The face of Max Payne says he became so "self-conscious" after the game's release that he changed his real-life look so he'd get less attention.

In an interview with Edge, Sam Lake, who wrote Max Payne as well as providing its titular character's memorable face explained that his role as face model began in his university days. As part of the Helsinki University Roleplaying Game Association, he says it was kind of a given that he would "end up buying decorative swords and posing with them and taking photos."

Those photos were then augmented by Lake's "very limited PhotoShop skills," before becoming cover art for the TTRPG club's magazine, as well as "some roleplaying games they were publishing."

So when it came to making Max Payne, which Lake had pitched with a comic book art style, he brought in his RPG photos as reference material. "And because I was posing in all of those reference photos, everybody just kind of went, 'Are you going to pose in the comic book as well?' And I was like 'sure'."

Originally, the photos were only intended as reference material, but Lake says that Remedy co-founder Petri Jarvilehto then pitched the idea of using photos for the game's background textures. That then spilled into using photos for character art, and then simply using the photos Remedy already had, and applying Photoshop filters to them. "And so the decision for me to pose as Max happened in very different circumstances, and just evolved naturally."

Fortunately for Lake and his colleagues, they "made a lot of money" with Max Payne. Unfortunately for Lake himself, however, being the literal face of such a popular game came with a degree of attention that he might not have expected. After release, he says, "I started feeling self-conscious, to the point where I changed my hairstyle completely, and didn't want people to make that connection."

In the years since, however, I'd suggest Lake has become a little more comfortable with having his face plastered all over his games. His role in Alan Wake 2 combines a major in-game character with live-action performances that saw him dancing on stage at The Game Awards, suggesting he's no longer too worried about getting recognized.

We're still waiting on the Max Payne 1+2 remakes, so maybe we're in for a new Sam Lake hairstyle.

 Rockstar Games' Max Payne 3 official soundtrack is getting a special edition complete with previously unreleased tracks. The Anniversary Edition marks ten years since the Rockstar game was released, and you'll be able to hear it on music streaming platforms and limited-edition vinyl later this year. 

LA noise band HEALTH composed the original soundtrack, including the absolute banger that is the track TEARS.

"When we began work on the Max Payne 3 score we could not have predicted the momentous effect it would have on the trajectory of our band and the music we make,"  the band said in a statement. "Now, 10 years on, we are still as proud as ever to be part of the story."

If you missed it ten years ago, Max Payne 3 sees our hero a broken man, addicted to painkillers, and swapping police work for the life of a private security contractor in South America. 

"Max is a very troubled character, he struggles a lot with drinking, his past, so the score had to capture the emotional, psychological aspect and the action of Max’s character," Ivan Pavlovich – VP of Music for Rockstar Games, said in 2013. "The music for Max had to be dark, it had to be raw, and to be very identifiable."

It's a good time to be a Max Payne fan. Back in April Remedy Games announced that it was working on a remake of Max Payne and Max Payne 2 after making an agreement with Rockstar Games. There's no word on whether or not Max Payne 3 might get the same treatment, but here's hoping. 

HEALTH has a long history of collaboration with Rockstar, check out this interview with the band from 2019.

My friends and I are sitting in the living room of an old farm house in Falcarragh, a small town in northwest Donegal. It's pissing rain outside, so instead of spending the afternoon at the beach as planned on the first day of our two-week holiday in Ireland, we're huddled around a CRT television playing Max Payne on my mate's PS2. My pal's just fallen from a darkened room into the abyss for the fourth straight time, as a baby screams blue murder somewhere in the distance. Third-person games with tank controls aren't built for tightrope levels like this one, and this dream sequence labyrinth just over halfway through Max Payne really is a nightmare. 

Fuck this, my mate says as he passes me the control pad. It's a sentiment shared. Can't we just have bullet-time, like, all the time?

Return of the Max

While not the first video game to include the slow-motion visual effect now widely known as 'bullet-time', Max Payne certainly popularised it. Developed by Remedy Entertainment and released across PC, PS2 and Xbox between the summer of 2001 and early 2002, the third-person action game followed movies such as Blade and The Matrix, whose iconic portrayals of slo-mo shoot-outs captured the hearts of cinema-goers the world over. Despite telling a pretty sophisticated tale of love and loss, retribution, and multi-agency conspiracy, Max Payne is remembered as the game that let you glide through the air, arms aloft, discharging two NYPD-issue 92fs Berettas with careless abandon. Two decades on, with this very memory in mind, and the idea of a Max Payne remake fills me with excitement and apprehension.  

For one, bullet-time in video games is no longer novel. It'd be unfair to say the first Max Payne (and indeed its 2003 sequel) was defined by its slow-motion firefights, but the mechanic was certainly central to its design. Everything from level layouts to enemy placement and boss battles were hinged on shrewd bullet-time meter management, and the buzz of bursting through a doorway, airborne and at half-speed, really was second to none. Fast forward 20 years, and everything from Red Dead Redemption to Horizon Zero Dawn, Dishonored, Superhot, and Remedy's own Quantum Break have harnessed time-bending features to varying degrees among many other examples. The ability to slow things down or speed things up on the fly in games, in fact, could now just as well fit among the most popular video game cliches.  

Add this to Max Payne's fervent fanbase, one who is suitably buzzing at the prospect of the first and second games being remade, and Remedy truly has its work cut out for it here. The Mark Wahlberg-starring Max Payne movie of 2008 was, to put it politely, a bit of a flop, but the Rockstar Studios-developed Max Payne 3 that released four years later restored the series' sovereign status with a larger than life narrative, once more underpinned by bullet-time and, this time, the addition of tactical cover mechanics. Moreover, the fact that the remakes are set to be "in line with a typical Remedy AAA-game production" in scale terms bodes well, as does Rockstar's involvement – the latter of who, for me, has as much at stake here as Remedy.

