Even more Max Reviews!
It's Monday morning, so that means a new batch of Max Payne reviews. Check 'em out:
CTW (Game of the Week -- July 27, 2001 issue)
Max Payne [is] the single most important third person action game released since Tomb Raider. [T]he story is ace, and a country mile ahead of the two-bit fodder normally associated with games. [T]he way the initial scenario is revealed is possibly the most effective introduction to a video game we've ever seen.
Max Payne sets a new benchmark for action games.
~~~
GameOn Magazine
Link here.
Rating: 91%
The game should be sought by all action movie and shooter enthusiasts. The graphics impact, with its high resolution textures and particle effects, has few rivals, and the same goes for sound and the comic-strip style of the in-game cut scenes.
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CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/fun.games/08/10/max.payne.idg/index.html
Rating: 9/10
"Max Payne" is a well-polished gem. Everything is done perfectly, from the graphics to the gameplay to the voice acting to the story.
~~~
3D Gaming News
http://www.3dgaming.net/reviews/pc/mpday2/
Rating: 95%
If you haven't already obtained your copy of Max Payne, go to the store and buy one now. This is not a title to miss.
~~~
(Finnish site)
http://scully.mtv3.fi/mfc/page_taivaskanava?sivu=tietokonearviot&pubid=72872
Rating: 92%
~~~
Computer Gaming World (Sept. 2001 issue)
Hands-on Preview
[T]his shooter breaks away from the gaming pack [by] telling its gritty story through painted comic book-style panels displayed between levels, instead of the traditional clumsy in-engine cut-scenes. But it's the true bullet-time that really punches up what could otherwise be routine gun battles...creat[ing] the kind of tension and visual wonder that the best action movies generate. No other game I've played has created the nerve-wracking tension associated with the near-miss. Max Payne lets you watch every bullet fired at you rip a trail through the air, often surprising you with a projectile whistling just past Max's ear...Our exclusive playtesting of Max Payne made it clear that this will be the most stylish shooter in years.
~~~
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00002SUOV/73407921
(no rating)
May Payne is a film-noir-inspired game about revenge that is unflinching in every way possible. It's dark and moody, extremely twisted, and turns PC action gaming on its ear by featuring state-of-the-art graphics, audio, and cinematic action. Max Payne is the �bershooter.
~~~
Game Forces
http://www.gforces.net/reviews/action/maxp/
Rating: 8.5
Max Payne is one of the most beautiful action-adventures that have yet to be seen. From start to finish, Max Payne is a non-stop, action-intensive thriller sure to keep you glued to the screen in a way no other game has. The integration of the story that just keeps getting more complicated and yet more clearer as you progress fills the game with unbelievable depth.
In essence, Max Payne is the fortunate result of what happens when detail is the top priority of a game's development. It has the perfect form of an action-adventure title with the golden heart of a benchmarker. Everything in the game was designed with the player in mind, which is what created this awesome experience. Just think of Max Payne as a hit summer action flick -- it has everything you like about the genre, and since there aren't that many games of this caliber during this season, you're in for a treat.
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Games Xtreme
http://www.gamesxtreme.net/features.php?id=239
Rating: 95%
Max Payne is a groundbreaking game. Max Payne is gritty and dynamic, it's chock full of action and doesn't really slow down at all story wise, you're hurled from one encounter to the next with a series of neat twists and turns that would leave a writer like Tom Clancy wondering why he didn't have this level of backstabbing sneakiness. Max deserves an accolade of being one of the most innovative and bloody great action games of 2001
~~~
PC Strategy Gamer
http://www.pcstrategygamer.com/article1072.html
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Remedy, a developer from Finland, has managed to produce a 3D game engine that looks better than anything to have existed thus far.
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Action Trip
http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/maxpayne.phtml
Rating: 88%
Max Payne is a stunning technical (gameplay) achievement.
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http://www.bluescreenofdeth.net/reviews/software/maxpayne/
The bottom line: It's a magnificent game that brings the action spirit to the PC...Max Payne is a definite must have.
~~~
GameVisions
http://www.gamevisions.com/reviews/maxpayne/
Rating: 98%
What if someone were to combine the thrills of some of the best movies and games to exist, and glue them back together in an ultra-realistic detective story focusing around a rouge cop and his encounters with the mob in the toughest alleys of New York? You'd end up with a game so addictive, that it would be hard to put down. That game is Max Payne. Max is most certainly up for nomination for Best Action Game and Best Game for the 2001.
~~~
Fragtopia
http://www.fragtopia.com/reviews/maxpayne/maxpayne.html
(no rating)
Max Payne is one of the most flawlessly crafted, well-written, polished-to-perfection game playing experiences I've ever had. For the pure fun value, this game has got it all, and is easily the best release of 2001.
~~~
http://www.lismoregamers.com/articles/reviews/maxpayne/
Rating: 9/10
My first impression after I've installed the game was WOW! The game offers some of the most spectacular graphics and sound that have ever been seen in any 3rd person shooter. Real life textures are used for the environment as well as the characters in the game. It gives you the feeling of almost being there. So when the action started heating up I decided to try out this much talked about "Bullet Time". I was stunned! It felt as if I was acting out a scene in the movie - The Matrix. I could actually see the bullets fly past me. This is one feature that's going to make this game unique and stand out above all the rest. Once you've started playing this game there is no way you're getting up out of the chair. The storyline is riveting.
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The Triple Helix
http://www.thetriplehelix.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=47
Rating: 9/10
Max Payne's environment is the dirty underbelly of New York. Everything in the development of the levels is very detailed and well done. The streets look very accurate and genuine. The weather and the blizzard during the game looked extremely nice. Also, the level design of the game is simply amazing. It's almost as if Remedy brought in real engineers and architects to design and make the maps for Max Payne. The building, warehouses, and even the ship, which is in the game, are very well done and detailed than any other game I have seen.
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Game Raiders
http://www.gameraiders.com/reviews/reviews.asp?platform=PC&reviewid=525
Rating: 9/10
Two big thumbs up for the bullet time in Max Payne!
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FragLand
http://www.fragland.net/?body=review&rid=60
Rating: 92.5%
Max Payne is a terrific game that is a must-have for anyone who still likes to play games in single player mode. The graphics are awesome, the atmosphere is really well-done and the bullet-time where you can shoot enemies in slow-motion gives Max just that little edge that makes the game superb...you should go out and buy Max Payne right now!
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Jester News
http://www.jesternews.com/index.php?page=content/articles/max_payne.htm
Rating: 96%
[Max Payne] has just changed the future of games.
Posted by Joe Siegler on August 27, 2001 at 12:15 PM | Permalink
News Categories: Max Payne
