Max Payne 3

[DocSeuss]

Why not turn off auto aim and the like?

 

PS3 sticks suck and don't aim well (also, PS3 version is the worst, apparently, going by Eurogamer's reaction).

 

I was only using softlock, by the way, not hardlock.

 

I'm going to give the game a playthrough later on--I realize that the levels are still poorly designed (New Jersey has the best levels and I can't praise them enough--they're nice and open, allowing a lot more play with shootdodge and bullet time), the story still sucks, and all that jazz--because I'm curious to see what it's like with mouseaim.

 

Really sucks the game's 35GB, though. Most of that is actually just HD cutscenes (same reason God of War, with its low-poly assets and low-quality textures was so huge--the video's HD stuff and takes up a LOT of storage space). The game would be a lot smaller if they were in-engine and, y'know, didn't exist for things like climbing ladders.

Edited May 24, 2012 by DocSeuss

[toxicitizen]

So, now that the PC version is finally out, I've sunk a few hours into the campaign.

 

So far, it's exactly what I expected. The new setting was a terrible idea and the writing and characters feel like they were lifted straight out of GTA. It just doesn't feel like a Max Payne game at all as far as narrative and atmosphere go. And a very strong argument could be made that those two things were key as they were defining traits of the original games. Really disappointed about that but honestly I expected as much and was prepared for it so it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the game too much. Some areas actually do kind of give off a vibe that's vaguely reminiscent of the first two games but most of them just feel wrong.

 

That being said, the gameplay is fucking tight. I was confident that Rockstar would craft a quality shooter and they did not disappoint in that area, imho. The physics and animations of how Max moves and reacts to contact with objects or when he leaps over obstacles are just amazing. Basically, the only thing working against the game is that it's supposed to be a Max Payne sequel. Change the title and main character and all my complaints just vanish into thin air.

[Luftwaffles]

Change the title and main character and all my complaints just vanish into thin air.

 

That's what I was worried about. It sounds like a great game and one I'll definitely pick up this summer, it just doesn't sound like a very good Max Payne game.

[Mister Jack]

Is it just me or does the AI have stupidly accurate aim?

[Maritan]

One of the best PC ports that I've seen. Seriously, 150-300 fps and good visuals? I mean, console version looks good, but this is really surprising, I even restored some of my faith in Rockstar.

The story is still shit, but the gameplay is fun.

 

I just remembered one kotaku article where they said that you need to spend about 2-3 thousands of dollars on PC to play this game on max settings. Fucking peasants.

Edited June 2, 2012 by Maritan

[toxicitizen]

Oh, absolutely. Forgot to mention it but the game runs unbelievably well on my rig. I was fully expecting to have to drop some serious settings to get a decent framerate but I get a solid 200 fps with every setting maxed out including FXAA, Dx10 enabled and 4X anisatropic filtering. What's weird is I enabled v-sync, so I guess that doesn't work. Not much of an issue, though. And my card was one of the early ones to support Dx10, so those games normally don't run anywhere near that well for me.

 

Oh and SLI works flawlessly day one. That one really surprised me. I've long since gotten used to only getting half of my card's power when buying games day one, so that's pretty fucking awesome. Honestly, I got seriously skeptical after getting my free L.A. Noire, trying it and seeing it just suddenly drop to 20fps for no apparent reason but I'm amazed at how well this runs.

[SomTervo]

The story overall is pretty weak. Moments are strong (I thought chapters 7-11 or so were incredible specifically), but the opening and the ending is very weak.

 

The gameplay is brilliant, I think a perfect evolution of Max Payne. And replaying it, there are some pretty strong Max Payney elements. It's definitely not up to MP1 or 2 standards, but hey.

 

Also, massive spoiler, but:

 

 

I am SO FUCKING HAPPY he didn't die in the end. I didn't say this to anyone in case I had spoiled things, but I looked at the User Reviews page on Metacritic for Diablo 3 (not even the same game) and someone wrote a review that was just the same phrase repeated hundreds of times: 'Max Payne dies at the end.'

 

I was raging at having it spoiled, but decided to try and play the game anyway. And, there was a chance they were wrong.

 

I finished it, and while the whole story scenario is very lame and the ending was weak, I was fucking happy he's not dead. If they make another game, Houser et al. could definitely have a better shot at recapturing some of MP1 and 2's magic, narratively.

 

Edited June 2, 2012 by kenshi_ryden

[Maritan]

I laughed so hard.