Point to prove 

The fact that Rockstar is on board at all to revisit games now over 20 years old is somewhat out of character, and while GTA Online continues to go from strength to strength some nine years on, I can't help but think the Grand Theft Auto developer is in a process of reevaluating its image. As I discussed in the immediate wake of GTA 6's "in-development" announcement, Rockstar's position in today's video game landscape isn't the same as it was a decade ago. Gone are the days of internet-breaking, five-character tweets, and in their place is a company dealing with a far more reactive (and often reactionary) audience with more evolved wants and needs. The turbulent launch of last year's Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, and the subsequent backlash it received, highlighted rare vulnerabilities in Rockstar's otherwise meticulous practice, and, peeking over the fence at its other big live-service venture, Red Dead Online, a distinguished group of disgruntled players are actively campaigning against the developer's perceived lack of interest in their favorite game.

None of this is to say Rockstar is on the back foot – GTA Online has since recorded record player numbers with the launch of its Dr Dre-featuring The Contract update – but with nostalgia-driven projects in mind, it will be as keen as anyone to nail down the upcoming Max Payne remakes, and ensure they not only land without a hitch, but also satisfy both old and new audiences.

So where does that leave us? It leaves us with Remedy, who first brought Max Payne to life way back at the turn of the millennium, in the driving seat. It sees the developer returning to a series it last worked on in 2003, having since graced us with the likes of Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and 2019's absolutely wonderful Control. It sees Rockstar involved – the GTA dev itself having published the original games and having developed Max Payne 3 in 2012 – and more aware of nostalgic deference than ever before. And it sees us, the players, waiting with bated breath.

Who will be the face of Max Payne in the Remedy/Rockstar remake? Listen, I'd love it to be Sam Lake as per the originals. But, what I want more than anything at this stage, is a fairer crack at those mind-numbing nightmare sequences. And if bullet-time is less attractive than it was 20 years ago, I can't wait to see how Remedy fleshes out the rest of Max's odyssey. 

If you like Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne, you might fancy checking out the best games like GTA.

The original grimacing face and gravelly voice of Max Payne have reunited to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary, including a special appearance from a familiar vest and jacket combo.

Remedy Entertainment put out a special video message to mark the 20th anniversary of the game which set the studio on its path of cinematic, slightly off-kilter third-person action games. The video features James McCaffrey, the voice of Max Payne who has reprised his role in every title, and Remedy creative director Sam Lake, who lent his face to Max Payne for the original game's 3D model and played him in its photo-edited comic cutscenes.

Lake thanks the original development team behind Max Payne at Remedy ("not many of us here anymore," he admits), as well as its publishers at 3D Realms and Rockstar Games, and the actors who helped to bring the game to life. Both Lake and McCaffrey thank all the fans who have helped turn Max Payne into a lasting cultural sensation. Remember that Max Payne movie from 2008, the one with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis? Wild.

Anyway, Lake concludes the video by donning the very same leather jacket he wore when he originally portrayed Lake - apparently it has been sitting in a box "in the basement of Remedy HQ" this whole time - and getting back into character with some A+ face-making.

I'm not gonna lie, I was holding my breath while I waited for Sam Lake to announce Remedy had bought the rights to Max Payne back from Rockstar and Max Payne 4 is on the way… but no dice. Instead, the video ends with a purple prose quote that could easily be a speech bubble emerging from Max's mouth: "Birthdays are like regrets, they just keep coming. Each one a new scar that slows you down and drags you closer to your grave."

Harsh, but I'd expect nothing less from Payne. And it's easier to swallow with so many other cool Remedy projects to look forward to, including a multiplayer spinoff for Control and reported plans for Alan Wake 2.

Remedy's also at work on a new free-to-play project called Vanguard.

In 2002 Max Payne provided an answer to that most burning of video game questions: what do the goons do with their free time when you’re not around? Turns out, they’re not so different than you or I: they sit around in their flats and watch TV. Worse still for your killer conscience, they have pretty good taste in original programming.

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That moment of revelation comes during one of the absolute highlights in 2001’s Max Payne. He bursts into a modest New York living space, shooting everyone inside while diving awkwardly into the furniture, as is his wont. With the occupants silenced, the only sound in the apartment comes from an old cathode ray tube TV propped up on a dirty mattress. The show it’s playing is called Address Unknown, and to gaze upon it is to go mad.

A man walks between red curtains. There’s a flamingo on the screen, announcing that “mirrors are much more fun than television” in that reversed dialogue effect that’s instantly reminiscent of Twin Peaks. The curtains are an even more obvious nod, as is the idea of a doppelganger: “It’s not me talking to the Pink Flamingo,” says the voiceover, “but someone who looks the part down to the finest detail, except that he’s evil.” Laura Palmer’s double in the Red Room would be nodding approvingly. In reverse.

Admittedly, Address Unknown’s production values can’t hold a candle to David Lynch. It’s presented in still images, accompanied by an American-ish voiceover provided by Remedy’s Finnish studio manager, Matias Myllyrinne. It lasts no more than a minute. It can only be watched on a tiny screen from a third-person perspective, which means it’s depicted by roughly four pixels onscreen. But forget all that: when you first stumble into that room and stand, stock-still, listening to a flamingo talk about “the flesh of fallen angels”, everything changes. Suddenly you have no idea what might be in the next room, or the one after that.

As the player, you’re – deep breath – watching a man  framed for the murder of his family watching a TV show about a man who looks like him, framed for the murder of his family by his double.

Anyone looking for a resolution to that debut episode would have to wait until 2003 when Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne arrived, six new episodes nestled within it. This is where the snake started to eat its own tail: the narrator of the show was depicted onscreen by Remedy’s Sam Lake, who wrote both games and, famously, provided his own likeness for Max. So as the player, you’re – deep breath – watching a man who’s been framed for the murder of his family watching a TV show about a man who looks exactly like him who’s been framed for the murder of his family by his exact double. All of a sudden, you long for the familiarity and certainty of that flamingo. Side note: said double is named John Mirra, which neatly encapsulates Address Unknown’s camp but nonetheless unsettling tone.

