Max Payne Game Awards

 
Max Payne has received many awards since it's release.  Here's a summary of some of the more notable ones (in no particular order).  These awards are for the PC version of the game unless specified otherwise.

Europrix Quality Seal

Golden Joystick 2002 Winners - Dennis Publishing (UK)

Best PC Game of the Year - Italy - ECTS 2002 (voted for by users of games radar.it)
Best PC Game of the Year - Sweden - ECTS 2002 (voted for by users of Svenska PC Gamer)

Best PC Game - BAFTA - (British Academy of Film and Television Arts)

Best Action Game of 2001 - finalboss.com

The website finalboss.com awarded Max Payne winning awards in several categories.  Their web site is not in English, and as such, I cannot quote anything here, but you can check it out if you'd like.  :)   In addition to the award above, Max Payne also won these awards from finalboss.com..

- Best Screenplay
- Best Graphics   
- Revelation Of The Year 
- Best Game of the Year    

Best Game Cinematography Award of 2001 - EuroGamer "Gaming Globe" Reader Awards

With a combination of spectacular cinematic in-game action, occasional real-time rendered cutscenes and over-the-top comic book style interludes between missions, Max Payne's approach to storytelling was certainly eye catching. Once again Max's fans voted it to the top of category, despite tough competition from the likes of Capcom and Square.

Best Game Character Award of 2001 - EuroGamer "Gaming Globe" Reader Awards

An undercover cop caught up in a conspiracy involving bent cops, mysterious corporations, designer drugs and even the odd bit of Norse mythology, Max Payne emerged from his New York fifteen minutes as the most popular video game character of the year. And with a habit of leaping through the air in slow motion while firing dual berettas John Woo style, not to mention a script that could have come from a (really bad) film noir and an array of bizarre facial expressions the likes of which we've never seen before, is it any surprise? No, don't answer that, it's one of them, how'd ya put it, rhetorical questions.

Best Innovation Destined for Overuse - Computer Gaming World

Computer Gaming World awarded "Bullet Time" with their 'best innovation destined for overuse' award.  See the pic to your right for a larger version of the award received at Remedy HQ.
 

Readers Choice - Best Game of 2001 - Pelit Magazine
Best PC Action Game of 2001 - Pelit Magazine

Pelit Magazine (the biggest Scandanavian magazine) gave Max their "Reader's Choice - Best of 2001" award and their Best PC Action game of 2001.  They sent a couple of actual awards to Remedy HQ - click on either of the thumbnails here to see a larger picture of the award.

Editor's Choice Award (Xbox) - Xbox Maniacs

This game is a genuine, one of a kind. Expect to see copied versions of bullet-time in the future. If you already bought this title for PC, don't buy it for Xbox because it is basically the same except for faster loading times. Otherwise, this is a must have title.

Metascore 90 - Universal Acclaim - Metacritic

No words can describe this game. It is a cross between the Matrix and Die Hard. This game is the best I have ever seen. Download the demo and see for yourself.

It looks simply unbelievable, the gameplay and control is easy and intuitive, and the bullet time makes it the premier action game on the PC.

Metascore 90 - Universal Acclaim (Xbox) - Metacritic

Playing through Max Payne for the first time is a little like watching Pulp Fiction for the first time: Five minutes after the opening credits you know it’s awesome, and you don’t want it to end.

The sounds of Max Payne double the intensity of the game. From the beginning monotone opening to the deadpan, and deadly noirish conversations that Max has with the enemies, the game is a treat for the ears as well as the eyes.

Best Game of 2001 - Electric Playground

At this stage, it's hard to find something to say about Max Payne that hasn't already been said about a gazillion times. Even people living in caves have heard that the graphics are fantastic, how cool Bullet Time is... Max Payne did for action games what John Woo and Chow-Yun Fat did for action movies. It was one of the few games that was hyped from the very beginning and didn't land with a thud. And on the net, the fans are even doing creative things with the included level editor. This title sparked some serious "I want to review that one" arguments around the office. The end credits promise a sequel. Already I drool in anticipation.

