressive even when half the missions take place in broad daylight. Max slowly descending into madness,

An amazing evolution of the noir genre, proving that the stereotypical "noir = dark and heavy rain" is nonsense.

That said, they kinda overdid it with the screen flashes. It was implemented poorly and with no way to lower or even remove the effect it became an annoyance more than anything.

Still think MP3 is an amazing achievement. Unique setting, amazing voice acting, great shootouts, awesome levels, thriller story, cool weapon mechanics. So good.

 

[rofif]

No. The best mp3 part were levels in the past.
I replayed mp1 and 2 recently. 1 plays kinda strange but 2 is amazing amazing amazing

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

I’ve got to replay 3 again. Really enjoyed it

 

[Senua]

I've always noticed that people who adore MP3 but not 1&2 are console only gamers. I get it because 1 & 2 weren't that great on console and 3 felt good with a pad. but PLEASE for the love of god if you ever get in front of a PC play MP1&2 they are just incredible to play on mouse and keyboard, even now.

 

[Hudo]

The style of Max Payne 3 was too "try hard" for me. But the gameplay made me play through it anyway. I vastly prefer Max Payne 2 (and also 1), though.

 

[Braag]

I like all of them. I think MP3 style fit well with the setting and narrative.

 

[Kikorin]

I love the thriller/noire atmosphere of the first 2 games and is by far my favourite against the third one, but Max Payne 3 is the best tps ever made and controls, shooting feedback, physics and AI is still unmatched.

 

[Vick]

I have no problem with Max Payne 3 characters, writing, setting, atmosphere or TPS mechanics. In some ways, it really is the best one.

My problem with Max Payne 3 is how its game structure is among the very worst ever, one if not the most frustrating game to replay from my experience. It's honestly unbelievable.

Reading over the years fans of this game complaining about the "cinematic walking simulators" Naughty Dog games, when they are literal Rockstar free roams in comparison, is and always will be legit hilarious.

 

[The_Observer]

Max Payne 3 was an awesome game and it deserves a remaster but it was missing some of the identity of the first 2 games, so it was not a good Max Payne.

 

[Elysium44]

I absolutely hated Max Payne 3, which as far as I'm concerned has nothing in common with its predecessors other than the name. Rockstar just wanted to make 'Man on Fire: the game (but with endless cutscenes)' and just used their parent company's recently-acquired Max Payne IP to do it.