July 25, 2006


Happy Birthday Max Payne!

Today is July 25, 2006. Five years ago was July 25, 2001. On that date, v1.0 of the registered version of Max Payne was released. Happy birthday Max!

It hardly seems like five years have passed, but they have. Since that date,a few incarnations of Max Payne have been released:

  • Max Payne 1 (PC, Xbox, PS2, & Mac)
  • Max Payne 2 (PC, Xbox, & PS2)
  • Max Payne Gameboy Advance

But today we're here to celebrate the orignal Max Payne's release. When it was new, the game caused quite a stir with it's unique look and storyline, not to mention the rather (at the time) new Bullet Time feature in videogames.

Three years back a young NYPD cop, Max Payne, came home one night to find his family senselessly slaughtered by a gang of drug-crazed junkies, high on a previously unknown synthetic drug. Now that same drug, Valkyr, has spread through the whole New York City like a nightmare plague, and Max Payne's on a crusade for revenge, out to get even. To Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, this new drug was evil incarnate, to be stopped at any cost. Max's boss and best friend, the only one who knew his true identity, has been murdered, and Max's been framed for the slaying. Everything ripped apart in a New York minute... Max Payne is a man with nothing to lose in the violent, cold urban night. A fugitive undercover cop framed for murder, and now hunted by cops and the mob. Max is a man with his back against the wall, fighting a battle he cannot hope to win. Prepare for a new breed of deep action game.

Also in honor of this trip down memory lane, here's the E3 2001 video for Max Payne, shortly before the full game was released to the public:

There's plenty to read if you would like to read up on Max Payne. Here's several links which you might find interesting:

We also received this letter from Max Payne fan Ian White today regarding the fifth anniversary of Max Payne:

Thank you very much!

Just a personal note, I can still remember the first time I played Max Payne, probably because I had been salivating over the original screenshots since it was first previewed almost 5 years before it's release. I was in High school when it was previewed, the game represented a new beginning for cinematic games that had not yet fully been explored. No one had ever attempted to bring gunplay to the level remedy was aiming for and I followed it extremely closely, constantly updating my good friends with every nugget that slipped out regarding it's development. The day it was released I picked up my pre-order and I can honestly say I've never stared harder at a game's cover art box before. It was the first game I have ever sat down to play and finished in one setting, the final bullet was appropriately cinematic. Certain moments are unforgettable in my mind, like jumping onto a moving train, the final level's lobby sequence, Max losing his wife, and Max's drug trip continue to be my all time favorite game moments. I'd like to express my appreciation for your dedication to publishing truly ground breaking material, that although often mimicked it's never been replicated. Oddly enough, my first networked game, as well as my first FPS game, was Duke Nukem 3D on a computer network at school in 1995. Duke Nukem 3D sucked me into pc gaming which lead to my interest in max Payne. You fella's have an amazing history, and I look forward to all of your future endeavors! Thank you so much for some of THE most quality entertainment experiences, I've ever had.

Sincerely,
Ian

If you own the game, why not get it out, and give it a spin in honor of it's fifth birthday? If you don't own the game, there's several options available to you. You can download the demo, buy the game, or you could win a free one! That's right, in honor of the 5th anniversary of Max Payne, we are giving away 50 free copies of the full version of Max Payne 1 (for the PC). All the copies have been given away. Thanks to those who wrote in!

Thanks to all of our fans who made the Max Payne games such a success! You'll also want to check out the latest from Remedy, Alan Wake when that's released. You can get more info on Alan Wake here.

In the words of the immortal Baskinator, "Stay Frosty!" ;)

Posted by Joe Siegler on July 25, 2006 at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Discuss this story on our forums
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