Best PC Action Game - Electric Playground

Tough call here, but Max gets the edge for originality. And Bullet Time. Who would have thought that a feature that slowed a game down would be so brilliantly cool? Don't forget that it's also a sophisticated piece of programming, one that can track every piece of buckshot from a shotgun blast, every shell casing from a machine gun, and every hole caused by every bullet. When you survey the damage caused by a battle, you feel like you caused major mayhem. Despite the graphic intensity, the games quickload feature was faster than a jackrabbit on crystal meth. Max Payne may be one long running gunfight, but this game has more style than five games put together.

Best Graphics in a PC Game - Electric Playground

Aside from the title character's perpetual "who farted?" expression, Finnish developer Remedy knew what they were doing when they hand-crafted the exquisite graphics engine that drives the John-Woo-meets-Martin-Scorsese bullet ballet that is Max Payne. "Photorealistic" is a descriptor that gets abused more than John Tesh fan at a Slipknot concert, but Max Payne went a long way towards convincing us that the line between videogames and Hollywood films really is getting a little blurry.

Editor's Choice Best Action Game (Xbox) - Game Revolution

The first really beautiful Xbox port of a PC game, Max Payne shows off the power of the system in frightening detail.

Best Adventure Game (Xbox) - IGN

Grab two pistols, your leather coat and the hottest special effect of the 21st century, Bullet Time, and you're ready for the adventure of a lifetime with Max Payne. Since we're keeping track this is likely the third best port, PC to Xbox, for the system in 2001. But Xbox gamer's weren't missing any part of the Max Payne experience on the Xbox. Ass kicking your way through the New York City underworld dealing street justice at will is the kind of adventure everybody expected from the Xbox. Max Payne delivers with some double-barreled fun.

Best Xbox game of 2001 - Gamespot

After more than three years in development, the world was pleasantly surprised with this original shooter that surpassed expectations with its innovative gameplay mechanics and cohesive style. The game's use of bullet-time, an effect that momentarily puts the action in slow motion, serves as both form and function. Using bullet-time, any of the games innumerable firefights feel as though they were pulled straight for a John Woo action movie, and adds an interesting twist to what would have otherwise been a pretty straightforward shooter.

Editor's Pick - Head to Head Gaming

It's tough...i think it's certainly the best 3rd person action shooter of all time, but best PC action game of all time? It's certainly the biggest and best game since Half Life in my opinion (maybe with the exception of Deus Ex)...and you know what? I think if someone asked me right now what the greatest action game of all time on a PC was, i'd probably say by instinct that Max Payne was up there. You never know the games you're forgetting when you say that though...one is always treading on thin ice. Ahh well, to hell with it. It's damn good. And it gets our H2H Pick!

Seal of Approval - Angry Gamers

You may hear allot of crap thrown at this game for being too short by pansy ass reviewers who whine about it for a few paragraphs and then give the game five stars or a 90% or 4.5 damaged brains or whatnot anyway. I think this is really a good thing - better to end the game on a high note (like Seinfeld or Cowboy Bebop) rather than drag it on far longer than need be for a few extra bucks (like the X-Files or John Travolta). In any case, I never found the lack of play time a problem. If you do, then we have a difference of opinion and must agree to disagree. Or battle to the death. Either way is good for me.

Please, go buy Max Payne. It has guns, terrible acting, slow motion and dead babies all rolled up into one. Kind of like my high school prom - but without the severe emotional scarring.

Computer Game of the Year - Augusta Chronicle

Max Payne from GOD Games gives you a great story and superb graphics, and is one of the more innovative games on the market. One of its greatest features is the ability for our hero to leap through the air (in slow motion) while blowing away the bad guys -sort of like a poor man's Matrix.

Life Sentence Award - Tweakers Asylum

One thing you won't find in Max Payne is a multiplayer mode, but don’t let this sway your opinion of this great game. It’s probably better off that it has no multiplayer mode, because I don’t think there would be any way that bullet-time would fit into it. But, the game does ship with it’s own editing tools, so I’m sure you will be seeing lots of user made single player MOD’s for this game.

As you can see I love playing this game. It is a non-stop adrenaline rush throughout the whole thing. It has a unique style of game play, a great story, and I know that I will be playing through this game more than once.

So if you have an $50 laying around, or if your bored and have nothing to do, go out and pick up a copy of Max Payne, I promise you, you will get hooked.

