Max Payne 3

I was looking forward to Max Payne 3 for a long time before I bought the game. I have a deep rooted love for the first two installments and had every faith Rockstar would eventually deliver another tounge-in-cheek, neo-noir, stylish-death shoot-fest that I would love just as much.

And they did it.

I read a lot of negative reviews before I finally decided to just give the developers the benefit of the doubt. The majority seem to complain about the very things that make the series great. I'm so grateful Rockstar didn't just cop out by making a Call of Duty clone that would have pulled in the mainstream gamers - they stayed true to what the series has always been about: self-conscious noir storylines with gameplay that promises endless satisfaction through shooting people in the face whilst in awe of the way your balletic violence is conveyed.

I haven't even tried the multiplayer yet so will update review in due course.

Max Payne 3 was a fantastic game and it was a real work of art, the fact that the cut scenes and gameplay blend in perfectly and there are no loading screens between them is astounding. I felt I had to give this game an honest review since there are so many people unfairly rating this game so low on this site. As always Rockstar brings us another fantastic and high quality production, the attention to detail in this game is astounding and it really does look beautiful.

I did find at certain points in the game the controls did not work as they should of and Max would be standing out in the open while I literally spam the cover button and wait for him to decide to take cover however these moments were few and very sparse. As a player of the previous Max Payne games I was very pleased, the game worked exactly how I expected it to work and those complaining that it should have been the way that they wanted it are deluded and show a sense of entitlement that they do not deserve. This is Rockstars game, let them design their game the way they want to. The combat works fine and I found myself having to adjust my playing style to play this game successfully since these days many games are heavily casualised and arguably easier and the fact that Max can be killed incredibly quickly was actually a pleasant surprise and made me play much more conservatively.

The story is fantastic and full of twists, turns and brilliant action scenes. Max is clearly suffering from his alcohol and drug addictions and it is depicted perfectly well, those criticizing the game for him just being "an angry bald guy" are clearly deluded. Not going to mention any spoilers here but there are reasons as to why Max is the way he is, play the previous games. He has been through a lot and his life is pretty messed up, he clearly relies on his addictions to try and dull his pain. I also think the voice acting and dialogue is top notch, some of Max's remarks are brilliant.

Overall I say this is a must buy so if you are considering it I say go for it, a fantastic game that is also very reasonably priced these days.

An unreal experience. The closest thing Ive ever played to a cinematic experience, on any console in my 25 years of gaming! This is outstanding. A believable, well written story that weaves beautifully into astounding gameplay.

Yes, there's limited weapons, the levels are extremely linear and max hasnt got many moves.. But the realism this game gives is second to none! Will only be fully appreciated by the mature gamer IMO. People that value & enjoy a storyline, realise the effort put into how a character reacts to damage, attention to detail in levels etc. A superb release yet again from Rockstar!

To be fair, I don't see a great replayability factor though. A must buy tho, as its a modern masterpiece!