Max Payne

 PC
User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 2065 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,882 out of 2065
  2. Mixed: 152 out of 2065
  3. Negative: 31 out of 2065
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  1. Lewis_
    Aug 14, 2014
    2
    Max Payne has aged horribly, and that's a bad thing.

    Real critics across films, games, and music will tell you that true masterpieces stand the test of time. Max Payne is not one of them, and certainly never was to begin with. The graphics are the worst offender of the aging process. Being a early PS2 title, this is obviously expected, but the art style of Max Payne does zero    Max Payne has aged horribly, and that's a bad thing.

    Real critics across films, games, and music will tell you that true masterpieces stand the test of time. Max Payne is not one of them, and certainly never was to begin with.

    The graphics are the worst offender of the aging process. Being a early PS2 title, this is obviously expected, but the art style of Max Payne does zero justice to make this game even remotely appealing to the eye. The "dark and gritty" color pallet combined with the washed out textures make everything look like mud.

    If you're not a fan of the art style, prepare to endure the same repeated textures throughout the entire game. The first hour of the game is walking through the same exact gray and bland apartment buildings with a rusty colored carpet to match. The problem with the graphics and art style also translate directly to the gameplay. The levels have no variety. As I said, the same boring apartment buildings over and over, with a little bit of outside gameplay. Did I mention it's always nighttime and snowing? And if that doesn't already sound unpleasant, toss in a few generic, mindless mafia goons to get in your way of boring environment to the next.

    The AI, predictably, is terrible. Of course, this game was made in 2001 and but it doesn't take much to look back and find plenty of games with vastly superior AI. Doom, 1993, had nine varieties of enemies. They threw fireballs at you, they flanked you, if they got close they would melee you. In Max Payne, there's absolutely ZERO enemy variety except for the standard goon and the buffed up "boss" goons which are the exact same aside from being bullet sponges.

    The story, nearly as generic as they come. Standard story about revenge that you can find in any form of media before Max Payne. It doesn't help the story is told through interactables you have to find throughout the level, if you don't, that's too bad. In one point during the game you're forced to play a "dream sequence" where your patience and frustration are tested. You must wander through a maze of hallways and then finally follow misleading blood trails floating over a death pit. These sections take around twenty minutes to complete and do nothing for the gameplay or story whatsoever.

    Music, did I mention there wasn't any? The voice acting is also as generic as they come. Stereotypical "mafia goon" voices for all the copy and pasted enemies and bosses. It's mediocre at best, nothing to write home about.

    But in the end, it comes down to gameplay. And if the gameplay doesn't stack up, it's not a good game. And in this case, it's one of the worst I've ever played. Bullet time is absolutely useless. You're still vulnerable while using it and it gives you about a 5% chance to dodge bullets. It slows down the action and is never a benefit for the player. It's a gimmick, really. The guns have somewhat variety. There's only really three distinct weapons and they are the UZI, the shotgun, and the sniper. The rest act the same as their counterparts. And to go back to my previous point, all of the action takes place in copy and pasted hallways, bland environments, completely uninteresting levels.

    Max Payne also lacks a checkpoint feature. You must quicksave before every room you open unless you want to be treated to a random, instantaneous death. The game is completely linear with little to no exploration, choices, or variety so replay value is severely low.

    Lastly, the game is a chore to play, and one of the most overrated games/franchises of all time.

    In other words, it's a Payne in the ass.

    2/10

    Lewis    … Expand
  2. GaborA.
    Nov 12, 2003
    4
    The most bland environments in a game ever(snow and crates). The story is ridiculous. The game play is innovative yet not challenging and getting from fight to fight through the horrid levels and story line is not worth the effort.
  3. ReneD
    Feb 28, 2009
    2
    I never played such a boring game. The graphics are boring too. Streets and boring buildings, that's all I see. If I had a photo-camera while walking in this game, I would throw it away. In one word: boring. Yes, bullet-time is boring too.
  4. suneater
    Dec 13, 2012
    4
    The sequel is superior, don't even bother with this one. I played the second one first; even though it reuses some characters, the plot is a lot stronger than this one's and stands on it's own two feet. The original's plot is completely ridiculous, tedious, repetitive, and almost offensively bad. Just play the second one and skip this.
  5. Broyax
    May 15, 2020
    1
    Pour un jeu de 2001, je trouve que ce Max Payne a étonnamment bien vieilli, d'autant qu'il accepte le 1080 et que ses textures sont encore tout-à-fait correctes (tout à fond évidemment). Il fonctionne donc très bien sur... un OS 32 bits comme Windows XP ! car sur les 64 bits, il ne s'installe même pas...

