Max Payne Movie Tops Box Office!

All of 3D Realms took a couple of hours on Friday afternoon and we all partook of the Max Payne movie. Turns out a lot of folks joined us across the US, as the movie was the #1 moneymaker this weekend topping the previous #1 slot holder for the last two weeks (Beverly Hills Chihuahua), as well as the other newly released movie this weekend ("W" by Oliver Stone).

One quick note if you have not seen it (or plan to more than once)... Stick around through the credits. There is a small scene tacked on after the full credit scroll. Not going to say what it was, but if you're the kind of person that gets up and walks out the second the credits start, you might want to wait. ;) Need tickets? Get them here.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Action-packed "Max Payne" shot its way to the top of the North American box office, grossing $18 million during the video game adaptation's first weekend in theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

The dark, atmospheric film, which stars Mark Wahlberg as a cop in search of the men who killed his wife and child, outshone Oliver Stone's much-talked-about "W.," which debuted at No. 4 with a take of $10.6 million.

"The estimates for 'W.' were all over the place," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "You can't really expect that a politically charged movie like that would take the weekend over a big video game adaptation with a movie star in the lead role."

"Max Payne" follows in the footsteps of games turned into films including the "Tomb Raider" movies starring Angelina Jolie, which were commercial hits but critically clobbered by gamers.

Stone's portrait of U.S. President George W. Bush was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

Walt Disney Co's family comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" was kicked to the No. 2 spot with a take of $11.2 million, bringing its total receipts to $69.1 million.

The civil rights era movie "The Secret Life of Bees," which is based on a best-selling novel, was a close No. 3, debuting with take of $11.1 million for the weekend.

"Max Payne" was released by 20th Century Fox and "The Secret Life of Bees" by Fox Searchlight, both units of News Corp.

The action thriller "Eagle Eye" slipped to the No. 5 spot on the list with a take of $7.3 million, bringing its total so far to $81.3 million.

"Eagle Eye" was released by DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.

Summit Entertainment's teen comedy "Sex Drive," debuted at No. 9 on the weekend roster with a total of $3.6 million.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 2:37 PM | Discuss this story on our forums

Duke Nukem 3D XBLA Review Roundup

Since it was released just about a month ago, Duke Nukem 3D has garnered a lot of attention and acclaim. Sales have gone extremely well (take a look at the leaderboards)! That's a lot of fans of Duke in a short period of time. It's also been at the top or near there of Xbox Live activity since it was released, even cracking the Top 10 list of major Xbox games like Grand Theft Auto IV, Halo 3, etc... If you have an Xbox 360, and haven't checked it out, you should. If you don't want to take our word for it, take the word of some of these websites:

Chud.com: (9.5/10 - full review here)

"An absolute must-buy for any FPS fans, or anyone who was too young to play it when it first came out.

Overshadowed by the controversy over the game's adult content, it's easy to forget all the innovations that Duke Nukem 3D brought to the table.

The one other thing that you'll immediately notice is how great it is to have some challenge. This game does not hold your hand. You're not told where to go or what to do...

the weapons still among the most imaginative and useful around. You'll relish using the shrink ray against your enemies and stomping them to bits"

Gamespot: (8/10 - full review here)

"For fans of the game and the series, rest assured that all of the original, groundbreaking gameplay and content are present here.

If you are new to the franchise, this game is definitely worth a look, and you can experience exactly what made Duke Nukem, for better or for worse, a household name."

TeamXbox: (8/10 - full review here)

"Duke Nukem 3D stays true to its roots and gives gamers what they want.

The recreation of the core game is flawless, and has been tuned perfectly for the Xbox 360 controller."

IGN: (8.5/10 - full review here)

"One of the original ESRB nightmares is back.

Duke Nukem 3D is yet another classic release that makes a wonderful conversion onto Xbox Live Arcade.

Toss in the new age additions like online co-op and a replay editor and most will find this to be more than a simple trip down memory lane."

Official Xbox Magazine: (8.5/10 - full review here)

"the weapon stash - notably the pipebombs and Shrinker - remains one of the genre’s most unique and fun to wield…

(the Dukematch play) which is as addictive as ever and is bolstered by a fleshed-out lobby system that keeps you and your pals together after each match ends. So if you’ve been itching to kick ass and chew bubblegum, we’ve got some good news: we’re no longer all outta bubblegum.

