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Max Payne 3 |OT| Funny as hell, we couldn't decide on a sub-title
- Thread starter NotTheGuyYouKill
- Start date
Dick Justice
Banned
Nah, I'm talking about the unlimited ammo perk that you get after you collect them all. Its not there, even after restarting the game a few times.
undrtakr900
Member
What do you get for doing all the grinds? I can't be arsed to do all of them myself lol
On PS3 there are always some games going, last I checked.
GoddyofAus
Banned
Just completed the campaign for the first time.
I have to say, once you get past the impressive combat mechanics, visuals and polish, there really isn't much to this game. The story is very run of the mill and Max's incessant whinging wrapped in Euphomisms is endearing at the start but quickly gets fucking annoying.
Overall, a solid 7.5/10 with zero Multiplayer experience (I just didn't feel like I'd enjoy it.)
I have to say, once you get past the impressive combat mechanics, visuals and polish, there really isn't much to this game. The story is very run of the mill and Max's incessant whinging wrapped in Euphomisms is endearing at the start but quickly gets fucking annoying.
Overall, a solid 7.5/10 with zero Multiplayer experience (I just didn't feel like I'd enjoy it.)
Snowblindvictim
Member
Hate to bump the thread for a similar reason.
But I just beat the game for the first time (on Hard).
I got to say that it was an unbelievable experience. I didn't go in expecting too much because I LOVED the first two games but this game is a worthy third.
It was everything I wanted from a Max Payne game and a bit more.
It wasn't "classic" Payne but it was pretty damn good
Aside from some nitpicking, the game was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Also, Health did an incredible job with the soundtrack.
But I just beat the game for the first time (on Hard).
I got to say that it was an unbelievable experience. I didn't go in expecting too much because I LOVED the first two games but this game is a worthy third.
It was everything I wanted from a Max Payne game and a bit more.
It wasn't "classic" Payne but it was pretty damn good
Aside from some nitpicking, the game was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Also, Health did an incredible job with the soundtrack.
Net_Wrecker
Member
I'll never understand the complaints about Max. I could've listened to him read the phone book. He isn't as well written as Sam Lake's Max, but he's still highly entertaining IMO. Probably my favorite shooter protagonist this gen. His dry humor, the cynicism, McCaffrey's voice work, everything. He's great.
Finally got around to putting some real time into Vanquish.
After hearing countless comparisons people have made from Max Payne 3 to Vanquish, I figured I should give this game a go. After about three hours, I think there's no contest for me:
Max Payne 3 blows it away.
Yes, Vanquish is zanier, features more absurd scenarios, you use crazier weapons and fight giant robots while swearing like a 10 year old would, but Max Payne just plays better and gives me less confusing fail-states. I die more time in any five minute period than I have in any one hour of Max Payne 3. Vanquish is far from crap, but after hearing so much praise I can't believe how many people are saying it's superior to Max.
I'll try and finish Vanquish, but I don't know if I'll manage with all the new releases hitting soon. Seems like an over-hyped game championed for a bunch of odd reasons.
After hearing countless comparisons people have made from Max Payne 3 to Vanquish, I figured I should give this game a go. After about three hours, I think there's no contest for me:
Max Payne 3 blows it away.
Yes, Vanquish is zanier, features more absurd scenarios, you use crazier weapons and fight giant robots while swearing like a 10 year old would, but Max Payne just plays better and gives me less confusing fail-states. I die more time in any five minute period than I have in any one hour of Max Payne 3. Vanquish is far from crap, but after hearing so much praise I can't believe how many people are saying it's superior to Max.
I'll try and finish Vanquish, but I don't know if I'll manage with all the new releases hitting soon. Seems like an over-hyped game championed for a bunch of odd reasons.