For the most part Max catches episodes by chance as they play in hospital waiting rooms and mobsters’ abodes, but the lines start to blur when he visits Mona Sax’s hideout in Coney Island. It seems Mona has inexplicably settled down in an abandoned funhouse based on the show, and in order to find her Max must navigate an obstacle course filled with cardboard cutouts, all while lines from the series bleat out over the PA system. Anyone who played that level surely remembers it vividly in 2017, in the same way you remember a particularly unpleasant cheese dream.

I love Address Unknown not because its narrative through line is especially clever or involving – it’s intended primarily as parody – but because it’s emblematic of a time when developers just... did this stuff. Someone had an offbeat idea one evening in the studio, and the next thing you know there’s a seven-part TV show spanning two games in there, messing with every player’s head and adding both humour and genuine unease in a throwaway few seconds. In its own way, it speaks of Remedy’s particular strand of genius.

These serialised shows within games, and in fact shows within games within shows, in Quantum Break’s case, have become a Remedy calling card. Its Twilight Zone parody, Night Springs, appears in both Alan Wake and Quantum Break, and I’ll be heartbroken if neither of these shows is at least referenced in the next Remedy game because it seems to be one of the only studios capable of self- referencing without tipping over into self-indulgence. Many components of the original Max Payne have rusted up and lost their impressive qualities since 2002, but Address Unknown has aged like an oak-smoked Kyle MacLachlan. With Twin Peaks back on the air and new audiences enjoying its surreal charm, maybe it’s time to put Max back on the small screen too.

This article originally appeared in Xbox: The Official Magazine. For more great Xbox coverage, you can subscribe here.

You wouldn’t think a five-year-old music score to a barely remembered PS3 shooter is essential listening in 2017. Yet here I am, blasting the Max Payne 3 soundtrack down my eager earholes almost every day in the office, reminiscing about slow-mo dives and a bald pessimist. It’s the perfect example of how an original soundtrack can help a game outlive its usual sell-by date.

The usual conversation about songs in games tends to focus on licensed tracks. Billie Jean in Vice City and Goldfinger’s Superman in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater are two classic examples of songs that go on to define memories of the games they’re in. But MJ’s classic plays on your nostalgia for the song already, and the ska-punk of Superman captures a tone rather than creates one.

They complement their respective games, but listening to these songs away from the console is just as likely to trigger memories that don’t involve running over ’80s gangsters or popping kick-flips.

A custom score, on the other hand, has the element of surprise on its side, as you create memories to go along with the music you listen to. Take the Hudson Mohawke soundtrack for Watch Dogs 2. Every time I hear one of the songs on the OST, I’m mentally replaying some of my favourite moments from my time in Ubi’s day-glo San Fran. Every frantic beat reminds me of the best parts of Watch Dogs 2. As a whole, the surprising sequel might not be a classic, but the music goes a long way to helping it establish its own identity.

But what’s the next step on from an original composition? How about something that is personal to your playthrough? Take No Man’s Sky. Like the worlds you’ll discover, the soundtrack by 65daysofstatic is procedurally generated, so as you arc through the atmosphere, the chances are you’re hearing elements of music arranged in an original way. Imagine marrying the rush of discovering your new favourite song in a game with the thrill of having a role in creating it. Here’s hoping that by the time Max Payne 4 rolls around, I’ll be just as responsible for the sick beats as I am the violence.

This article originally appeared in Official PlayStation Magazine. For more great PlayStation coverage, you can subscribe here.

You are in a PlayStation 4 game, Max. Or you will be soon, anyway. The European PlayStation Blog confirmed that PS4 will get a new version of the PS2 classic Max Payne on Friday, April 22, months after the slow-mo third-person shooter revival was first leaked by an ESRB rating.

The listing doesn't go into any details on Max Payne's new incarnation. But if it's like the other emulated PS2 titles to hit PS4, you can expect a significantly improved display resolution, clearer textures, and hopefully even full Trophy support. Don't expect the comic cutscenes to look any less like a bunch of scrawny Finns pretending to be New York mobsters, but that's just part of the charm.

Between the cheesy-yet-sincere narrative and pulse-pounding gunfights, Max Payne remains one of my favorite games of all time. It will be great to see it enhanced and preserved on a new platform, even if you will have to buy it over again. While you're waiting for Friday to roll around, why not practice your Max Payne face? Take it away, Sam Lake!

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

It looks like Max Payne's first journey through the night is coming to PS4. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board has posted a listing for Max Payne on PS4 just days after Sony confirmed the first selection of PS2 games headed to the console.

The listing has few details to spare, aside from confirming the game will still be rated M for Mature with Blood and Violence. But the ESRB rarely posts inaccurate listings, and Max Payne did hit PS2 a few months after its original PC release in 2001. Personally, I'm just excited to see Sam Lake's famous Max Payne face grimacing at 60 frames per second in boosted resolution.

On top of better resolution and frame rate, the revisited PS2 games will each get a new crop of Trophies. Unfortunately, you do have to buy the games separately - that old Max Payne disc you've been holding onto all these years likely won't be of any assistance.

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

Rockstar has offered an update on the status of its Max Payne 3 Hostage Negotiation Pack DLC. Originally scheduled for release in September, the extra content will now be available “later this fall” for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live or £7.99/$9.99 on PSN and PC. Rockstar Pass owners will receive it free of charge.

As a goodwill gesture to fans waiting for the delayed DLC, Rockstar also announced it will release an “all-new chrome weapons bonus, which will be redeemable by all Social Club members free of charge.”

