Max Payne 3

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3066 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,142 out of 3066
  2. Mixed: 604 out of 3066
  3. Negative: 320 out of 3066
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  1. Bunkboyz
    Jul 7, 2012
    10
    a perfect sequel to the Max Payne series, greatly optimized for the PC with superb graphic and addicting gameplay. Great storyline as well. This game really deserves a 10/10 score.....
  2. Chandler
    Jun 14, 2012
    3
    After trying to play the Multiplayer for like 3 hours, I got about 10 minutes of actual playing out of this. I get kicked out midgame, I get kicked out right when it is loading, or I spent like 15 minutes in the **** loading screen before the game tells me that the host apparently could not be found. Multiplayer is just unbearable for me at this stage and the campaign is long beaten. 3After trying to play the Multiplayer for like 3 hours, I got about 10 minutes of actual playing out of this. I get kicked out midgame, I get kicked out right when it is loading, or I spent like 15 minutes in the **** loading screen before the game tells me that the host apparently could not be found. Multiplayer is just unbearable for me at this stage and the campaign is long beaten. 3 points for a meh campaign (short and repeatitive but nice story), 0 points for the god awful multplayer.… Expand
  3. w1k3x100
    Jun 13, 2012
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Es la primera vez que encuentro esto para "Juzgar" online y ante personas con criterio; puede ser la primera vez en esopero jugando no es mi primera vez y MAX PAYNE 3 satisface todo lo que un joven en sus vacaciones de verano necesita para alejarse del aburrimiento y de los malos habitos como son muy comunes aqui en Colombia que si no es futbol es plomo y no el elemento quimico como tal, vicio robo y desastre lo que podemos vivir de forma "sana" en los videojuegos como este y otros en especial de la saga rockstar games ;) que siempre me mantiene entretenido en "Cosas malas" que a la vez son muy buenas". Excelente juego… Expand
  4. grapedrink
    Jul 16, 2012
    10
    This game is a masterpiece.

    I am at a loss for words how some could give this a mixed review let alone NEGATIVE. Anyone reading this with the hopes of finding validation to try the game. PLAY THE GAME, IT IS INCREDIBLE. First off I want to say the people who have given this game a negative score are not only uneducated, but are probably ignorant in real life as well. Ignore the    This game is a masterpiece.

    I am at a loss for words how some could give this a mixed review let alone NEGATIVE.
    Anyone reading this with the hopes of finding validation to try the game. PLAY THE GAME, IT IS INCREDIBLE.

    First off I want to say the people who have given this game a negative score are not only uneducated, but are probably ignorant in real life as well. Ignore the negative reviews, they are from people who probably had a crappy upbringing and never learned to appreciate good things in life.

    Anyway, back to this amazing piece of PC gaming goodness. This game delivers its single player campaign in amazingly gritty, smooth and polished game play that I have come to expect from Rockstar Games. The campaign is fast-paced, its brutal, its everything you would ever want from a Max Payne game. Maximum Pain at every corner, behind every closed door.

    While the storyline may seem confusing in the beginning (switches in timeline), everything will make sense as you fight your way through bleak city streets, urban guerrilla favelas and high rise apartments. This game takes you seamlessly from environment to environment without making it feel weird or without flow.

    The game has no loading times if played in one sitting from start to finish, it is like playing an amazingly awesome action movie. I had no issue with the constant cut-scenes and dialogue, it keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times and you are waiting with baited breath to dive back into the unrelenting action.

    Rockstar means it when they say they delayed this game to make it good, they have made it great. They have redefined the Max Payne franchise and taken the storyline and gameplay to a whole new level. This is without a doubt the BEST Max Payne game I have played since the franchise started.

