Retro Recall: Max Payne – A man in a quest for revenge. In bullet time

‘Man, wouldn’t it be cool if we could all dodge bullets in slow motion just like Neo?’ That was the thought in everyone’s heads after watching the revolutionary movie The Matrix. Fast forward two years, Max Payne releases and everyone was cheerfully diving in the air, bullets flying by, knees scraped.

Man, Max Payne surely needed those painkillers badly. All those falls…

Max Payne is your typical neo-noir revenge flick – game, in this case. Max is a NYPD officer on a quest for payback for the brutal murder of his wife and newborn daughter. It’s not the kind of game to earn any awards for its plot, but the story is competent enough to keep you wondering who is behind this tragic event.

Max’s drug-related hallucinations and trippy nightmares added some variety to the run ‘n gun gameplay, creating a tight, deceptive atmosphere that made it that little bit more interesting to the player. Max was a desperate man with nothing to lose, and the intriguing femme fatale Mona Sax only added more fuel to his fire.

I can’t get my mind over the first promotional material for Max Payne. The high-res textures on his face and pistol just looked like your traditional bull-shot that was carefully photoshopped (was this already a thing?) to fool unwary gamers – remember that this was in 2001. It was good for a laugh, and despite Max’s slightly constipated face (or is he nearsighted?), it looked too good to be true.

When the game finally released, I had to swallow my words, and I know many more who had to do so. Right after picking up their jaws from the floor.

But the star of the show was without a shadow of doubt the slow-motion leap. Or bullet time, as it became known since The Matrix. The already exciting third-person gunplay was made complete by this gimmick that took gameplay to the next level. Seeing those bullets zip by was a joy like no other. Adjusting your aim right before Max falls to the ground and the passage of time resumes is something that was pioneering and just felt right.

The graphic novel style that was introduced in place of proper cutscenes wasn’t to the liking of everyone, but I saw it as a nice extra layer of gritty noir on top of this bleak, depressing atmosphere.

From top-down racing to third-person shooting. Remedy Entertainment was founded by members of the demoscene and after its first game Death Rally, work began on Max Payne.

The Finnish studio went on to develop the first sequel to Max Payne, the horror action-adventure Alan Wake and the science-fiction shooter Quantum Break. Currently, Remedy is working on the single-player story mode of Crossfire 2, the follow-up to one of the most profitable free-to-play games in the world, as well as the new IP codenamed Project 7.

Bullet time, plain and simple. Max Payne was the first game to be inspired by this exciting new movie concept and bring it to an entirely new medium, to millions of enthusiastic gamers. Now we are Neo, we are shooting in slow motion, just like in The Matrix.

But even without this trick, Max Payne was a very enjoyable shooter. The gunplay was punchy, the weapons had just the right feel to them and the story, despite being predictable and full of clichés, was thrilling and suited to the noir style. Max is a cool guy staring at the abyss, pushed into the brink in a desperate quest for vengeance, and his major achievement is being the star of one of the most awesome action games ever devised.

Let’s just not talk about the movie. Ever.

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