The Hostage Negotiation Pack contains four new multiplayer maps (Club Moderno, Estádio Do Galatians, O Palácio Strip Club and Favela Heights), two new weapons (M24 Sniper Rifle, IA2 Assault Rifle), and new items (Explosive Burst for explosive booby traps, Bomb Suit for explosion protection, and Intimidation Mask which inflicts slower reload times on enemies).

We’ll have more Max Payne 3 DLC news as its announced.

Obviously, we’re huge fans of Max Payne 3 here at GamesRadar. We loved the single-player campaign, the replayabilty of New York Minute, and the fun of its multiplayer. If you’ve fallen head-on into its online crews, and its online mayhem, you may have an eye on its first DLC pack, Local Justice, even if you've been eyeing the investment in a Rockstar Pass with guarded caution.

If you haven’t picked up the Pass, which enables you to get all of the game’s DLC updates for a fixed $30, we don't have a crystal ball into how future packs will fare, but Local Justice (on sale for its launch week, then $8 or 640 Microsoft Points thereafter) makes a strong case for either subscribing to the Pass or picking up this map pack on its own.

Chiefly, Local Justice contains three maps, a new power-up item, and a new weapon. Each new stage is based on a later-stage section of the campaign. With Imperial Palace, you’ve got the crumbled chaos of the rundown hotel as a playground for mayhem. It’s structured around close quarters shootouts, as we discovered quickly after taking repeated shotguns to the face. We had a blast running through a round of Payne Killer and team deathmatch on the map and feel confident that you will, too.

Departure Lounge, like Imperial Palace, is designed around both deathmatch types and Payne Killer. Its wide-open space invites bigger shootouts and it’s got far more well-concealed vantage points along its multi-tiered structure for picking off enemies below. Considering that the lounge made up one of our favorite stages of Max Payne 3, we voted to play this map as often as possible. With every shootout, with every firefight, and with every successful kill, we remembered the magic of this brutal level, and the cinematic flourishes that we enjoyed so much.

With the third map, 55th Battalion HQ, things are a little more grandiose. It’s a sprawling complex full of jail cells, dead ends, and choke points. It’s huge, it’s exceptionally fun, and it’s a beautifully chaotic mess in team deathmatch. It’s also the only map that supports Gang Wars alongside the other modes. There are enough nooks and crannies for close combat, but it’s wide open enough for wide-open skirmishes. It doesn't evoke the same sense of wonder that Departure Lounge does, but as a multiplayer map, it's certainly diverse in design.

The DLC also includes the Light Fingers item, which enables you to loot corpses even faster – perfect for cash-grabbing scavengers like some of us on staff – and the new M4 assault rifle, which combines well with Light Fingers to give you big weaponry and the quickness to loot without using a lightfooted loadout that skimps on heavy firepower. And, if you’re inclined to move away from gangs and paramilitary wings, Local Justice gives you the São Paolo Police faction, which gives you new skins to distinguish your crew.

We can’t vouch for how future DLC for Max Payne 3 will roll out, but as fans of the campaign and after dipping into the new multiplayer content, we think that if you’re looking to jump into more of the game’s online, this is worth picking up.

Our Verdict:

Buy it, especially if you're looking to extend the life of your Max Payne 3 experience with some great maps.

Max Payne. Wherever he goes, trouble isn't far behind. And by trouble I mean 'homicidal shootout resulting in the gratuitous expenditure of bullets and spilling of blood juice by the bucket-load'. Yes, when Max Payne's around, even the most seemingly innocuous situation can quickly descend into a violent bloodbath. Situations very much like the ones crudely constructed in the gallery above in fact...

If you're looking for Max Payne adventures that are actual official canon and not just stupid nonsense, be sure to check out Marvel's comic book series. And for all things Max Payne 3, our Max Payne 3 game page is where it's at.

Rockstarannouncedtoday that we'll be seeing the next DLC pack for Max Payne 3 very soon, and it will again be focused on the multiplayer portion of the popular noir action shooter.

The new "Local Justice" DLC will be arriving on July 3rd featuring new maps and weapons for the game's extensive (and continually more extensiver) online mutliplayer component. As the pack was originally announced for release in June, Rockstar has opted to offer it at an introductory discount, bringing the price down to 480 MSP down from 640 MSP. The PS3 and PC versions will cost $5.99 when they release on July 17.

According to Rockstar the pack will include:
• 55th Battalion HQ map for all game modes
• The Imperial Palace and Departure Lounge maps for Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Payne Killer
• Light Fingers Item for faster looting
• M4 Assault Rifle with attachments
• São Paulo Police Faction with related avatar customization options

Additionally, Rockstar will also be releasing all pre-order and retailer-specific bonuses for public purchase. That includes:
• Cemetery Map: 160 MSFT Points / $1.99 PSN
• Silent Killer Loadout Pack: 160 MSFT Points / $1.99 PSN
• Pill Bottle Item: 80 MSFT Points / $0.99 PSN
• Deadly Force Burst: 80 MSFT Points / $0.99 PSN
• Classic Max Payne Character: 80 MSFT Points / $0.99 PSN

Max Payne 3 released in May to rave reviews (including our own) and strong sales in several different countries. If you'll be jumping into MP3 multiplayer for the first time, or need a refresher when returning to multiplayer for the DLC, be sure to check out our multiplayer guide.

>>THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

There are prizes and then there are deluxe prizes. And what we have here courtesy of Rockstar Games fall into the latter category. Just take a look at all this extremely attractive Max Payne 3 paraphernalia:

Above: This collection of exquisite deluxeness could be yours

One very lucky winner will get all of that. To themselves. As if that monumental stash of tres desirable merchandise isn't enough, Rockstar is also throwing this sharply-tailored Max Payne 3 statue into the kitty as well:

Above: Sexy to the power of MAX

Before we tell you how to enter (it does not involve slow-motion or shooting people), please take a moment to read Rockstar's little bit about Max Payne 3:

For Max Payne, the tragedies that took his loved ones years ago are wounds that refuse to heal. No longer a cop, close to washed up and addicted to pain killers, Max takes a job in São Paulo, Brazil, protecting the family of wealthy real estate mogul Rodrigo Branco, in an effort to finally escape his troubled past. But as events spiral out of his control, Max Payne finds himself alone on the streets of an unfamiliar city, desperately searching for the truth and fighting for a way out.