Pick Award - Geek.com

At first blush Payne is the antithesis of Geekness: he's cool, he's cold, he kills people. The game, too, doesn't seem to offer a lot of neato Geekisms. There's no multiplayer and, truly, it's not a very complex game. But then you come to the very cool cinematic shots and Bullet Time, which just plain old rocks. Throw in the fully-interactive background and Max Payne truly earns 4.5 Geekheads for Geekness.

Hot Award - Game Sector

This award is not in english, and as such doesn't have any text we can use to quote here.  :)

Editor's Choice Award - IGN

Well, as you can tell, I was pretty damn happy with Max Payne. It's got plenty of style, and enough action to have you hopped-up on adrenalin for hours after playing, leaving you saying, "I can take more Payne. Give me more! More!" It's not deep, but Max Payne is more than a satisfying experience the whole way through, and it's a title you absolutely must not miss if you're an action gamer. Max Payne, you are a delight.

Gamers Choice Award (Xbox) - Gamesdomain

If you havent already, go out and get this game for your Xbox, Its well worth the money and the time to play it through on every difficulty level.

 

Highly Recommended Award (Xbox) - Gamesdomain

Max Payne on Xbox is an excellent game. It seems to be improved for being on a console - third person games have always worked better with a decent gamepad, and this one is no exception. Maybe the movie-like ambience of the scenery is more at home on a big TV. Whatever the reason, it just feels right. It loses the tedious load times of the PS2 version, and gains a save-anywhere function into the bargain - a big improvement. Max Payne achieves perhaps the highest honour a port can manage - it's an improvement over the original.

Editors Choice Award - Gaming Excellence

The highly anticipated Max Payne is finally available, and it was sure worth the wait.

Award for Excellence - Wargamer

To put this as simply as possible, Max Payne is the best crafted and polished 3D action shooter to ever be released. The game delivers on every fancy feature, and completely engrosses the gamer with intoxicating gameplay. This is a must have for any action gamer.

Max Payne is perhaps most widely known for a feature the developers modeled into the game after a few too many sessions watching The Matrix. Calling it “shoot-dodging” and “bullet-time,” the developers modeled a slow-motion effect that not only is an amazing feature, but also is utterly critical to completing the game. These related features allow the player to dramatically slow time, giving Max a serious advantage over his enemies. Although Max’s actions are slowed along with everyone else’s, the slowing of time makes aiming substantially easier. This is crucial to the game because dodging bullets, shooting enemies and aiming properly is particularly cumbersome at full speed.

Intelligent Choice Award - Intelligamers

For any real fan of action movies or action games Max Payne is simply a must buy title, assuming your gaming rig is reasonably state of the art. It's blend of innovative action sequences, generally exceptional level design and enemy AI, and top notch, gritty film noir story telling make it the stand-out action game of 2001 so far.

PC Game of the year - Game Reviewers

Max Payne brings the synthesis between gaming and movies one giant leap forward. The current trend of games is to bring players inside of a story. Games like Deus Ex showed that shooters can have a story and RPG elements. The shooter genre is headed towards a more complex game experience which includes decision making, story lines, plot twists and awesome graphics. All these elements can make a player feel like they are ‘starring in their own movie’.

Max Payne's use of the slow motion action sequence adds one more movie element to video games. The slow motion effect, so long a part of modern action movies, has finally hit the gaming industry. The gritty character and story line of Max Payne add to the full cinematic feel of the game. The slow motion innovation combined with an action shooter which is driven by a truly gritty story line is enough to earn Max Payne my vote for Game Of The Year.

Best Action Game 2001 - Joystick Review

When making the evaluations for the Action Game of the Year Award one game kept coming back to mind: Max Payne. Why did we choose Max Payne for our Action Game of the Year? Features like graphics and 'Bullet time' enabled Max Payne to virtually rip the trophy from ours hands, as it emerged as our runaway favorite for 2001.

Max Payne's novel cinema-realistic graphics are simply stunning. No where have we seen this level of detail in an action game engine. Crisp, lifelike, and of course, intense - pretty much sums up our thoughts on this game. Make sure you have enough system, because you'll need it.

