Gameplay

Simpler than it looks

At its core, Max Payne is no different than any other shooter to come around in the past decade. If Commander Keen was 3D, it would follow the same formula: throw main character into a situation with few weapons, let him encounter ever-increasing waves of enemies with a few puzzles thrown in between, reward with newer weapons and cooler encounters. Every so often, the main character will run into a boss or miniboss, which is preceded by the obligatory crazy fight or calm before the storm.

While most of Max Payne involves finding enemies, killing them in cool ways and finding some more, there are a few 'different' levels tossed in to spice things up. Twice, Max goes on involuntary drug trips and runs through a nightmare version of his own home, before having to run across narrow paths and do silly little jump puzzles. Since MP is a third-person game, the jump puzzles aren't particularly difficult once you learn Max's jumping limitations. Another time, Max arrives in a place that is completely wired to go, filled to the brim with gasoline and someone just lit the match. It's up to you to guide Max through the flames, find escapes and get out of there without being beaten up too badly to fight.

Molotov, you're da man

Standoff

Max Payne retains his championship title

How did you do that? You moved like they do!

To help distinguish Max from the crowd and improve on the genre, Remedy has introduced an immediately recognizable effect: bullet time. Bullet time is the slow motion, camera-panning Matrix effect that you've probably seen everywhere in spoof movies to flash animations. . Hit a key and everyone and everything slows to a crawl. You can choose to run around with bullet time on until the hour glass wears off, turn it off yourself, or perform a shootdodge - a dive in any of the 8 basic directions, in slow motion.

So how good is bullet time? It's amazing. I guarantee that games will be knocking this feature off in various ways for years to come. Max doesn't move faster than anyone else in bullet time, but you, as the player, can aim and react at normal speed. The computer still plays as though it were moving in slow-motion, while you have the advantage of helping Max's aim in real-time. Accuracy goes through the roof, as does the ability to dodge fire and weave between enemies. Shootdodges are great for diving into a room or diving out of harm's way while taking a few foes with you, but if you are surrounded or face multiple enemies, the time it takes to get up from a dive can be lethal. Bullet time is not as efficient for the time you spend against small groups, but allows you to take out larger numbers with relative ease.

Check out the flowing clothes

Must be a powerful shotgun to lift him off the ground

Yeah, I bet you're surprised

For those who aren't impressed by tricks (no matter how neat), Max Payne may seem like standard action-adventure flare, a one trick pony with attitude. Other less jaded and critical gamers will love the whole new level of options that bullet time unlocks. There is a totally undeniable cool factor to it. Similarly, for some, the shortness of the game will keep bullet time from getting stale, while others will be peeved at the limited investment. It all depends on what you expect. No doubt, many would wish for a gauntlet mode with larger and larger waves of enemies.

Oooh shiny

Max Payne, Ph.D., specialist in lobotomy

This is precisely why I cheat when taking screenshots.