Featuring cutting edge shooting mechanics for precision gunplay, advanced new Bullet Time® and Shootdodge™ effects, full integration of Natural Motion’s Euphoria Character Behaviour system for lifelike movement and a dark and twisted story, Max Payne 3 is a seamless, highly detailed, cinematic experience from Rockstar Games.

So then. How to win. All you have to do is leave a comment in the style of Max Payne. That's it. Simply imagine you are Max Payne - what comment would you leave on this page?

The competition is open to UK residents only and closes this Monday (25 June). We'll then pick the winner and send them a DM with more details. By entering, you are confirming that you agree to our usual Terms and Conditions.

Don't forget to check out the Max Payne 3 comic series by Marvel.

Rockstar announced today via a new blog post on their community site that they are introducing a new measure designed to gracefully deal with cheaters and people who take advantage of exploits inMax Payne 3.

"Anyone found to have used hacked saves, modded games, or other exploits to gain an unfair advantage in Max Payne 3 Multiplayer, or to circumvent the leaderboards will be quarantined from all other players into a "Cheaters Pool", where they'll only be able to compete in multiplayer matches with other confirmed miscreants," reads the post on Rockstargames.com.

This is the latest in a trend of developers using their creativity to deal with bad players while leaving honest ones alone. This calls to mind the awesome method used by From Software in the weeks leading up to the release of Demon's Souls. If anyone was caught playing an unauthorized copy of the game pre-release, the devs would roll an immensely powerful character and just obliterate the offender.

That's the hatchet to Rockstar's scalpel. This method will allow Rockstar to continue serving their paying customers (cheaters are customers too) while keeping them separate from the masses who don't know how to exploit the code. In fact, we'd be interested to see some of the matches these people play together. It might actually create a bizarre meta-game if every one of the players is abusing an exploit.

Since it first hit PC’s in 2001, the Max Payne series has blended the slow-motion bullet ballet of Hong Kong action cinema with the hard-bitten urban narrative of film noir. World weary voice overs, femme fatales, and chiaroscuro lighting combined with an unstoppable protagonist who flies through the air, pistols blazing in both hands. Incredible style blended with uniquely satisfying gunplay, is it any wonder why Rockstar Games was so keen to take the reins of Payne from Remedy Entertainment ?

SPOILER WARNING: While we won't be giving away the ending to Max's saga, we will be discussing some major plot points and using images from late in the game. You have been warned...

Max was the perfect franchise for Rockstar to add to its stable of movie inspired properties. Games like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire take their cues from gangster films, westerns and the stylish crime dramas of the 1940’s, respectively, but Rockstar titles do more than simply imitate movies. They use genre conventions and styles to create an immersive and visually cohesive work that gets us rooting for the hero.

1. City of God

Rockstar’s real world research for Max Payne 3’s favela sequence is well-documented, but we think City of God was an influence as well. Shot on location in Brazil, its portrayal of children growing up into a life of crime is both exhilarating and horrific, just like Max’s adventures.

Besides highlighting the violence of the area’s tragically youthful gangs, the film uses a washed-out, sun bleached look that Max Payne 3 employs as well.

2. Elite Squad

Elite Squad is another Brazilian crime film that Rockstar Games has name checked as an influence on Max Payne 3. This 2007 thriller tells the story the BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais), a branch of Brazilian military police that grows corrupt. This fictional unit was the inspiration for the UFE (Unidade de Forças Especiais) that takes Max to task in some of the game’s most intense gunfights.

3. Domino

Tony Scott’s Domino starred Keira Knightley as real-life bounty hunter Domino Harvey. Just like Max’s hard boiled tale, Domino’s story is full of flashbacks. Scott used bursts of color and distorted superimpositions to transition into his protagonist’s hazy memories, a technique Rockstar applied similarly in Max Payne 3.

4. Man on Fire

Another film by Mr. Scott with familiar visuals and thematic touches would be Man on Fire. Denzel Washington plays an alcoholic ex-military man turned bodyguard for a wealthy family in Mexico City. He finds a new reason to live (and kill) when his young charge is abducted. Not only do Max Payne 3 and Man on Fire has similar story threads, both use on-screen text for emphasis and style.

5. Heat

If we had to pick one director with the biggest fingerprints on Max Payne 3, it would be Michael Mann. A director with grit and style, he makes cop and robber capers that are both exciting and thoughtful, meditating on the emotional fallout of a life mired in blood and crime.

Mann’s most famous film is Heat. Known for being the movie that got Robert De Niro and Al Pacino to share to a scene, its famous bank robbery, set amongst ultra modern architecture, is often imitated. Christopher Nolan said it influenced the opening of The Dark Knight, and we think it inspired Max Payne 3’s office shootout.

6. Collateral

Collateral, where Mann directed Tom Cruise as a coldly professional silver-haired hitman, has a famous club scene that’s not far from Max’s night on the town with Marcelo and Fabiana Branco.

7. Miami Vice

Miami Vice wasn’t an update of the 80’s cop show so much as a brutal story about vice cops shaking down Miami’s underbelly. It also has a club scene with a similar color palette to Max’s nightclub ambush.

8. The Killer

You can’t talk about Max Payne and movies without mentioning John Woo. He arguably invented the modern action film’s use of slow motion death dealing. His classic shoot ‘em ups Hardboiled and A Better Tomorrow helped inspire The Matrix, and we likely wouldn’t have bullet time at all without those three films.

