Do you remember? "Max Payne"

Philipp Rüegg

8.7.2019

Translation: machine translated

My expectations of the almost 20-year-old "Max Payne" were huge at the time. The game exceeded them all - and not just because of the bullet time.

"They were all dead. The final gunshot was an exclamation mark for everything that had led to this point. I released my finger from the trigger and then it was over."

Max Payne, widower and grieving father, is not a one-dimensional action hero. Max Payne is a poet. With his flowery inner monologues, the tough cop has ensured that "Max Payne" will forever be one of my absolute favourite games. Together with the film noir setting in snowy New York and the unusual cutscenes in comic book form.

In 2001, the same year the game was released, I saw the first trailer. Two minutes and 40 seconds for the ages. The slow-motion action that made "Matrix" popular blew me and my friends away. There was even a bulletcam - a camera that followed the bullet. How badass is that?

Gloomy, tragic and gripping

The hype for the game was so great that it could only be a disappointment. But "Max Payne" delivered. More than I could ever have dreamed of. The game begins ominously with the murder of Max's wife and daughter by junkies who were under the influence of the drug Valkyr. As a policeman, Max spends the next few years undercover investigating the mysterious drug. His partner gets caught in the crossfire and Max himself ends up on the wanted list. Max doesn't let this stop him. Single-handedly, he plunges deeper and deeper into the criminal swamp of violence and drugs.

Countless henchmen stand in his way. One mistake. Thanks to bullet time, Max can dodge out of the line of fire in slow motion and take targeted headshots. With the sniper rifle, the camera automatically follows the bullet on its death flight. It was incredibly crazy and never got boring. If Max does get shot, he pops a can of painkiller. That takes the edge off Max Payne.

Short TV interruptions

Another special feature are the TV shows. Switched-on televisions regularly appear in the game. When the wild firefights have died down, they are the only thing that permeates the calm after the storm. The sounds come from the mini-series produced especially for the game. There are four of them: Address Unknown, which is a little reminiscent of "Twilight Zone". Lords and Ladies is a kind of "Pride and Prejudice" crossover. The Adventures of Captain BaseBallBat-Boy is an animated film about a baseball bat-wielding boy. Finally, Dick Justice reflects Max Paynes' own suffering. They were like little Easter eggs that I always looked forward to.

"Max Payne" can be played through in around six hours. Thanks to the relatively short playing time, the story never loses pace or becomes repetitive. It feels like an epic action film with a lot of depth. Iconic characters such as the arms dealer Vladimir Lem, with whom Max briefly teams up, or the cheeky mobster Vincent Gognitti also ensure this. But at the forefront is Mona Sax. A contract killer who turns Max's head and also has a poetic streak.

The icing that coats this brilliant action cake is Max's cynical monologues. Whether during the game or in the comic-like cutscenes. Max comments on the action with poetic metaphors and puns such as "He was trying to buy more sand for his hourglass. I wasn't selling any" or "I might have laughed, if I had remembered how". Together with the film noir setting and the harmonious soundtrack, this creates a unique atmosphere.

Max Payne is no soulless killing machine. Beneath his leather coat throbs a poetic soul that cannot be suppressed even with tonnes of painkillers. <p

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur. more

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