[SomTervo]

I really, really like the TVs in Max Payne 3, as much as in Max Payne 1 and 2, but... I fucking detest how they can't just be ambient. You HAVE to turn them on and watch them, and do nothing else. So much of MP3 seems to be about taking player control away in every instance except gunplay, which is just really disappointing.

 

It's a good thing the gunplay is so fucking fantastic.

Edited June 2, 2012 by kenshi_ryden

[SomTervo]

Oh wanted to add, I played the whole thing, and played multiplayer, and the Arcade momdes (which are fucking fantastic btw, especially Score Attack) with Free Aim. And I've never had any problems. And I'm playing on a console. You just have to be really focused and precise.

 

It's entirely possible, with Free Aim on, to shootdodge into bullet time and, with a pistol, tag 5 or 6 guys with headshots before you hit the ground. Not even kidding. Anyone who says that's impossible with console is just bullshitting. I'm on 360 and it's fucking epic.

[toxicitizen]

Had a shot at New York Minute and Score Attack. Both are really fun, though it sucks that leaderboards are already full of cheaters. High score on the first level is like 9999999982899 for score attack and literally thousands of minutes for NYM :/ Wonder if Rockstar are going to do anything about it...

[toxicitizen]

Turns out some apps return wrong fps counts for the game. I was getting around 200 on EVGA Precision and people have reported the same using MSI Afterburner. But I tested with Fraps just now and I'm getting a much more realistic sub-60 number. It never goes above 60, which makes much more sense since I've got v-sync on.

 

While I was playing, there were actually a few times during cutscenes where it felt like the fps dipped for a second or two. But with the numbers Precision was reporting, I figured it was just my imagination. Guess it wasn't. The game still runs extremely well, just not as insanely well as Precision led me to believe.

Edited June 4, 2012 by FLD

[Cyber Rat]

Thanks to the Steam sale, I was finally able to play MP3. Here are the thoughts on it: http://defaultprime.com/2012/07/19/max-payne-3-the-true-fall-of-max-payne/

 

The tl;dr version is: good game, shitty sequel.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

I can think of plenty that makes it a bad game:

 

Difficulty spikes, forcing guns off/on you due to cutscenes, rail sequences, hypocritical dialogue and story actions (the most obvious example is the scene where max is like "i'm so clumsy" and immediately does the most acrobatic shit ever when he shoots a rope and is pulled up three stories on a pulley while killing dudes before landing at on a platform up top), a convoluted forced feeling grimdark plot, badly done checkpoints, forcing you to die even though you have painkillers just because you can't shoot through a wall and hit the enemy who was shooting you because you fell over (the worst part of that is you see your hopeless situation in slow-motion), and an overabundance of cutscenes.

 

What is great about the game are the core shooting mechanics. Quite frankly, they're amazing (barring the aforementioned "last stand" thing), and really satisfying. I wish I had more opportunity to play the multiplayer and the other modes so I could experience them more.

[Cyber Rat]

Yea, the core shooting is fun. But the only reason I'm not replaying it is because of the insane cutscenes. :/ It has a toon of stupid stuff, but it was still enjoyable to an extent.

[toxicitizen]

Aren't the cutscenes skippable? No reason to rewatch them after the first playthrough.

 

The cutscenes defaulting you back to the handgun was pretty fucking terrible, though. It was so unintuitive that I never got used to it and kept leaping to my death because of it, thinking I still had a shotgun or rifle equipped and ending up hopelessly outgunned. I just can't wrap my head around how anyone could've possibly thought it was a good idea.

Edited July 19, 2012 by FLD

[Cyber Rat]

Most cutscenes are unskippable because of the "Still loading" message in the corner.

[SomTervo]

I never experienced any trouble with post-cutscene weapon changing. In many of the cutscenes he keeps hold of whatever he had before hand and you still have it afterwards; the times when you lose your weapons after cutscenes are because in the cutscene Max drops or changes his weapon for some reason. It seemed more like a design decision for me.

 

I loved Last Stand. I think it works enough to be justified. The times when you can't hit the guy who got you are very rare in comparison to how many times it works. I think it works great as a 'lives' system and as punctuation to the amazing action.

Edited July 23, 2012 by kenshi_ryden

[Strangelove]

How difficult is it to jump into the third one if you never played the other two?

[toxicitizen]

Not at all. Unlike Max Payne 2, it's not really a direct sequel. His wife and kid died. That's pretty much all you need to know going into 3.

[Hot Heart]

SPOILERS!