Max Payne

Max Payne

Released: July 23, 2001
Type: Main Game

Platforms:

Xbox PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Android PC (Microsoft Windows) iOS Mac Xbox 360 PlayStation 2

Genres:

Shooter

Game Modes:

Single player

Themes:

Action Thriller

Player Perspectives:

Third person

Ratings

User Rating

86.0
Based on 1591 ratings

Critics Rating

73.8
Based on 2 ratings

Total Rating

79.9
Based on 1593 ratings

Summary

Max Payne is a man with nothing to lose in the violent, cold urban night. A fugitive undercover cop framed for murder, hunted by cops and the mob, Max is a man with his back against the wall, fighting a battle he cannot hope to win. Max Payne is a relentless story-driven game about a man on the edge, fighting to clear his name while struggling to uncover the truth about his slain family amongst a myriad of plot-twists and twisted thugs in the gritty bowels of New York during the century's worst blizzard.

The groundbreaking original cinematic action-shooter, Max Payne introduced the concept of Bullet Time in videogames. Through its stylish slow-motion gunplay combined with a dark and twisted story, Max Payne redefined the action-shooter genre.

Storyline

In December 2001, as New York City is enduring the tail end of the worst snow blizzard in the history of the city, Max Payne, a renegade DEA agent and former NYPD detective, is standing at the top of a skyscraper with a sniper rifle in his hands, smiling, as police units arrive on the scene to arrest him. He then experiences flashbacks from three years ago and the last two days he experienced. Three years earlier, on August 22nd 1998, Max was working as a regular NYPD detective, having just finished his day's work. His longtime friend and DEA agent, Alex Balder, invites him to transfer into the DEA, but Max declines the offer, wanting to focus on his full-time life with his wife, Michelle, and their newborn daughter, Rose. As he returns to his house in New Jersey, he finds that a trio of junkies had broken into his house, all addicted on a brand new designer drug, Valkyr. Max receives a call from a mysterious woman who seems pleased at the trouble in the house and refuses to call for help. Max rushes to aid his family and kill the junkies, but is too late as he finds his wife shot dead, and his daughter slaughtered. After his family's funeral, Payne accepts Alex's offer, and transfers to the DEA at his own request to stop the spreading of the drugs.

Screenshots

Involved Companies

Gathering of Developers

Role:
Publisher

MacSoft Games

Role:
Publisher

War Drum Studios

Role:

3D Realms

Role:
Publisher

neo Software

Role:

Rockstar Toronto

Role:

Rockstar Games

Role:
Publisher

Westlake Interactive

Role:
Developer

Feral Interactive

Role:
Publisher

Remedy Entertainment

Role:
Developer

Take-Two Interactive

Role:
Publisher

Game Engines

MAX-FX

Keywords

neo noir murder drugs ps2 death insanity action-adventure noir steam bullet time building crime revenge snow torture easter egg slow-motion dreams cult one-man army comic book digital distribution voice acting protagonist's name in the title polygonal 3d breaking the fourth wall game reference launch titles original soundtrack release white noise non-player character profanity playstation plus sniping melee real-time combat wilhelm scream female antagonist quicksaving quickloading unreliable narrator vending machine interaction cheat code addiction non-linear storytelling interactive environments film noir anti-hero disorientation games on demand e3 2000 banter during gameplay meme origin women in refrigerators syndrome comic book cutscene crime fighting dual wielding character models based on actual people cutscene menu waking up captured satanism dream sequence vigilante trilogy tragic hero dynamic difficulty greatest hits ps2 classics exploring yourself novint falcon support pc to console port framing realistic ballistics metafiction bafta games award femme fatale infinite pockets adapted to - movie elevator music e3 2001 e3 1999 e3 1997 xbox 360 backwards compatibility rogue cop fate male protagonist dynamic narrative

Alternative Names

Max Heat

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