    Again, ignore the haters, play the single player and you will enjoy it. I haven't tried multiplayer yet, that will be next on the agenda.    … Expand
  5. RobleCo
    Mar 8, 2013
    10
    I select easy ok EASY. For me when a put a game in easy, is because I want to finish it but not with Max Payne 3 For Roch Stars easy equal hard. Impossible to finish this game unless a good gamer can be but I'm a casual. Yet another waste of money for me.
  6. HeavyLead
    Jul 3, 2012
    9
    I pre-ordered this game off of steam the second I heard about it. The previous Max Payne games were amazing (or at least from what I remember from my childhood). The graphics in this game are beautiful, words can't describe how happy I was to be able to run this beautifully made game on max settings. The story is very intriguing, I grew are rare close bond with main character that wasI pre-ordered this game off of steam the second I heard about it. The previous Max Payne games were amazing (or at least from what I remember from my childhood). The graphics in this game are beautiful, words can't describe how happy I was to be able to run this beautifully made game on max settings. The story is very intriguing, I grew are rare close bond with main character that was mediocre. The gunplay and action are a solid 10/10 but the difficultly curve skyrockets after the second level. The multiplayer has problems, while enjoy the customization options for the characters, I don't enjoy the fact that all the guns are useless except for a few extremely overpowered weapons that I've had to use so that I don't break my keyboard in rage. It really takes out the point of buying new weapons when you know the starting ones are the most powerful. Other than Campaign and Multiplayer all the other game modes are a joke. With all the hype this game brought I would have expected and over the top action experience, which I got...in Campaign. The other modes of the game are iffy, tread carefully.… Expand
  7. LostMem0ry
    Jul 15, 2012
    9
    Rockstar have once again landed another outstanding game under their name. Max Payne 3 was an awesome experience and is worth every penny. The game itself performs very well, even on the highest settings I only noticed a performance drop in the parts of the game where there was alot of action going on. The gameplay is nice and the gunplay is pretty damn awesome and there is nothing moreRockstar have once again landed another outstanding game under their name. Max Payne 3 was an awesome experience and is worth every penny. The game itself performs very well, even on the highest settings I only noticed a performance drop in the parts of the game where there was alot of action going on. The gameplay is nice and the gunplay is pretty damn awesome and there is nothing more satisfying than diving through the air and then watching a bullet accelerate towards your targets skull in slow-mo. But beware, if you're not into cinematic games, don't buy this, as you will likely find yourself getting annoyed as the cutscenes are not skippable. Personally, my only gripes with this game are some minor gameplay issues. Such as the camera switching to the opposite shoulder by itself. There is also times where you will be put into a 'last stand' phase, which involves killing the enemy who put you into last stand - or you die. My only problem with this was that from my experience the only enemies who triggered this were ones that were behind obscure cover and therefore I couldn't kill them. All in all this game receives a 9 out of 10 for incredible gameplay, incredible story and pretty decent graphics. The multiplayer is also okay, but I haven't had time to fully get into it.… Expand
  8. ChosenOne
    Sep 29, 2012
    4
    If you want to play GTA4 without cars and without open world - Max Payne 3 is for you. If you want good old Max Payne - don't bother. This is another game. Almost nothing in common. It is something like Kain & Linch, but shorter and with looooonger loadings/cutscenes.
    I can't say it's bad. It's almost OK. It is interesting that the main character is old drunk, and at least a first half of    If you want to play GTA4 without cars and without open world - Max Payne 3 is for you. If you want good old Max Payne - don't bother. This is another game. Almost nothing in common. It is something like Kain & Linch, but shorter and with looooonger loadings/cutscenes.
    I can't say it's bad. It's almost OK. It is interesting that the main character is old drunk, and at least a first half of story is pretty solid average action movie scenario (don't know about other half). But you'll get something about 1 hour of real gameplay for a singleplayer, I think. And game mechanic is total crap for PC version.    … Expand
  9. anonlike
    Jul 7, 2012
    8
    What is that not a **** console port coming out of the hands of Rockstar? yup that's right! We finally got a nice polished PC release from Rockstar. (so again: THIS IS NOT A CONSOLE PORT) The best points of the game are the story, the level design and depth of the characters. The story is quite deep, but it really gets to you. And as the story progresses it only gets better. Also noWhat is that not a **** console port coming out of the hands of Rockstar? yup that's right! We finally got a nice polished PC release from Rockstar. (so again: THIS IS NOT A CONSOLE PORT) The best points of the game are the story, the level design and depth of the characters. The story is quite deep, but it really gets to you. And as the story progresses it only gets better. Also no knowledge about the previous games is needed to be able to follow the story. (after all it has been some time ago that MP2 came out). As for the characters; they are worked out very nice. I don't often feel sympathy for characters in a game, but in MP3 I really did. You get a nice insight of the characters as the story progresses. and I was really impressed by the level design. There is a part where you end up in favelas, and man, that's some super level design. a good eye for details and just very lively. I just love it. Than for the cutscenes. I'm not a big fan of cut scenes, but here they just fit in so well. The game is meant to be cinematic. and it's all very story driven. Yes there are some very long cut scenes. But there would be no other way of telling the story rather then this. they also blend in very nicely with the game play. the only downside to everything is that the gameplay is quite monotone. Shoot a 100 gangsters here. shoot a 100 there. Sometimes it's a little spiced up. But generally it's quite repetitive which is a shame. they could have done better. A thing that kinda makes it good. Is the fact that there is no regenerating health. You actually have to manage your health here. Unlike all those casual casual games of these times. But the rest really makes it up for that, big time! I lost my faith in Rockstar with their previous releases. But with Max Payne they really regained all my respect. Job well done Rockstar! Don't hesitate and just PLAY IT!… Expand
