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This rascal of a feature film is turning 50
by David Lee
Do you remember? "Max Payne"
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
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
"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.chAs a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.
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