Net_Wrecker
Member
Vanquish is a completely different type of shooter than Max Payne 3. It's about crazy speed, using your insane melee moves + rocket boost + bullet time strategically, and dancing around the battlefield like an angel of death in an anime battle suit taking out robots and giant mechs. You've probably heard it's superior to MP3 because it controls like a dream and is way more replayable, but they're on opposite ends of the shooter spectrum really, and have completely different goals. Vanquish is damn near a "character action shooter." Look up Youtube videos of challenge #6 and marvel at how some people have totally mastered the game's mechanics. No other shooter has provided that this generation.
It isn't overhyped at all. In fact, it doesn't get nearly enough praise on anywhere but GAF. If forced to compare the two, I prefer the weightiness of Max Payne 3's gunplay, but I had way more fun with Vanquish, and it doesn't make me angry by constantly taking control away like MP3 does.
It isn't overhyped at all. In fact, it doesn't get nearly enough praise on anywhere but GAF. If forced to compare the two, I prefer the weightiness of Max Payne 3's gunplay, but I had way more fun with Vanquish, and it doesn't make me angry by constantly taking control away like MP3 does.
I've had Vanquish pushed on me as a need-to-play, leg-up on MP3 in countless threads here. If it wasn't for the constant mentionings it gets here on Neogaf I'd probably never bothered to give it a whirl.
It's certainly been overhyped in my experiences on GAF, but to each their own.
valentine71
Banned
People started to compare MP and Vanquish? For fuck' sake. I love both. Yet i cant understand why people would compare those two.
Yeah, after playing Vanquish a bit based on the constant recommendations and claims of superiority I think some people simply chimed in to validate their "distinct tastes" for a sales underdog like Vanquish. I also think some gamers are hell-bent on trying to tear down western games when an eastern "equivalent" exists.
Both are third person shooters with cover and bullet time, which is probably where the comparisons stem from.
Psychoward
Banned
Just finished it on normal (with free aim on of course), fantastic game, one of the best of 2012. I really enjoyed the flashback parts, and overall greatly preferred the first two acts over the third, but I didn't think the ending was too bad. Boss fight was silly, but at least it wasn't mind-numbingly hard like I expected it to be.
Edit; Also, can I get an invite in to the GAF Crew? XBL is PsychoWARD23, as is Social Club
Edit; Also, can I get an invite in to the GAF Crew? XBL is PsychoWARD23, as is Social Club
Just came back to this game and have nearly finished my hardcore playthrough. It's honestly one of my top five this gen. Just so satisfying mechanically, it looks and sound better than nearly everything else out there and the whole vibe is just awesome.
The "purists" who decry this game as not a true Max Payne need a slap. It's truly great.
The "purists" who decry this game as not a true Max Payne need a slap. It's truly great.
cripterion
Member
I'd like to know this as well for the PC. Just got the game with the steam sale + all the DLC. Applied to join both neogaf crews.
fushi
Member
I'm slowly trudging through this one. I hate the story and the game is becoming more and more monotonous as it moves along, but god damn, that soundtrack is a fucking milestone achievement for games. Rockstar knows music like no other game company, and not just from a cultural perspective, but how it creates and molds the worlds of a game.
Great job, Health.
Great job, Health.
It's the longest Max Payne game and I was also struck by the monotony the first time I played through. But the series' gameplay shines when you explore different tactics to interact with the same enemies. The gameplay boils down to shooting dudes in stylish fashion. Same as the first 2 games.
Net_Wrecker
Member
The game becomes monotonous because the storytelling is bad. There's barely a gameplay flow to the game because behind every 2nd door is a cutscene waiting, even for the most mundane activities and simple monologues/character interactions. Had the game not relied on cutscenes for everything, it probably would've been an hour longer but would end up feeling shorter, in a good way.