  10. Stretch_chris
    Aug 15, 2012
    0
    Look at all the fake reviews giving 10. Tells you all you need to know. This Is Rubbish. Ancient GTA3 engine used to create one long cutscene. You're barely involved in playing this game, you just click through. They've dumped the atmosphere of previous games in the series totally. Rockstar even managed to botch the bullet time and dodging. As with all previous games based on this engine,Look at all the fake reviews giving 10. Tells you all you need to know. This Is Rubbish. Ancient GTA3 engine used to create one long cutscene. You're barely involved in playing this game, you just click through. They've dumped the atmosphere of previous games in the series totally. Rockstar even managed to botch the bullet time and dodging. As with all previous games based on this engine, the graphics are glitchy and choppy and the physics are buggy as hell. Also you need to sign up to their useless drm system and be connected all the time to play. Rockstar and Ubisoft love this crap. This is a poor console port that should be avoided.… Expand
  11. WestLil0
    Jun 1, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The ONLY reason to download this game is that you love first person shooters. This gives the player more than enough opportunities to shoot all kinds of bad guys. Apart from that, it's probably one of the worst games I've ever tried. The old Max Payne is gone. First, the sign in and download process is long and cumbersome. You can't save the game when you want to, so if you're at the end of a long killing spree and the last guy happens to hit you, then you have to start that scene all over again. What a Payne! The flashing screens that make it seem like the character is always on drugs or something, the boring dialog he continues to spout throughout and the many many times that you are killed seemingly without effort by the enemies makes this a tiring and boring game. No theme other than trying to find/save some rich girl in Sao Paulo Brazil. Really a shame, since I enjoyed the first Max Payne so much and just was willing to give this one a try despite the low user score.… Expand
  12. tigermaster
    Jan 9, 2013
    10
    Best game of 2012 for me, the pc ports really rocks: dx11 support, really smooth even on my old machine and full support also for 3dvision, great job Rockstar, more of this!!
    The game contains a lot of cut scenes very well done and much better than most of the movies i've seen recently, the action is frenetic and it can be also very tough on hard difficulty setting.
    Multiplayer also is    Best game of 2012 for me, the pc ports really rocks: dx11 support, really smooth even on my old machine and full support also for 3dvision, great job Rockstar, more of this!!
    The game contains a lot of cut scenes very well done and much better than most of the movies i've seen recently, the action is frenetic and it can be also very tough on hard difficulty setting.
    Multiplayer also is very good, i'm playing with some friends and having a lot of fun, there are levels to advance like most of the recent fps shooters.    … Expand
  13. goddomotfronk
    Nov 12, 2012
    0
    Probably the worst game released in the last 5 years. It's like they decided to take a dump on the previous titles and make some quick cash. Rockstar should be ashamed of themselves for putting out this crap.
  14. spinx
    Jun 28, 2012
    8
    Really good gameplay mechanics and level design, great cinematography and action set pieces. Technically a masterpiece... But it lacks the depth and style in terms of storytelling of the previous games... Halfway through the game you start to realise the story is very simple and lacking suspense... I hope we see a seauel that goes back to the engaging storytelling of the first 2 games...
  15. Kenjiro
    Jun 16, 2012
    7
    This game is good, but has some problems: AI mostly cheats like hell (also being stupid), moving is sluggish, graphics sometimes is buggy (object or texture blinking), cover system work with only selected objects and many more. Of course this bugs are not critical and overall game is good, play is enjoyable, graphics has its moments. Definitely worth buying.
  16. Timson
    Jun 10, 2012
    7
    There is everything great in this game, except the story. There is no characters written good enough to be interesting to me and to involve me in story as it was in MP1 and 2.
    The game is totally disconnected from first two parts and all characters are new except for Max himself. So I just run through it without caring too much about all that on "Hard" difficulty and is was still very    There is everything great in this game, except the story. There is no characters written good enough to be interesting to me and to involve me in story as it was in MP1 and 2.
    The game is totally disconnected from first two parts and all characters are new except for Max himself. So I just run through it without caring too much about all that on "Hard" difficulty and is was still very satisfying. The combat is great, all bullet-time mechanics really improved and polished, great graphics and level design, great voice-acting. It is enjoyable game, you just have to keep in mind that it's not Remedy game anymore, so don't expect too much drama.    … Expand
  17. GolovA
    May 13, 2015
    9
    I've read the negative reviews to find what people complain about the most. It was "lack of gameplay and unending cut-scenes." I love the Noir genre, and this game implements the narrative of the Noir fiction with extreme quality and depth of understanding. The story is so involving, i stayed up deep into the night, just to find out what the story kept from me, and what would happenI've read the negative reviews to find what people complain about the most. It was "lack of gameplay and unending cut-scenes." I love the Noir genre, and this game implements the narrative of the Noir fiction with extreme quality and depth of understanding. The story is so involving, i stayed up deep into the night, just to find out what the story kept from me, and what would happen next. The game balances action (player shooting) with the story-telling (cinematic interludes) and thus moves the whole plot with highly lubricated efficiency. I really-really enjoyed this game for this specific quality - ability to grab me, plunge into the story, which as a player i am part of to such an extent that i cannot stop playing. Amazing game.… Expand
