Max Payne 3 arrived on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 15, 2012, with a Windows port following on May 29 and an OS X version on June 20, 2013. Rockstar built the game across its New England, Vancouver, London and Toronto studios, and the result is the most controlled shooter the series has produced.
Trailer, via Duimschroef NL.
A Former Detective in São Paulo
Nine years after the second game, Max has retired from the New York City Police Department and spends his days nursing alcoholism and an addiction to painkillers. An incident with the local mob pushes him out of New York, and he takes a job through Raul Passos as a private security contractor in South America.
That job places him with the Branco family: Rodrigo, a wealthy real-estate mogul; his wife Fabiana; her sister Giovanna Taveres; the politician Victor Branco; and Marcelo Branco, a hard-partying socialite. James McCaffrey returns as Max, with Julian Dean as Passos and Benedita Pereira as Fabiana.
Bullet Time, Last Stand and a Cover System
The cover system is new to the series and lets players avoid damage while gaining a tactical advantage. Auto-aim assists in combat, and painkillers regenerate health when Max takes damage.
Bullet time returns, and it is still the best thing here — every bullet strike reads in detail. The “Last Stand” mechanic grants a grace period when health is fully depleted, letting the player kill the enemy who last wounded them, so long as a recovery item remains. Using it drains the remaining bullet time. After a shoot-dodge, players can shoot at any angle while grounded.
Max can carry only three weapons: two handgun slots and one two-handed slot. Equipping both handguns means dropping the two-handed weapon.
No Loading Screens, No Letup
Interactive cutscenes move straight into gameplay, with no loading screens between the two. The story is linear, and that is the point — Rockstar keeps the pressure on rather than opening the world up.
Rockstar’s president Sam Houser framed the shift plainly.
This is Max as we’ve never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever.
The plot follows the kidnapping of Fabiana by the Comando Sombra street gang. Rodrigo allows Max and Passos to handle a $3 million exchange at a local football stadium, where the Crachá Preto militia ambushes the meeting and steals the money. The gang’s leader, Serrano, thwarts their rescue attempt. Victor Branco then recommends a course of action at Rodrigo’s office.
Multiplayer and the Release Schedule
| Release | Platform | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | May 15, 2012 |
| Port | Windows | May 29, 2012 |
| Port | OS X | June 20, 2013 |
An online multiplayer mode supports up to 16 players in cooperative and competitive play, using recreations of single-player settings. The game had shipped 4 million units by May 2013.
What Holds Up
The complaints about Max Payne 3 have always centered on the same things: the change in style from its predecessors, the linear design, and the depiction of São Paulo. Those are real. The linear design is also what makes the shooting land as hard as it does, and the São Paulo setting gives the series a new chapter instead of a repeat.
Nine years of story time and a new continent is a risk most sequels avoid. Rockstar took it, and the game is better for the move.
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