Jolt UK: (8/10 - full review here)

"it’s still a better bargain than some of the other games currently asking for 800 of your MS Points, and it will probably last you longer, too.

Under the brash exterior is a lot of charm and canny craftsmanship."

1up.com: (A- rating - full review here)

"I wish developers today weren't too afraid of being sued to make games like this.

Multiplayer actually fares even better than in the original, as XBL matches are easy to jump into, frenetic, and feature completely over the top, balls-to-the-wall maps.

It's not for the kiddies, but if you've got 800 Marketplace points lying around, you oughta come get some."

Eurogamer: (8/10 - full review here)

"If you asked a horny, gore-fixated teenage boy to describe his perfect game, he'd probably have described Duke Nukem 3D.

The good news is that it still plays as well as it did in 1996.

It remains a brilliantly entertaining first-person shooter and probably deserves more credit for helping to shape the genre than it has been given."

Some others worth checking out are Ultra Ninjas (8/10), nzgamer.com (8/10), and Gamepro (4.5/5). There's also sites like Gamerankings.com or metacritic.com which collect such reviews. It's all good! :)

Better yet, don't take the word of any of them. Just go buy your copy today!

Posted by Joe Siegler at 2:11 PM | Discuss this story on our forums

Max Payne Movie Stuff

The Max Payne movie opens in theatres in the US this coming Friday. As the movie is due out in a couple of days, there's a ton of press out there now about it. We're going to point you at a few of the more notable videos for the movie that you may not have seen.

First up is a clip from the movie, which shows some action with Max and Jim Bravura in the Aesir building.

Next up is a clip which talks to the director of the movie (John Moore) about adapting the original videogame for the big screen:

Next is a very cool video. This is the live action comic from the beginning of the movie. It definitely makes you feel like the game did. You'll want to check this out for sure:

Finally, there's an interview you will want to read. It is with Max himself, Mark Wahlberg. In it, he talks about the pressures of playing the character. He also admits to not having played the videogame much himself at all. Check it out here.

CS: What did you like about the game?

Wahlberg: I didn't play it that much. I let my assistant, who is a diehard gamer freak, to play it all the time until the end of the movie and then I took it away from him. I just liked how much story there was and you were able to become this character and go out and seek vengeance.

CS: How close are the characters in the movie to the game?

Wahlberg: Fairly close except for Chris Bridges - his character was originally a 60-year-old white guy. So we changed that up a little and made him younger and a little more hip. It's a much more interesting dynamic - me and him going head to head.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 2:27 PM | Discuss this story on our forums

Always Bet on Duke

A week ago Duke Nukem 3D was released to Xbox LIVE Arcade. The response has been phenomenal - the feedback we've gotten on it has been quite positive. Both from old school Dukers reliving the game, or folks who have never played it before. Both newcomers and old Dukers seem to love the new update. This is borne out in the weekly statistics released Tuesday night by Major Nelson of Microsoft.

Duke Nukem 3D was the #1 ranked game on LIVE Arcade, topping such recent Arcade heavyweights such as Braid & Castle Crashers.

If that wasn't cool enough, Duke also cracked the top 10 of ALL games played on Xbox LIVE - including big time titles like Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, and Grand Theft Auto IV.

Thanks to all who have made the re-release of Duke Nukem 3D a major success! If you have an Xbox 360, and haven't checked out Duke Nukem 3D, what are you waiting for? Christmas?

Top Arcade Titles
1 Duke Nukem 3D
2 Castle Crashers
3 Feeding Frenzy 2
4 Braid
5 Domino Master
6 Geometry Wars Evolved 2
7 Fable II Pub Games
8 UNO
9 BC:Rearmed
10 DOOM

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1 Halo 3
2 Call of Duty 4
3 GTA IV
4 Gears of War
5 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
6 Madden NFL 09
7 Guitar Hero III
8 Rock Band 2
9 Rock Band
10 Duke Nukem 3D

Posted by Joe Siegler at 12:22 AM | Discuss this story on our forums