  18. jlplatten
    Jun 14, 2012
    10
    Wow! I bought the DVD copy of this game, and installed in on my Alienware m14x. I couldn't get the game to run smoothly at first, but with super fast response time from the Rockstar tech support, I was able to get the game running perfectly on near max graphic settings. This is one of the best games I've ever played! The graphics are gorgeous, if you have the machine to power it. This isWow! I bought the DVD copy of this game, and installed in on my Alienware m14x. I couldn't get the game to run smoothly at first, but with super fast response time from the Rockstar tech support, I was able to get the game running perfectly on near max graphic settings. This is one of the best games I've ever played! The graphics are gorgeous, if you have the machine to power it. This is the best way I can describe this game: Imagine all the greatest action shoot-em-up movie sequences ever made, and that is what every level is like non-stop! The characters are great with great voice acting! All the levels are unique in their design, which makes every action sequence fresh and extremely entertaining. I'm literally laughing with joy playing this game, and constantly find myself with my jaw dropped from all the amazing game-play. This game is flawless! If Max Payne 3 doesn't win game of the year, I will be in complete shock!… Expand
  19. richardfps
    Jul 8, 2012
    8
    people...STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE CUT-SCENES PLEASE! my god, most of the bad scores in meta-critic is just because of cut-scenes, cut-scenes and cut-scenes, the cut-scenes are there to progress the story and the story is actually pretty engaging and the cut-scenes are almost unnoticeable after 2 hours of playing. and the mutiplayer is actually not bad, in fact, IT'S FANTASTIC, itpeople...STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE CUT-SCENES PLEASE! my god, most of the bad scores in meta-critic is just because of cut-scenes, cut-scenes and cut-scenes, the cut-scenes are there to progress the story and the story is actually pretty engaging and the cut-scenes are almost unnoticeable after 2 hours of playing. and the mutiplayer is actually not bad, in fact, IT'S FANTASTIC, it balanced(sort of) and it quite fun. but 3 weapons is annoying and the cover system is not bad and it made it more tactical (yeah, tactical) and the zoom is...useless, it should've been "E" instead of the right mouse key like in MP and MP2. so all in all, it's a pretty good game to go through.… Expand
  20. hard8times
    Jun 15, 2012
    10
    This game is awesome people just cry way to much. I can't get enough of the multiplayer and I will be playing the story again. Get this game now you'll love it
  21. Bryjoered
    Oct 3, 2012
    9
    I love how I looked at the PS3 reviews and the "most helpful" ones were positive and then on PC they are mostly negative. I love PC gaming, but the community is a bunch of crying **** to be honest. No game is perfect you guys take one flaw and give the game a zero. Have you ever heard of an objective review? Get off your high horse and make your own game if you think you know so much about gaming.
  22. geokush
    Jul 23, 2012
    9
    I really enjoyed playing Max Payne 3 single-player style. The visuals were incredible. The arsenal was varied. The controls were responsive and easy to use. The linear, cinematic format worked well. It was like an interactive action movie with a linear plot and constrained environment. I can see where people who are looking for an open-ended shooter might be disappointed by this and by theI really enjoyed playing Max Payne 3 single-player style. The visuals were incredible. The arsenal was varied. The controls were responsive and easy to use. The linear, cinematic format worked well. It was like an interactive action movie with a linear plot and constrained environment. I can see where people who are looking for an open-ended shooter might be disappointed by this and by the numerous cut-scene interruptions of action. It didn't disappoint me. I was enthralled and didn't want to stop playing. I would have given it a 10, but I agree with what many others have said that the player should be able to skip cut scenes if they want to. Overall, though, I liked the game so much that I am now looking for another game with a similar style.… Expand
  23. xjun1or3
    Nov 11, 2012
    10
    This game is awesome, the gameplay and character movement are really good, the health don't automatically rises like most recent games, the graphics on pc are amazing and very good optimized unlike GTA IV. I dont understand that people complaining and giving zero think are just haters...
  24. harleydk
    Dec 1, 2012
    10
    If you're like me, 40s with kids and not that much time to game, you'll want a great single-player, movie-like experience with lots of soul and grit. Max Payne 3 will give you that, a great 10 hour experience or so before it's back to your normal, boring non-uzi wielding day-job. Terrific gunplay, great gameplay, cool story, I enjoyed this one lots.
  25. galeonico
    Dec 22, 2012
    4
    Juego de pasillos donde los enemigos van saliendo por oleadas, no te da nada más, ni puedes hacer nada más, imposible salirte del guión establecido, todo marcado con checkpoints, muero, reinicio, muero, reinicio, avanzo 10 metros, otra oleada, historia clásica.
  26. captaindoom
    Dec 30, 2012
    4
    I gave it a 4/10 because I kept getting stuck in cover, so it was unplayable. I couldn't get further than the football stadium. Also, the normal level is quite difficult, you die all the time, then all those cut scenes are annoying. I did want to like it though.
  27. BlackbirdObyri
    Jan 2, 2013
    5
    Max Payne 3 is a typical example of a capitalist age. It's no more than making money based on a good series of games without upholding the standard of that series. And anybody who claims otherwise has either not played that much games yet to compare others to this one, or is getting payed to rate well. There is absolutely no excuse to rate it high otherwise. Sad but true. I'll explain whyMax Payne 3 is a typical example of a capitalist age. It's no more than making money based on a good series of games without upholding the standard of that series. And anybody who claims otherwise has either not played that much games yet to compare others to this one, or is getting payed to rate well. There is absolutely no excuse to rate it high otherwise. Sad but true. I'll explain why now.