How cool is Bullet time? Try watching a bullet whiz through the air in 'Bullet time' and tell me if Half Life just doesn't seem the same, anymore. 'Bullet time' adds a whole new dimension to the shooter and makes everything else seem a little, well, dull. 'Bullet time" is to Max Payne what John Woo is to action films - very cool.

Like a good roller coaster, Max is fast and furious and when the ride is done you don't want to get up - you just want more.

PC Game of the year - Action Vault

Although many gamers were eagerly anticipating its release for quite some time, Remedy's and 3D Realms' Max Payne proved to be a title that was worth the wait. Set in the gritty, urban environments of New York City, it casts players as a hard-boiled cop seeking revenge against those responsible for his family's murder. One of the most prominent aspects that set Max Payne apart from other titles was its use of bullet time and other slow-motion effects. This made possible a style and finesse of shooting never before seen in a game. On top of this, it featured a story-driven adventure cleverly highlighted by graphic novel cutscenes, stellar graphics that were at times photorealistic, and a strong protagonist. It all adds up to an experience that makes Max Payne worthy of Action Game of the Year.

Character of the year - Action Vault

Borrowing certain qualities from influential action movies of the recent past, Max Payne is a character that was carefully designed from the ground up. Remedy and 3D Realms meant for him to stand alongside popular icons such as Duke Nukem and Lara Croft, which he does. Due to the loss of his family, Max is naturally a hard-nosed, edgy character who places little value on life. He has the appearance of a modern anti-hero, with a gun in each hand, dark razor-like hair, stern facial expression and trench coat billowing behind him. His future has also been well mapped, as a sequel seems a certainty and a movie starring the cop turned vigilante is in the works. Above all, there was something intangibly cool about the character and his style of action that made him and the game the success they were in 2001.

PC Game of the year - Gamezone

“The game is absolutely and genuinely unique. Its only major shortcoming is in its bathetic presentation: it comes off as a B-movie at times when it seems the developers wanted it to come off as an A-movie. If you think about it, though, that’s hardly a shortcoming: it’s a game that comes off as a B-movie among a multitude of games that only wish they could come off as any kind of movie at all. It’s really quite an achievement; it’s a mixture of standard story-art qualities (plot/momentum, story, scene balance, character) and standard computer game qualities (bug-free technological excellence, top-notch graphics, compelling sound production, gameplay and interface innovations, editor tools, replayability).”

Readers Choice Award - Best Use of Sound - IGN.com

We've heard some people say that the voice acting in Max Payne was too "acted". Well we think they're insane and apparently so do you. The voice of Max himself and most of the others in the game may have been over the top in some spaces, but that's what made it so darn brilliant and fun. Max's deadpan, depressed, and angry way of speaking set the stage perfectly for the urban western that had Vengeance as its middle name. And that's just Max. There were so many places in the game where you could wait around a corner and listen to gangsters have a conversation or hear a soap opera playing on an abandoned TV. There were so many ways this game did things right and the sound is just one fine example of that.

Readers Choice Award - Best Storyline of the year - IGN.com

The vengeance thing is big in the world of good stories it seems, because Max Payne packs it in and keeps it rolling with little twists and turns the whole way through. Max's wife and child have been murdered and he's gone vigilante killing everyone and everything that keeps him from learning the truth behind his family's death. The fiction is built beautifully and darkly throughout the game as things get more and more twisted with each passing scene. Comic book style interludes with news breaks on TV and the radio work extremely well to drag you down into the depressing and dirty world of Max Payne.

Readers Choice Award - Best Graphics of the year - IGN.com

I've heard very little to no complaint about any of the visuals coming from this Swedish born action shooter. It had everything from the solid modeling to the weapons effects. Seeing individually modeled bullets and shells flying around with reckless abandon was really amazing. But where this game really came across strong in the looks department were the textures and the lighting. They combined to create an amazing atmosphere that helped suck you into the shoes of that woe begotten renegade cop Max Payne.

Readers Choice Award - Game of the year - IGN.com

This is another game that exceeded our high expectations. Jam-packed with style and detail, this gritty film noir crime story definitely showed many Hollywood influences. It's like playing in your own action movie (complete with a disturbing comic strip about a weird looking kid and a bat). This game garnered so many votes from the readers that we almost decided to create a new Best Max Payne game of 2001 category.