    Autre sujet de surprise avec une bonne VF intégrale et des bruitages de qualité ;    Pour un jeu de 2001, je trouve que ce Max Payne a étonnamment bien vieilli, d'autant qu'il accepte le 1080 et que ses textures sont encore tout-à-fait correctes (tout à fond évidemment). Il fonctionne donc très bien sur... un OS 32 bits comme Windows XP ! car sur les 64 bits, il ne s'installe même pas...

    Autre sujet de surprise avec une bonne VF intégrale et des bruitages de qualité ; de toute façon, techniquement les jeux de chez Remedy ont toujours été des pointures : rien de surprenant à ce qu'ils vieillissent bien... même si leur "rétrocompatibilité" est sujette à caution !

    Mais quoi qu'il en soit, pour le reste, pour tout le reste, c'est la soupe à la grimace... l'espèce d'histoire est complètement bateau et une soupe aux clichés très indigeste ; la narration à coups de bande dessinée pue du bec -et la paresse ; le ralentissement du temps (et les ralentis donc) est globalement mal implémenté et peu exploitable, sans doute parce qu'il s'agit d'un TPS dont la maniabilité n'est d'ailleurs pas la qualité première... et aucun système de couverture n'est disponible.

    La présentation est perfectible avec notamment cette silhouette qui se vide ou se remplit (?) à l'envers (?!) : on ne sait jamais si on est à peine touché ou sur le point de crever... Le jeu ne reste qu'un couloir scripté, beaucoup trop scripté (heureusement qu'on peut sauvegarder quand on veut !) et n'est pas agréable à l'usage : ni amusant malgré ses ralentis à la John Woo !

    ça donne juste envie de se remater encore une (énième) fois A Toute Epreuve ! je lui mettrais bien 2 quand même finalement... mais 1 point, je crois que c'est assez comme ça : on s'emmerde beaucoup trop vite ici.    … Expand
  6. Dereck_Lunar
    Jan 10, 2017
    4
    A little update about the PC version still available on Steam (for the most popular). Do not buy this game on pc version even if it's better to play on this platform. Steam and/or Rockstar didn't fixed anything about compatibility/corrupted files problems since Win8 came out. AND THEY'RE STILL SELLING IT! This is unbelievable that a version meant to be safe to run on any version of any OSA little update about the PC version still available on Steam (for the most popular). Do not buy this game on pc version even if it's better to play on this platform. Steam and/or Rockstar didn't fixed anything about compatibility/corrupted files problems since Win8 came out. AND THEY'RE STILL SELLING IT! This is unbelievable that a version meant to be safe to run on any version of any OS does not fulfill this purpose.… Expand
  7. Cjs0606
    Aug 14, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I love this game! It’s quite a master piece of all games any genre! I totally recommend you get this game, especially for your young children preferably below 5… Expand
  8. Scoutgoat
    Jan 13, 2021
    4
    Pretty decent game, and even holds up pretty well today. The only reason I give it a below average score is the bugs. Sounds during cutscenes don't play 90% of the time, and the music never plays. I'm not sure if it's an issue with my game specifically or with the PC port as a whole, but some other people have also had these issues. Besides that, the game is pretty fun. The shootingPretty decent game, and even holds up pretty well today. The only reason I give it a below average score is the bugs. Sounds during cutscenes don't play 90% of the time, and the music never plays. I'm not sure if it's an issue with my game specifically or with the PC port as a whole, but some other people have also had these issues. Besides that, the game is pretty fun. The shooting mechanics and slow motion are really fun additions, although it can be unfair, because enemies are placed behind walls with shotguns, and one hit kill you before you have time to react.… Expand
  9. iCampoRamil
    Nov 12, 2021
    4
    Entiendo que sea una obra casi clásica, pero a día de hoy es infumable, no hay por dónde cogerlo.
  10. MrFade
    May 29, 2022
    0
    Tek silahın onlarca boş hâli var, ve mekanikleri rahatsız edici şekilde kötü. Save sistemininde amk

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PC Game of 2001
1
#1 Most Discussed PC Game of 2001
1
#1 Most Shared PC Game of 2001

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 32
  3. Negative: 1 out of 32
  1. Hot Games
    90
    A great FPS. The most serious problem we have with the game is stability – we lost all of our save games at one point, and experienced random freezes fairly frequently.
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  2. GamePen
    30
    In the style of PC Gamer's David Manningesque vocabulary, Max Payne is the most forgettable action game in history. (I exaggerate, of course. It's only the most forgettable action game of the year.)
    Read full review
  3. Yahoo!
    80
    Its predominant flaw is that it whets our appetite for something unimaginably amazing but only fulfills half of that unveiled promise.
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