    1. It lets the fans down. Not the most important reason for all but still VERY important. The whole atmosphere is gone and max is turned into some rambling Duke Nukem kind of figure, lost and depressed. The bullet time is still active and however people tried to something new with it, it's much worse than the first two games. 2. It's nothing more but a shooting gallery. You keep trying to kill punk after punk, and they try to kill you. Nothing less, nothing more. A mediocre story isn't enough to change that. Max payne 2 for example, still had it strange dreams and character developing to keep the interest of the player. Minutes of pointless walking (and shooting) in part 3, does not.
    3.It's still FULL of bugs. Such as when you get in cover mode, Max gets stuck a lot so he can't do anything else. If this happens, you must hope you get either shot so you fall on the ground, somebody gets close enough to melee hit, or you have to restart at the last checkpoint, which looks like a cheap way out to get around these bugs.
    4. They lost the funny aspect of the game, there is not a single fun side in the story, not even a good dark humor part. Also they changed your arsenal to some **** load-out: a handgun left, a handgun right. If you use a rifle or shotgun that's OK, but as soon as you dual wield two handguns, Max drops the larger gun like a baboon on acid, and you have to pick it up again. Also you can't use a secondary skill such as grenades anymore. I give this game a 5/10 for the shooting and bullet-time, but the gameplay and bugs are really messed up, boring and stretched down a road you had to made by all the money you needed to put down for this game that wasn't worth it.    … Expand
  28. parpabico
    Oct 3, 2013
    3
    Unfortunately as much as I tried liking this game, it is a complete fail on several crucial levels.