I don't consider the game monotonous because of the story. The twist is unlike any other in the series. The themes of losing a girl and revenge existed in the previous games, but Max isn't hung up (or at least doesn't comment on them) on the similarities in this outing compared to the previous ones. His paranoia is no longer a driving factor as much as the second game. He's not longer falling, he's "slipped." ;-)
Net_Wrecker
Member
Not the narrative itself, the storytelling. The WAY the story is told kills the momentum of the game and it ends up feeling like cutscene --> shootout room --> cutscene --> shootout room, etc. If you already aren't enjoying the story, that kind of gameplay loop with very minimal traversal or environmental interaction can lead to monotony. Max Payne 2 is like 3-4 hours shorter, but you're probably in direct control of Max for longer than Max Payne 3. MP2 feels like a more varied, cohesive, "tangible" game because of it.
I've been playing the arcade modes on 360, so I can't speak for other platforms, but the latest update allows you to skip many of the cutscenes that were previously forced on the player. Why this wasn't available from the beginning I don't know.
At best I think Rockstar's storytelling was holding up a mirror to other shooters this gen (shooters in general are becoming stale, bullet time for all, me and my bro, over the top twists, in MP3 you rarely have a cutscene that would be engaging to play whereas other games I feel like why can't I do that?), and at worst it was pretentious.
I agree that as varied as the environments were visually, they still adhered to the many of the same rules as the beginning chapters (bullet time, shoot/shootdodge, cover, ad infinitum), but I don't see this as being step back from any of the previous games. Once you know how to control Max, you are nigh unstoppable.
Honestly, I think Max Payne is the Mega Man we deserve.
Net_Wrecker
Member
It's not a step back at its gameplay core, in fact Euphoria makes pure gunplay better than ever, but I do think the way everything between those shootouts is delivered to the player is a step back. The natural evolution from MP2 should've been even MORE seamless integration of environmental storytelling + internal monologue, more seamless "detective" work, more in game conversations between Max and AI companions or random NPCs, more interaction with the environment to advance the game, etc.
They went in the complete opposite direction increasing cut scene amount to a ludicrous degree, having a ton of the conversations remain in solely one location, and drastically altering pace so that seemingly every shootout has an intro and outro cut scene to set the stage. The game constantly keeps you at arm's length by detaching you from the experience during traversal sections to a new area. Just look at how you work your way around the stadium or nightclub in MP3 compared to the apartment complex or warehouse from MP2. There's no sense of forward progress in MP3 because the game handles all of that for you. The player simply needs to clear out whatever room he/she's dropped in before the game takes over again to move Max.
They went in the complete opposite direction increasing cut scene amount to a ludicrous degree, having a ton of the conversations remain in solely one location, and drastically altering pace so that seemingly every shootout has an intro and outro cut scene to set the stage. The game constantly keeps you at arm's length by detaching you from the experience during traversal sections to a new area. Just look at how you work your way around the stadium or nightclub in MP3 compared to the apartment complex or warehouse from MP2. There's no sense of forward progress in MP3 because the game handles all of that for you. The player simply needs to clear out whatever room he/she's dropped in before the game takes over again to move Max.
Snacks the sober sea lion
Member
Max Payne 3 just can't let you actually play the game. There's a cutscene after almost every single shootout, and the game takes control away from you for everything. Ladder? Cutscene, monologue. More enemies showing up? Cutscene, quip. Need to open a door? You get one guess as to what happens next.
I've heard the game described as an action movie where you just happen to play the action sequences.
I've heard the game described as an action movie where you just happen to play the action sequences.
cripterion
Member
Are both of the GAF crew dead? Been playing the mp everyday since I got the game on steam sale. It's so much fun, playing with both gamepad, and keyboard/mouse. Really the only thing missing are players, can't do certain modes, and when I get into a game, seems people don't have all the maps so it's always the same rotation (though for me every map is pretty well designed).
Anyone still playing Multiplayer?
Anyone still playing Multiplayer?
