September
10th - PC/PS2
Michael
Liked Max Payne
In the mist of one of computer gaming's most damaging droughts,
in a time when MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) games
represent the only innovation present on the platform,
it is nice to see the traditional 3rd person shooter
pull a few deviations of its own. Max Payne manages to
implement its one radical feature flawlessly into
gameplay. This feature is called
"bullet-time", a matrix-inspired temporal distortion
allowing for exceptional reflexes, seen only recently in
today's most popular videogames. (Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a prime example) "What is bullet-time?" you ask, "And why is it so important to this game?"
Bullet time is essentially slow motion with real-time
thinking and acting. It allows the game's pilot character, the cheesily named Max Payne, to see bullets as they are
coming at him and dodge accordingly. It allows Max Payne to trace
an enemy's trajectory through space and aim his guns to compensate for
their movement. In Max Payne's remarkable physics
system, bullets do not instantly jump from point of origin to point
of destination; they travel. Bullet-time makes this beautiful but otherwise ordinary shooter
stand out from the crowd. But the game's simple, tight control
system, quality atmospheres and character models, plot, and sound
effects, serve as a vessel for this single innovation. Max Payne is an enjoyable play that has a sense of completeness
rarely found in modern PC games. The game system is well
developed, and definitely worth a single play through. While at times frustratingly difficult, even impossible seeming on higher
difficulties, it has a good balance of risk and reward and effectively achieves its old-fashioned arcade shooter feel.
8.8/10
-Michael
L. |
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