The Best of 2001 - PC - Game Revolution

It took a while, but Max Payne finally showed us all why we were so excited for so many years. A great mood and outrageously fun gameplay made for a memorable experience. And was there a cooler gaming innovation this year than bullet-time?

Reader's Choice Single Player Action Game of 2001 - Gamespot

After installing the game and practicing my Matrix-style cinematic stunts in the training area, I felt like this was not like any ordinary third-person shooter. I knew there was something a little deeper inside. There's a story behind the game, the effects are great, you have some nice guns, and there are plenty of people to shoot. What more do you need?"

Reader's Choice Game of 2001 - Gamespot

"The best-looking video game ever made! I do not say that lightly. I have been a hard-core gamer since the late '70s. The graphics in this title are beyond amazing. If I wasn't caught up in the action I would probably just stare at the screen whenever I hit the bullet-time button. John Woo meets the Matrix for the most amazing effects yet created for the PC."

Videogame of the year - X-Sages.com

Max Payne was a long time coming. Oh, we saw glimpses of it and were told about its greatness every now and then, but we gamers have heard this type of hype before. Would Max Payne meet the hype? The quick answer? Yes!

Max Payne represents a new level in first person shooters. It comes with a fantastically penned storyline that is excellently voiced. The plot is believable and totally engrossing. As Max Payne you play a cop who lost everything to a bunch of drug addicts hooked on the newest designer drug. Max goes undercover to find the source of the drug but when his cover is blown, and the only contact in the force who can prove what side of the law Max on is murdered, Max finds himself wanted by the cops and hunted by the drug cartel. What is a max to do? Go Vigilante in the biggest sense of the term of course!

Max hunts his enemy through incredibly detailed worlds that are so real that they are downright depressing. Abandoned warehouses, shattered lives, and more enemies than a single man could possibly deal with. More than a single man can deal with that is, until you activate "bullet time." Oh yes, you saw and loved it in the Matrix - and you will love it in Max Payne. With bullet time Max Payne goes from being a man without hope, to a man with a fighting chance!

Everything about Max Payne is perfection. Using Bullet Time - the slow motion action shots generally reserved for action movies - and combining it with the action of a John Woo film, bullet dodging of The Matrix, and the tantalizing plot of a film Noir, Max Payne created a blend that previous action games lacked. Oh yes, Max Payne lived up to the hype and more and is well deserving of the Windows Video Game of the Year Award 2001!

Best Action game of the year - Elited.net

Best of 2001, this says a lot for the developers that took the risk of making a single player game that has third person view only. Max Payne is a pseudo-realistic type game, with the attention to each minute detail. Click a button on the soda machine and a soda falls out, shoot the can and it spews soda and flips around. Things like that add to the realism. Bullet time (slo-mo) and bullet dodge were unique features added to this incredible game. The game learns your ability and adjusts accordingly, how many games do that? Max Payne is worthy of Best action game of the year hands down.

Best single player Action game - Gamespot

Like many of the other games that were released this year, Max Payne experienced its fair share of delays leading up to its release. It was being developed at Finnish studio Remedy Entertainment for well more than three years, and that wait was made much harder by now-defunct publisher GodGames' tight clamp on all things Max Payne--the company released scarce few screenshots and gameplay details to a gaming public hungry to learn more about the intriguing game. So it was with a certain degree of surprise that we found Max Payne to be not only a superlative third-person shooter, but also one with a long-touted and extremely enjoyable "bullet time" feature. This slow-motion effect certainly isn't anything new--it's been made famous in a number of action movies like The Matrix--but Max Payne marked the first time that such a technique had been successfully executed as part of an action game. So much so, in fact, that Max Payne looks remarkably cinematic, even though it plays great. Certainly, the homage that it pays to its cinematic source material is clearly evident in everything from the game's pacing to the selection of visceral weapons available. The end result is a shooter that's almost as much fun to watch as it is to play.

Max Payne isn't just a mindless action game with a slow-motion novelty. The game tells the tale of a rogue cop on a mission to clear his name and avenge his family, using a series of still images that were done in the style of graphic novels. The plot is narrated with great, albeit melodramatic, voice acting as well. The extra effort that Remedy Entertainment put into development is plainly apparent in Max Payne, and ultimately, the game was well worth the wait.