Rockstar reduced a lot of the elements that didn't involve shooting to arrive at part 3. I don't think that was a bad idea. The detective work of part 2 wasn't apparent if you went blasting through the game. You had to take your time and observe your surroundings, even sometimes finding places to hide to hear the conversations the enemies were having and/or find a more advantageous time to "drop" in. I don't think I've ever seen that aspect of part 2 praised, even by the more vocal fans, so why would R* implement that? Your knowledge of that as a fan of the previous game lends a wink and nod to the clues and golden gun pieces in this one. When he's "sneaking" in Part 3, it always ends in shooting, it's not like you're given another way to go about it. MP3 is more linear and focused on the gameplay that didn't get enough praise in MP2. I mean, not much has changed about the gameplay from part 2. No jump (double or triple included), you can fall much further without suffering damage on landing, the melee is more risk/reward, enemies are tougher,but other than that, there are only subtle differences in the gameplay.
The latest update allows you to skip enough cutscenes that I find them way less intrusive and just sort of noticeable. They're all almost totally devoid of Max shooting. I'm not sure what you mean by the conversations remaining in one location. Would an example of that be in the police station in MP2 you get time to explore/interact before activating cutscenes? I agree that the progression isn't what it was in Max Payne 2. The only game this generation I got that same feeling of enemies following you throughout the area (if you choose to keep moving) was Ninja Gaiden 2, but that's not story related and I don't think enough people really took note of the nuances of Max Payne 2. If they had, Remedy would probably have made Max Payne 3. I hope we get to find out what happened with Aesir and the rest in America, but this jaunt didn't feel like it shouldn't be included as part of his overarching narrative. I enjoyed Max in Brazil, and wouldn't mind him going elsewhere if the narrative is "there."
That is basically Max Payne's gameplay. Has been from the start.
Snacks the sober sea lion
Member
Not... really. Did you play Max Payne? The only sequences that didn't involve action were between chapters (the dumb mazes), between sections and when you examine something important (the comic cutscenes, which can be skipped or read at your own pace). Max Payne 3 just straight up grabs control away and throws a cutscene at you every time it wants to portray anything other than shooting. And I mean literally anything, as with the aforementioned door opening cutscenes.
I haven't been able to play since mid-January, so I don't know when that update was and what it changed.
I haven't been able to play since mid-January, so I don't know when that update was and what it changed.
Because I was so invested in the story the cutscenes didn't really bother me, but I do think there's a better balance to be found between Max Payne 3 and the first two games if R* were to ever do MP 4.
MP 1 and 2 had some exploratory sections that sort of dragged. And the platforming was almost always atrocious (like the blood trail dream sequence). But at the same time, even I'll admit some of the instances of control being taken away in MP 3 felt unnecessary. Like when they would go to a cutscene just to show Max opening a door or Passos saying a line or two to Max. Stuff that should be able to happen within gameplay. Also, some of the slower sections in the first two games were a nice change of pace (like the police station in MP 2 before the bomb goes off).
I feel like the cutscenes are an issue for people partially because cutscenes turned into a technical necessity, rather than just a storytelling aid. Something in the way R* built the game made it require a ton of loading, and therefore a shit ton of cutscenes in order to mask said loading.
MP 1 and 2 had some exploratory sections that sort of dragged. And the platforming was almost always atrocious (like the blood trail dream sequence). But at the same time, even I'll admit some of the instances of control being taken away in MP 3 felt unnecessary. Like when they would go to a cutscene just to show Max opening a door or Passos saying a line or two to Max. Stuff that should be able to happen within gameplay. Also, some of the slower sections in the first two games were a nice change of pace (like the police station in MP 2 before the bomb goes off).
I feel like the cutscenes are an issue for people partially because cutscenes turned into a technical necessity, rather than just a storytelling aid. Something in the way R* built the game made it require a ton of loading, and therefore a shit ton of cutscenes in order to mask said loading.