Now that Rockstar has upped the edginess of the Max Payne series and planted the character’s feet firmly in anti-hero territory, the John Woo movie to keep in mind is 1989’s The Killer. Chow Yun Fat stars as an assassin betrayed by his clients, forcing him to team up with a hard-nosed detective and fight for his freedom. The movie is full of slow motion dives through the air as bullets rip apart Fat’s foes.

This list of influences is by no means definitive. Rockstar Games has assembled an inventory of favorite action films that goes back as far as the 1930’s. Their team’s knowledge of filmic badassery truly runs deep. What movies do the Max Payne games make you think of (besides The Matrix)?

We can’t recommend the latest Payne game enough. We gave it a 10/10 in our Max Payne 3 review. And if you want more dissections of games inspired by movies, check out our list of 10 blockbusters that clearly influenced Uncharted 3.

There’s a fantastic moment halfway through Max Payne 3. The titular hero has reached his boiling point, shaved his head, and gone underground into Sao Paolo’s gritty favelas. Things are looking down. A local gang has robbed him of guns, watch, and even his sunglasses. He’s been kicked into a ditch full of trash and sewage. And as he traverses through a stream of filth and philosophizes about his lot in life, we understand how he’s somewhat complicit in perpetuating this societal imbalance through his steady stream of gunfire to protect the wealthy. It’s a segment that feels like a filth-smeared complement to Uncharted 2’s critically lauded “Tibetan Village” section. And it’s a moment that beautifully epitomizes the experience.

At its most distilled essence, Rockstar’s fabled series is a giant shooting gallery. You move from spot to spot in a rather confined experience, all while largely doing the same activity. But once you pile on the layers of depth –its hallucinatory visuals, exciting locales, gruesome executions, and the ugly consequences of addiction – you’ve got the makings of a phenomenal action title. Even out of the hands of original dev team Remedy and writer Sam Lake, Max Payne 3 updates everything for a new age, and resultantly, it’s a must-play game.

Max Payne 3 finds our hero in Sao Paolo, albeit older, heavier, and scarred from the events of the prior games. He's working security detail for Rodrigo Branco, a wealthy Brazilian banker whose trophy wife, Fabiana, has been abducted by a notorious street gang, Comando Sombra. The Branco family, from hard-partying Marcelo to local politician Victor, are well-off and offer Max plenty of exposure to the city’s elite. And its bottles of brown liquor.

Max isn’t quite the hard-boiled cop or the star-crossed and conflicted hero of the prior two games; instead, he has grown into a self-medicating mercenary. Whereas painkillers were used as a healing device in the prior games, Max not only uses them as in-game healing, but constantly comments about his dependency on pills. On many occasions, you’ll see him in cutscenes with booze in hand, or waking up with a hangover. As every single attempt to rescue Fabiana fails, Max and his partner Raul Passos find themselves getting more desperate, and find out just how deep the motives behind this abduction get. Based on your familiarity with law enforcement, poverty, and blatant civil and human rights violations in large South American cities (or viewings of movies like Brazilian action blockbuster Elite Squad), some of this may not be so shocking. But it’s still well-told.

Along the way, you’ll shoot your way through a variety of colorful and beautifully designed locales – each following the game’s formula of big slow-motion setpieces and opportunities for big action movie-driven moments – from a nightclub shootout that evokes Tom Cruise’s stand-off in Collateral (gray suit included) to a bloody escape from a soccer stadium to the same level of massive moments that drove John Woo’s finest Heroic Bloodshed genre. It’s a fascinating contrast to Remedy’s visually darker, grittier East Coast corridors (and yet, those moments aren’t as far removed as you’d expect). Again, at its core, Max Payne 3 is a glorified shooting gallery. But what a gorgeously laid out gallery it is. The game’s charming and driving achievement is the concept that no matter how similar the gameplay is from moment to moment and beat to beat, the world is so gripping that you can’t help but to feel engrossed.

Aside from the colorful and exciting backdrops, the gunplay has taken on a different style in Max Payne 3. Bullet Time and Shootdodge still allow you to deal death in slow motion, but Max can now stay on the ground and shoot from prone positions. You have the option of three shooting styles that let you choose between traditional free-aiming, semi-assisted target, and full-on assisted targeting, all of which complement the difficulty curve. With the introduction of heavily cover-based gameplay, Max Payne 3 beautifully weds the unique elements that defined the classics with a contemporary feel. Also, in later stages, the difficulty ratchets up as dissolvable cover starts to pop up, and you’ll see flimsy shanty walls and barriers become more susceptible to gunfire.

There’s a new feature, Last Man Standing, that adds a great new dynamic to the action. Rather than simply auto-refilling Max’s health when he takes too many bullets or simply letting him die, Max Payne 3 implements a one-hit kill opportunity in which the screen colors desaturate, except for the gunman who’s made the fatal shot on Max. There’s one chance to kill him and stay alive, at the cost of one painkiller dose. And yet, while Last Man Standing is a great feature that chains combat, it does point to some wonky moments in the game. The camera works exceptionally well 95 percent of the time, but there are moments in which the Last Man Standing camera doesn’t fixate properly, or it shifts away from the intended target. That happens a lot when the feature clashes with the game’s excellent collision system, which finds Max realistically rebounding off walls. It results in slow, agonizing deaths that you can't prevent as you wish the game would hurry up and let you retry the section.

Features like Last Man Standing complement the gameplay wonderfully. On Normal difficulty, enemy AI is smart enough to flank and attack Max, and as the game progresses, it gets tougher and tougher to advance quickly. And while the game’s checkpoint system is mildly irritating in the early stages, its pacing can be downright frustrating as you inch toward the final and find yourself saying “oh, man; I’m all the way back here again?” As the game clamps down harder with tougher enemies and more damaging weapons, you’ll be repeating more often than you expect.