    PROs: 1) Euphoria. Though it isn't as awesome or revolutionary as some of the people online make it sound. As it stands now, Euphoria barely changes anything in the shooter genre and hardly ever looks any different to regular ragdoll physics. Besides, the novelty effects wears out after    Unfortunately as much as I tried liking this game, it is a complete fail on several crucial levels.

    PROs:
    1) Euphoria. Though it isn't as awesome or revolutionary as some of the people online make it sound. As it stands now, Euphoria barely changes anything in the shooter genre and hardly ever looks any different to regular ragdoll physics. Besides, the novelty effects wears out after 3-4 levels. It simply isn't that special. The amount of time spent improving the tech since the 2008 GTA IV release doesn't show.

    2) Some of the levels have that special touch that makes them a genuine pleasure to navigate and explore, on the other hand, there is plenty of derivatively dull map design as well (perhaps, it makes the majority of this game).

    CONs:
    1) Cutscenes. Constant cutscenes, to the extent of wanting to exit the game. I am at a loss as to what they were trying to achieve with a few hours of engine-rendered storytelling. Games are about doing, controlling your character. If I want passive storytelling, I'll watch a movie, engine-rendered cinematics (mo-capped or not) are no match for live action photography. Crappy shaky camera effects, interlaced wording flashing on screen (supposedly to emphasize the dire emotions communicated thus). Why undermine the medium? That was plain silly. They poured time and resources on destroying what the original Max Payne had been executing flawlessly with some drawn static comic book loading screens.

    2) Writing. The cutscene annoyance's been amplified by the witless, moronic writing. I find it hard to put it into words, but it's simply bad and keeps repeating itself like hell: booze, remorse, need to push forward, "I am probably a fool for doing this, but hell..." Do they keep some emotional idiots at rockstar just for such scripts? Not to mention it sports a thousand film clichés and blatantly rips off some of them (as well as ripping off some games).

    3) Clunky controls. Poorly implemented cover system, that is plain unwieldy to use, not to mention you get shot 9 out of 10 times when using it. The floating camera mechanics is badly done too, you get shot when turning corners and take massive damage without even having the slightest chance of evaluating the situation. This leads to you having to replay those sections of the game, which hampers the sense of story flow and messes with your game progress (kinda like cheating, knowing that there is a dude behind the corner, so you jump out slo-mo).

    The graphics is really nothing special either. Overall this game makes a silly impression. Sorry for all the artistic that went in to it (meaning the man-hours spent modeling and animating this turkey).    … Expand
  29. game_over
    Oct 19, 2013
    2
    A bunch of shooting galleries inter-spaced with long cut scenes. Despite the decent graphics this game is simply not that entertaining. The fact that I had to sign up for a special account to play the game didn't help my opinion of the game.
  30. Dobian
    Jun 13, 2016
    4
    This game has been reviewed a zillion times so I’ll try not to repeat too much what has already been said, but Max Payne 3 has some big issues and one deal breaker that keeps me from recommending it.

    I’ll start with the good. Max Payne 3 looks great and has terrific physics and fight mechanics. The mission areas have a lot of variety and are extremely detailed, and there are some    This game has been reviewed a zillion times so I’ll try not to repeat too much what has already been said, but Max Payne 3 has some big issues and one deal breaker that keeps me from recommending it.

    I’ll start with the good. Max Payne 3 looks great and has terrific physics and fight mechanics. The mission areas have a lot of variety and are extremely detailed, and there are some well-designed action sequences.