Net_Wrecker
Member
Reducing elements wasn't necessary though. It only hurt the storytelling and pacing of the game. So in MP3, instead of having fairly graceful (sometimes optional) environmental storytelling through prompts, monologue, and/or visuals during traversal through the levels, EVERYTHING is done through cutscenes. There's no flow to the gameplay. Every time the plot is advanced, control is taken from you. That's why I feel the noir-like detective stuff should've been played up more. It adds a unique wrinkle to the storytelling that doesn't need to happen in frequent 5 minute cutscenes. Way underused feature of the game IMO. I appreciate Max Payne 3 being a laser focused shooter, but you still have to give the player some room to maneuver and allow them be there. Aside from the last level, I don't think there are any other gameplay stretches that last more than 5 minutes without an interruption. There was no evolution of the narrative style whatsoever.
They should've been skippable from day 1 but that's still not the point. I'd rather the storytelling be worked INTO the gameplay than be disconnected from it. That's why I brought up conversations that remain in one spot. There are probably 4 or 5 different scenes in MP3 where Max and another character talk in ONE SPOT for upwards of 5 minutes. A TON of that exposition could've been done while the player still had control. Allow these characters to keep moving. Through a building, through alleys, through the favelas, whatever.
Remember the old lady from MP2 in the building that walked and talked? Remember Vincent in the Baseballbat Boy outfit that walked and talked? Remember the guy in the warehouse that opened the door for you who walked and talked? Remember meeting Mike The Cowboy IN GAMEPLAY early in the game with only a small interruption and the rest of the conversation (however brief) done while walking and talking? Hell, compare the Max / Mona Sax section at the hotel vs. the Max / Passos section from MP3 in the stadium. How many times did the game needlessly interrupt you even though you were in contact with Passos on the headset the entire time?
MP3 simply strayed too far from the storytelling style the series should've been spearheading and evolving. It has nothing to do with the content or tone of the narrative, but purely the execution. The game was built not for playability, but for onlookers.
Max Payne 3 was, without question, built for playability. There's still item finding and "detective" work like in MP1 & 2, but the game definitely streamlines that stuff in order to tighten up storytelling and get to what Max Payne's best feature has always been: the gunfights.
Meant to post Max Payne 3's gameplay is just essentially action scenes, and that it's intentional.
It may not seem like it, but this is my biggest problem with the game.
I'd argue that the only flow is found in the gameplay. If the narrative called for Detective Payne, that would have been fine, but it didn't. He's a bodyguard in a foreign land, he doesn't speak the language, and most importantly, Remedy's no longer at the helm. That style of storytelling and gameplay seems to be a Remedy specialty and Max Payne's gameplay is strong enough to be a focal point. Aping Remedy's style would have been apparent, especially since Alan Wake released. Plenty games this generation did the walk-and-talk. The Captain Gognitti escort is probably my favorite escort mission. I think Max Payne 2 never got enough credit for it's interactive elements. But the most maneuverability in the series comes from player agency. Max Payne 2 offered more varied options, and I still think is one of the best games ever.
Ideally, I'd like to see other developers (Platinum) have a shot at Max Payne before Remedy wraps up the franchise. I'd have no problem with another R* Max Payne and would like to see what they would do with him next, I just think the franchise lends itself to different interpretations while keeping the core gameplay and themes intact.
Once you get a grasp of the physics in part 2 and 3, both are enjoyable to play and look at.
So I picked this up while it was £2.69 on Xbox live Games on Demand a few weeks back, and after chapter 6 or 7 it told me I was missing single player content. It seems the game comes on two discs in the Xbox 360 retail version so since I bought the digital version I have to get the ON Demand pack from the in game Xbox live store on the main menu, as this is basically the 2nd disc.
Enjoying the game only to have to then wait 3 hours while it downloads another 6GB worth of content totally ruined the flow. Why it couldn't have downloaded it all with the initial purchase I will never know.
I like the game for what it is, stay in cover pop out blam blam blam rinse and repeat. The voice acting is pretty good and I like the music a lot.
Just wanted to post this incase anyone else runs in the same "missing content for single player" issue.
Enjoying the game only to have to then wait 3 hours while it downloads another 6GB worth of content totally ruined the flow. Why it couldn't have downloaded it all with the initial purchase I will never know.