Best PC Game of 2001 - Amazon.com

Gamer's Choice - PC Action Game - Gamespy

Max Payne, without a single doubt in my mind. Payne actually delivered what it promised; it put you inside of an action movie, had nonstop excitement, and was fun as hell.

After around four years of waiting, Remedy along with 3D Realms released its gritty film-noir inspired third person action shooter amidst a flurry of high profile online media coverage. In many ways, Max really delivered an outstanding single player gaming experience. Sure, the story was goofy at times and it was a tad on the short side, but the graphics were killer and the bullet-time themed gameplay really kicked ass. It might not be game of the year, but it was defiantly the game of the moment. It's also a pretty damned solid Xbox title to boot.

2001 Game of the Year - Voodoo Extreme

Max Payne (3628) 28% Halo (3192) 25% Dark Age of Camelot (1562) 12% Civ III (1436) 11% Grand Theft Auto 3 (1259) 10% Metal Gear Solid 2 (870) 7% Smash Bros Melee (378) 3% Star Wars Rogue Leader (285) 2% Dead or Alive 3 (159) 1%   Total Votes: 12769

2001 PC Action Game of the Year - Voodoo Extreme
 

Max Payne (2490) 34% Return to Castle Wolfenstein (1845) 25% Operation Flashpoint (728) 10% Aliens v Predator 2 (421) 6% They all suck (382) 5% Ghost Recon (274) 4% Serious Sam (264) 4% Tribes 2 (225) 3% Undying (159) 2% Blade of Darkness (130) 2% Red Faction (94) 1% Other (90) 1% Oni (53) 1% World War II Online (50) 1% BattleCruiser Millenium (47) 1% AquaNox (24) 0% HL: Blue Shift (23) 0% Hostile Waters (21) 0% Project Eden (11) 0%   Total Votes: 7331

Best of 2001 - Fragland

This game brought back something we had all almost forgotten : The Single Player Experience. Max Payne gave us something we never thought we would play again : a single player game with great gameplay, story, graphics and features.

PC Game of the Year - Shacknews

The winner (1351 votes): Max Payne. Ah how we all laughed at the seemingly slow development process, when it was finally released it was well worth it. With its bullet time gameplay, and its gritty urban setting, Remedy showed us that third person shooters on the PC could actually compete with first person shooters.

Seal of Excellence - Adrenaline Vault

Max Payne is one of those memorable titles that people will be talking about for years to come. Its impressive graphics, gripping storyline, and fun use of Bullet-Time action elevates the game to the current standard that most others should aspire to. While it would have been great to see a multiplayer component to accompany the single-player action, the single-player is handled nicely, with no sacrifices made that would lower the overall quality. As one of the last products to come out of the respected Gathering of Developers, Max Payne is a quality release that marks the end of an era, and serves as a benchmark for great games to come.

Platinum Heart Award - Gamers Pulse

Max Payne is not a perfect game (no game really is) but is easily one of the best games to come out in recent memory. If you are even remotely interested in the genre or game style pick this game up and settle in for a good long gaming session, because once Max Payne has you in his sights, it is damn hard to shake him.

Best PC Game of the Year - ECTS Visitors Award

Platin Award - 4 Gamers (in German)

PRINT MAGAZINE AWARDS

CGW - "EDITOR'S CHOICE" HONOR
The Nov. 2001 issue of Computer Gaming World contains a glowing review of Max Payne.

PC Gamer (USA -- Oct. 2001 issue) "PC Gamer Editors' Choice" - Rating: 90%

MikroBitti (FIN -- Jan.2002 issue) "Game of the Year"

PC Jeux "Jeu du moi" (Game of the month)"

PC Team "PC Team trophée"

Gamestar "Besondere Innovation" (Special Innovation)

PC Action Gold Award

Game On! Top of the Game On!

Gamesmania.de "Award of Excellence"

Gamesweb.com Award Gamesweb

Gameszone.de Gameszone Award

Gamigo.de Award Gamigo

PC Games "Spiel des Monats" (Game of the month)

PC Gamers Game of the Month Award

PC Format Gold Award

PC Zone Classic Award