Max Payne 3 offers up Arcade Mode, which allows you to extend your smiting beyond the campaign. New York Minute returns, and the time-based mode is just as much fun as it was in the prior games. You have one minute on the clock, and each kill gives you more time to rack up a higher body count. New to this sequel is Score Attack, which lets you replay prior chapters while keeping a steady score ticker at the top of the screen to determine how efficiently you can take down thugs. You can compare your stats across a few filters, including global servers and your friends list. It helps give the game longer legs than simply mowing through multiple playthroughs. It’s a fun addition that we used to rack up the points by popping skulls for 500 point multipliers.

The other big addition to Max Payne’s universe is the addition of multiplayer. As third-person action games go online, it works well. It’s a bit reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto IV in the sense that the game has a big map and plenty of opportunities for chaos in deathmatches. You’ll need to rack up a certain quantity of kills to unlock some of the extra features (which may annoy some), but the core game works well.

There’s also the excellent Payne Killer mode, which resembles Juggernaut mode found in other online shooters, but with a twist that Raul Passos is a vice-Payne of sorts, so big team matches will find you hunting down two buffed characters to steal their crowns. Gang Wars, the biggest feature, creates a playlist of mixed objectives that you and teammates will play through to relive certain events from single-player mode. All of these modes are designed to foster both community, via the clan-driven Online Crews (which will carry stats over into GTA5) and rivalry (you can designate rivals and earn extra XP for taking them down). All in all, it’s an entertaining mode with lots of potential for long legs, especially if the announced add-on content comes close to the quality seen in Red Dead Redemption.

Max Payne 3 marks an exceptional comeback for the series. The plot wraps the neo-noir storytelling around a bright and exotic locale while peppering the action with enough backstory to stave off boredom. While prior games were certainly dark tales, the stories of addiction, double and triple crosses, as well as some grim surprises ripped straight from urban legends. It maintains the mechanics that made the prior games great while modernizing them to excellent effect. Between the arcade mode and multiplayer, there’s enough substantive content to keep you hooked for some time. While there are some mechanically wonky moments, they’re too miniscule to tank a stellar sequel that was worth the wait. Between its pacing, its presentation, and its excellent gunplay, Max Payne 3 has raised the bar for other action games to follow. Welcome back.

This game was reviewed on Xbox 360 as the lead platform. We will update our review shortly with any notable differences in the PlayStation 3 version.

The combined creative might of Rockstar and Marvel recently released the first in a three part Max Payne 3 Comic Book series. It's co-written by Sam Lake from original Max Payne developer Remedy and Rockstar's veteran script man Dan Houser. It explores some of the bleak back-story - including a pretty miserable childhood - that shapes Max Payne's character. Anyone suffering itchy trigger-fingers ahead of next week's return to gaming of the hard-drinking and perennially shit-out-of-luck detective in Max Payne 3 should definitely check it out.

What makes the comic really amazing is the way it uses highly advanced audio-to-brain transmission technology to magically beam the satisfyingly manly voice of Max Payne into your head as you read. It really is something. Give it a try. You can read the entire first issue here.

We'll have the Max Payne 3 review ready for you next week.

As has become typical for Rockstar releases this generation, Max Payne 3 will have a long downloadable content plan designed to keep you from trading the game in at GameStop the second you finish the campaign. Though maybe not as extensive as the DLC campaign for Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3 will be getting new content all the way into the fall of 2012, and you can bet that will be extended if sales are stronger than expected.

Right now we only have details about the first content pack, while the rest are essentially just names until Rockstar shed further light on them. However, according to the press release the Local Justice Pack - which will be available in June - will include: "the Police Precinct map for Gang Wars, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Payne Killer multiplayer modes. The pack will also feature two additional maps for Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Payne Killer, new precinct-themed multiplayer avatar items, multiplayer challenges, and more."

June 2012
• Local Justice Map Pack

Summer 2012
• Disorganized Crime Map Pack
• Deathmatch Made In Heaven Mode Pack
• Hostage Negotiation Map Pack
• New York Minute Co-Op Pack

Fall 2012
• Painful Memories Map Pack
• Trickle Down Economics Map Pack

Max Payne is an in-your-face kind of guy, so it stands to reason that the shotgun is one of the vigilante's favorite go-to weapons. Learn how Rockstar plans to honor Mr.Payne's killing preferences (and then some) in the studio's newest weapons trailer.

So, what'll it be? The semi-automatic M4 Super 90? The pump-action M500? How about the “wicked fast and light” Super Sport? To be honest, as long as it has a trigger and goes “bang”, we're not going to be too picky in the heat of battle. That being said, nothing says “ultimate bad ass” like dual wielding sawn-off Showstoppers.

This is the latest of many Max Payne 3 trailers to arrive from Rockstar's warehouse. See how the studio aims to make Max Payne's multiplayer one of the most dynamic yet in Max Payne 3 trailer brings Bullet Time to multiplayer, and read our preview of the online mode in Max Payne 3 – hands-on with Gang Wars, Payne Killer and multiplayer Bullet Time.

Max Payne 3 is scheduled to pump fist-sized holes into the PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 15 in North America, and May 18 worldwide. The PC version will also arrive as backup on May 29 in North America, and June 1in the UK and Australia.

Judging from what we’ve played so far, Max Payne 3 seems to do an admirable job of preserving the feel and rhythms of its more old-school predecessors. However, it’s also bringing a lot of modern tropes to the series, including sticky cover, (optional) lock-on aiming, and (perhaps most unexpected of all) multiplayer. We recently got a chance to dive into said multiplayer (headfirst and in slow motion with both guns blazing), and we found that – far from being a tacked-on set of 16-player skirmishes – Max Payne 3’s approach to online shooting is unique, deep and filled with ample opportunities for turning the tables and griefing your opponents.