I like the game for what it is, stay in cover pop out blam blam blam rinse and repeat. The voice acting is pretty good and I like the music a lot.
Just wanted to post this incase anyone else runs in the same "missing content for single player" issue.
Grinchy
Banned
Yep, I just cannot play this game. I've opened it like 6+ times, and Steam tells me I've played for 2 hours. It just bores me to tears every time. The story is horrible, the dialog is horrible, and the gunplay might be good but I wouldn't know because I can only kill 5 guys before the next long, boring cutscene makes me turn it off.
-Deadpool-
Member
Finished this game last week. It just didn't gel with me. Absolutely had to force myself to finish it and I haven't said that about a game in a long time. Found it quite difficult, even on medium, so the constant deaths and bullet-sponge enemies really took me out of the experience most of the time. The boring speech/monologues/unskippable cutscenes were horrible as well.
Just no feeling there; it was a soulless, sterile, boring experience.
Glad to be done with it and relieved it was only cheap.
Just no feeling there; it was a soulless, sterile, boring experience.
Glad to be done with it and relieved it was only cheap.
valentine71
Banned
I couldn't disagree about it being soulless more... Its sterile, yes. In a way because its what the story is about. Also enemies are not bullet sponges. Not at all if you are skilled at shooting. And as this is a TPS, you need to be skilled at it. Also i don't know if you noticed but those are
special forces and so they wear bullet proof stuff
special forces
Net_Wrecker
Member
There are only like 3-4 actual bullet sponges in the game. Every other enemy dies quickly from headshots and being hit in unarmored areas. You were likely hitting the armored enemies right in their vests instead of adjusting for head and limb shots.
As for the rest, I don't think the game is soulless at all. Maybe the style wasn't to your liking, but a lot of work went into this and the tone is clearly unique compared to most shooters. We must have different definition of "soulless/sterile/etc."
-Deadpool-
Member
I'm certainly no master with the analog sticks, but the machine gunner at the top of the collapsing building and the riot cop in the station near the end with the perspex mask are perfect examples of "sponges". They don't even budge with successive shots to the face. I don't care what masks they have on; they shrug them off like your bullets are forged out of warm butter. Additionally, bulletproof vests aren't invicibility cloaks. Bullets hitting them still absorb tremendous forces behind the bullets fired at them. Having hordes of enemies just waltz up to you while you empty an AK clip into their chest is.. disappointing.
I couldn't have possibly cared any less for any of the characters involved by the end of the game, Max included. I'd define that as soulless.
Subjective dislike, but I don't think that makes it soulless.
Conversely, I was more interested in the story and Max as a character in 3 than either of the previous Max Payne games.
From someone who played Max Payne as a youngster, the game to me then was a lot less depressing and more "OOOOOO MATRIX SLOMO WOOOOW." It's fantastic getting the chance to play a Max Payne game after so long and seeing it from an adults point of view. It really does change how a lot of the game comes across.
Net_Wrecker
Member
There are literally like 3 of those actual sponges in a game where you kill probably 500+ enemies by the end. Any other standard enemy with armor on will not only react and fall when shot, but die just as quickly as any unarmored guy if you shoot them in their head, arms, crotch, legs, and feet. There are no "hordes of enemies" that march through AK fire. You can use a pistol for the entire game and still shred everybody.
Ehh. When I think "soulless" I think derivative + boring gameplay, bland environments, bad voice acting. A product where it feels like the absolute minimal amount of effort was put in to make it something better than mediocre. I have big issue with this game, but it doesn't strike me as soulless. Obviously completely subjective though, so w/e.
Screaming Meat
Unconfirmed Member
This place has been gathering dust for a while now. Any Gaffers still hitting the multiplayer on Xbox?
Screaming Meat
Unconfirmed Member
Dunno about PC, but for 360 there are a few still playing MP... it's just no one votes for the DLC levels. Equipment is good, mind.