Date: 2008-11-02 11:52:02 Created: null
Put simple, there's no way this game would sell nowadays if it wasn't for its graphics. Nope, no way. Graphics are Max Payne's greatest asset. Graphical effects to be more precise.
One graphical effect, to be very specific.
You know which one.
And come on, let's be frank. We all love it! Bullet time looks so cool, works so well and is integrated into the game so flawlessly that it essentially carries the whole experience on its own. Bullet time is what makes Max Payne special, there's no way the game would have been half as much fun without it. Just trying to remove it from the game without changing anything else shows how essential it is. Enemies would move too fast, be too numerous and cause way too much damage for it to be fun and playable at all.
So, pretty looks are what sells this game to people. What's good is that they're not really essential. The game would be just as much fun with less polished graphics, bullet time driven gameplay is simple, polished and great fun. Make no mistake, the great texturing and all the bullet holes, shells and so on enhance the game but the fact is the gameplay would remain as cool and addictive with wireframe graphics (boy, that would be damn cool in its own right!).
There's a story too by the way, and it fits the game perfectly. Told in comic book-style with complementing voices it does a great job of pulling you into the game world and setting the scene for the action. Sure, it's no Metal Gear of twists and turns, but it's not meant to be either. This is a straight action game, and it's got the story to match.
I haven't played through Max Payne even once yet, but I mean to real soon :-) ... Oh, the fact that it's made in Scandinavia (Finland to be more exact) doesn't feel bad either.
Addition May 9th 2002
Have just finished the game, and I'm still all kicked up from it :-) ... I really liked the final levels, especially the "boss battle". In part because it wasn't really one. I would have hated if the game had ended with some silly one-on-one-shootout with a Nicole Horn being able to take vastly unreal amounts of damage, and I'm even more happy you didn't have to take out that chopper :-) ...