Merry Christmas from 3D Realms

Or if you celebrate something besides Christmas, merry that, too. We at 3D Realms wish to extend a safe and happy holiday wish to all our site visitors. We hope your holiday season brings you something joyful, and something fulfilling. We'll see you on the flip side of the holidays.

In the meantime, we leave you with this holiday greeting from Max Payne and crew - click on the pic for the full image - thanks to Mariamus for the image.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 5:15 PM

Official Max Payne 2 Screenshot Contest

Folks who were hanging around our website in 2001 when the first Max Payne was released might remember we ran a screenshot contest. Well, with Max Payne 2 out now, we're back with a screenshot that's pretty similar to the one we ran before. We want you to send in your best Max Payne screenshot in the following categories:

1. Action -- Looking for a shot that shows cool action, maybe a gunfight or an explosion, etc. This shot might show slow motion action, and might include bullets caught in flight (either from Max's weapon, or heading toward Max, or both).
2. Cool moves -- This show shows Max and/or other characters involved in a John Woo-style move, evading danger or upholding the law with lead teeth.
3. Humor -- This is a shot that is in some way funny or unexpected. We'll leave it at that!

We'll have three winners in three categories (One winner, and two runners up). The top winner in each category will get an autographed collectible copy of Max Payne 2 (for the PC) from the Remedy team, as well as a Max Payne 2 windbreaker jacket. The first runner up will get a Max Payne 2 T-Shirt, & Max Payne 2 Pin Set. The second runner up will get one of our $35 Gift Certificates for use for 3D Realms games/merchandise.

Every person can submit only one screen shot per category, for a total maximum of three screen shots - Please do not resubmit saying "Please use this one over the other one I sent" - make sure your best shot is sent in first, as multiple submissions will be rejected. Also, do not edit the shots in any way - the point here is to come up with good Max Payne screenshots, not to see how good you are with Photoshop or some other editing tool.

The shots will be judged by Remedy and 3D Realms, who'll pick the winners. Each category will have a unique winner (a single person cannot win in more than one category). You can send in your submissions to [email protected]. If you are sending in more than one at a time, please zip them up to make sorting easier on this end. You can also put them online somewhere, and send in an email link to the screenshot(s). Also, please note that resubmitting the exact picture that won in the previous contest won't count - you can't submit the same shot as the winners of the first contest again, even redone in Max 2 - come up with something more original than that.

The contest is open to anyone, and will close on Monday, January 12th. If you don't happen to have a copy of Max Payne 2 yet, you can pick one up now - versions are now available for the PC, the Xbox, as well as the Playstation 2.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM

Official Max Payne 2 Modding Contest

Do you consider yourself a good game modder? Well, now's the time to prove it. Remedy & Rockstar are running an official Mod Contest where you can enter and win prizes! There's three sections to the contest you can enter in - they are:

* Best Original Mod - expand the gameplay of Max Payne 2 with a completely original and imaginative creation.
* Best New Dead Man Walking Level - create a compelling new level for the Dead Man Walking play mode.
* Best Real-Time Non-Interactive Movie - using the MaxED tools, create the best entry in the new art form known as machinima.

The deadline for entry is May 15, 2004. To enter download the Max Payne 2 mod tools and tutorials here, create a kickass new modification and then visit the official mod contest page to submit your creation.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:40 AM

Max Payne 2 Xbox Review

Now that the console versions of Max Payne 2 are out and about, the reviews are starting to come in for them. Here's the first one we received - a review of the Xbox version of Max Payne 2 over at teamxbox.com.. Here's some of what they had to say about the game.

* Max returns in a game that improves upon the original in every way.
* ... The action oriented gameplay makes for one of the best third-person shooters this year.
* The environments are probably the most impressive part of the game in how large and richly detailed they can be.
* The entire game is a heart-pounding experience that will keep you playing from start to finish

If you don't have your copy of the game, you should order it now - versions are now available for the PC, the Xbox, as well as the Playstation 2.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:30 PM

It's Interview Time

Gaming site "This Strife" has two interviews with some folks notable in 3D Realms history. Scott Miller (founder of our company), and Todd Replogle (the programmer for the first three Duke games, amongst others).

Todd, as was said above is known for having programmed the first three Duke games, as well as several others for us in the early days of the company. Here's a bit from Todd's interview:

Q: What are your favourite computer games of all time?

A: My favorite video game of all time has to be the really spooky ones. The original arcade version of Williams' Sinistar is a game that stood out among the rest. It had a simple premise with complex gameplay attributes.

Q: Your past has seen you having heavy involvement with Scott Miller and George Broussard, 3DRealms head honchos. Have you got any funny stories about your times with them?

A: There was a funny time when the whole gang flew to a software awards ceremony in Los Angeles. In no time we were exploring the town, checkin' out the sights and getting familiar with the territory. One night we stopped by a strip club to do some "research" when all of a sudden Chris Farley walks in! We couldn't believe it. For a time we were more interested in watching him than the strippers.

The other interview is with Scott Miller, founder of Apogee Software. Scott talks about a wide range of topics, from the genesis of the Max Payne franchise, the foundation of id Software, and Scott's possible work as a level designer for DNF.. Here's some from Scott's interview:

Q: Even with relatively few Duke Nukem games released, he has become an established character and brand name. How did you achieve this?

A: It only takes one spectacular game to establish a brand. And although the original Duke Nukem, a side-scroller, was a giant success in the shareware market, selling not too far behind Wolfenstein 3-D, it was Duke Nukem 3D that broke the damn wide open on Duke�s popularity, exposing him to 25 million players via the shareware version, and 1.5 million via the PC retail version.

Q: One of the things that sets 3D Realms apart from the majority of games developers is that you�re self funded, isolated from publisher pressuring. Is this something you�d ever want to change and are there any downsides to this situation?

A: I�d guess that most all studios wants to be financially independent, because it allows for the freedom to make the games YOU want to make, inventing new properties and being in charge of your destiny. Having to depend on money from publishers, who more often than not do not see things as you do, and generally do not think for the long-term, is not fun at all.

Make sure and check out both interviews - and if you want a laugh, check out the rest of the site.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 11:00 AM

Max Payne 2 PS2 is out now

Playstation 2 fans now have a reason to rush to the store with their cash, or ask Santa for an extra present - Max Payne 2 is now in stores for the Playstation 2. This now completes the trilogy of format releases for Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. It's now available for the PC, the Xbox, as well as the
Playstation 2 If you haven't checked it out, you can also download the demo for Max Payne 2 for the PC and check that out for free. Check out our downloads page for links.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 11:00 AM