    Now for the not so good. The setting for the game, as many have said, does not fit with detective noir theme of the first two games. Gone is the graphic novel presentation, and the mean streets of New York have been replaced with sunny San Paolo. Max has gone from a creature of the night to a tanned, sunglass-wearing alcoholic. The very personal story that drove him in the first two games, the quest for revenge and answers for the murder of his wife and daughter, has been replaced by a far less compelling one where he is simply an outsider involved in someone else’s troubles. The plot surrounding the rich and politically powerful Brazilian family that hires him for bodyguard duty reminds me of a bad episode of CSI:Miami. In fact, I remember an old episode of CSI:Miami where they go to Brazil in a story surrounding Brazilian mobsters. Swap in David Caruso for Max Payne, and this is an episode of CSI:Miami. The characters in Max Payne 3 are all clichés, the dialogue is often bad, and there is no femme fatal like Mona in the first two games to press Max’s buttons. So what we are left with is Max moaning about his sad sack life while entangling himself in the affairs of people we don’t really care about. This is emphasized even more when Max shaves his head to go undercover and spends the second half of the game looking like Walter White from Breaking Bad. The only time Max Payne 3 harkened back to the classic first two games was in the two flashback chapters where Max is back in New Jersey. If only this whole game had taken place in New Jersey. I also missed the humor from the first two games, like when a couple of cops are sitting on a couch at the precinct watching an episode of ‘Lords and Ladies’, and complaining when Max blocks their view. When Max flips on a tv in Max Payne 3, all you get are CNN-like reports. The spirit of the original games just seems to be missing altogether in this one.

    One of the big complaints about Max Payne 3 is with the excessive cutscenes, and it’s a valid one. I enjoy watching a good cutscene, but Max Payne 3 goes overboard to where it’s more an interactive movie than a game at times. Cutscenes at the beginning and end of a mission are fine, but when they are spread all through the mission it becomes a distraction and ruins immersion. It is no exaggeration that every time you walk through a doorway the game goes to a cutscene. There was absolutely no need for this. There was one time early in the game where Max is hurt and staggering behind his companion. The game would alternate between you controlling Max and the game moving Max along for you. Again, immersion-breaking as you feel like you are fighting the game for control of the character you are playing.

    With all that said, Max Payne 3 was disappointing to me but still a very good third person action shooter, and I really enjoyed a lot of the fight scenes. The problem I had with the action was that toward the end of the game they kept ramping things up to where it just became unbelievable. There are times when Max is single-handedly fighting what seems like a whole army. I’m not complaining from a difficulty standpoint, I obviously got through it. But the first two games did a good job of scaling the action to the story, so it kept things reasonably believable. Max Payne 3 goes so over-the-top in the late going that it again wrecks immersion by turning it into an insane action flick. The finale feels like something out of Just Cause.

    The deal-breaker for me, though, is the game’s save system. Rockstar, in their infinite wisdom, allows a single auto save with no backup. The game doesn’t even sync up with Steam Cloud. So if that save becomes corrupted, you are just out of luck. I loaded where I left off at the beginning of chapter six one day and found myself in the helicopter scene early in chapter 3. And the chapters four and five that I had unlocked were now locked. I looked it up online and found that this problem has been pervasive since the game came out four years ago, and Rockstar never addressed it. So I considered myself lucky since some people had whole games wiped out when they were in chapter 10, replayed from where I was and continued on. But I started manually backing up my game profile every time I exited the game. That is something you should never have to do because you can’t trust a game’s save system. For all its other flaws, this one is unforgivable and the main reason I have to give Max Payne 3 a thumbs down.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best PC Game of 2012
9
#9 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
10
#10 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 13, 2012
    87
    Max Payne 3 feels like a PC original, in a very good way. [Aug 2012]
  2. PC Master (Greece)
    Aug 31, 2012
    91
    Its deviation from the mood instilled by its predecessors might annoy some purist fans, but Max Payne 3's undisputed quality standards in all accounts will make them look the other way and enjoy the game as it is. [July 2012]
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 29, 2012
    90
    Max Payne is god and it really doesn't matter that he is not the fair one. He is the most interesting action character these days and the game itself is one of the best you can get. [July 2012]
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