Our time with MP3’s multiplayer was divided into three central modes: team deathmatch, Gang Wars and Payne Killer. Team deathmatch should be self-explanatory, while Gang Wars (described by Rockstar as MP3’s “flagship” mode) pits teams against each other in a five-round series of matches, with the goal of each match decided by the results of the last one (i.e. if one player racks up a lot of kills, the next round might be a VIP match with him as the target).

Payne Killer, meanwhile, starts out as a free-for-all, eight-player deathmatch. The first player to make a kill then turns into Max, while the first player to be killed turns into Max’s partner, Raul Passos. Max and Passos each have better abilities, special weapons (Max carries dual Uzis, while Passos wields a light machinegun) and a couple painkillers, which let them heal more quickly than multiplayer’s slowly regenerating health normally allows. And that stuff’s great, because once Max and Passos show up, it’s every other player’s job to hunt them. (Players who kill them then become them, so everyone gets a turn, assuming they’re good enough to murder one of the “heroes” at least once.)

Interestingly, there’s a stronger sense of teamwork when playing as the bad guys than as Max and Passos. Because the heroes are tougher, and because it’s easy for them to get separated (or just spawn in different places), there’s more of a lone-wolf mentality when you’re blazing through the map as one of them. As a bad guy, however, your health is minimal, and ganging up on the heroes is essential to bringing them down. (This also means you’re likely to get a hero near death only to see the kill stolen by a comrade, unfortunately.)

So that’s the basic setup, but it’s what you can do in these modes that makes them actually interesting. Bullet Time, for example, is a big draw; every player has a three-level “adrenaline” meter that’s built up by kills and looting bodies (more on that later), and so long as you’ve got at least one bar of adrenaline full, you can activate a slow-motion shootdodge at any time, making your opponents sluggish while you aim, fire and reload at a normal speed (shootdodging is also one way to break someone's lock on you, if you're playing a match where lock-aiming is allowed). To keep from slowing down the entire game (and to avoid the easy copout of just activating a Bullet Time bubble around one player), the developers had to come up with a unique solution.

“That was our first directive – first two directives: No bubbles, can’t affect everyone,” said Charlie Bewsher, lead designer of MP3’s multiplayer modes. “So we spent a long time concepting out, I don’t know, a dozen ideas. And the one we settled on was the line-of-sight one. So anyone who’s in your line of sight when you activate Bullet Time gets caught in it. It will chain, so anyone who they see will also get caught in it. So we didn't want it to be unfair, we didn’t want you to come across anyone who’s slow and you’re not, or anything like that.”

So what happens if two players with Bullet Time activated see each other? “Basically, you have an ‘activator’ concept, and an ‘affected’ concept,” Bewsher said. “So you’re both activators, you both have that benefit. And any teammates who are caught in it as well have the activator Bullet Time.”

In practice, Bullet Time works beautifully, and it turns out that shootdodging off a high platform in slow motion is a lot more fun when the guys you’re getting the drop on are other players (although that said, it’s not much fun to get caught in). It’s far from the only thing that makes Max Payne 3 unique, though. Like a lot of modern shooters, there’s a system of leveling and customization to keep players hooked, with experience awarded for kills and assists – and like with Bullet Time, the game's found some unique ways to implement it.

Experience leads to leveling up, leveling up translates into cash, and cash can be spent on a wide array of character-improving gear, as well as “Bursts.” Bullet Time is a Burst, for example, but it’s just one of many (and you may not want to pick it, as the shootdodge will still activate Bullet Time no matter which Burst you’ve got equipped). Some are calculated to give you a positive edge, like Sneaky, which makes the name hovering over your head look friendly to enemies; and Trigger Happy, which – depending on how many adrenaline bars you’ve got – can give you armor-piercing bullets, a light machinegun and Desert Eagle combo, or an automatic grenade launcher.

Other Bursts are focused on messing with your enemies. Our favorites here include Paranoia, which at its highest level will turn on friendly fire for the enemy team and grant them bounties for killing each other; and Weapon Double Dealer, which nullifies enemy gun mods, takes away their reserve ammo and rusts the pins in their unthrown grenades, making them drop and explode. Whatever their effects, there will be a ton of Bursts available when the game finally ships, and what we played with represented only a small handful.

Aside from Bursts, players can spend cash to trick their characters out with gear, which ranges from firearms and grenades to things like armor, helmets and other, more passive pieces of gear that are intended to protect you from specific weapons or Bursts. (Goggles and gasmasks, for example, protect against flashbangs and teargas, respectively, while an ID Card will prevent your teammates from mistaking you for an enemy during Paranoia Bursts.)

You can load up with an awful lot of this stuff, but there’s a catch: everything except Bursts carries a weight value, and piling on too much powerful gear will not only slow your movement, but also the speed at which your health regenerates. Still, the tradeoff may be worth it if you like the idea of stomping around and soaking up bullets while perforating enemies with a beast of a machinegun. (We did, anyway.)

In addition to the above, the game’s filled with little opportunities to score money or experience. Looting bodies, by standing over them and holding a button, can get you ammo, painkillers, adrenaline and cash, and if you loot the corpse of someone you just killed, you’ll get a small “Salt in the Wound” XP bonus. Also, if the same person kills you twice, you can declare a “Vendetta” against them, meaning you’ll get an XP bonus if you can kill them back (although they’ll get it if they kill you again or survive the match). And finally, you’ll have an opportunity before each match to place an optional wager, by betting some of your cash on some random variable – like which enemy player will be the first to die, or which of your teammates will collect the most loot.

While they weren’t part of our play session, we also got a rundown on how Crews – Rockstar’s answer to persistent clans – will work in Max Payne 3 (and, later, carry over to Grand Theft Auto V). Crews will come in two flavors: public, which players (especially new ones) are free to join casually, and which have no member cap; and private, which players can set up for themselves and their friends. You’ll be able to join up to five Crews at once, and there’s an incentive to join, in that they’re a source of extra XP (for assisting and avenging fellow Crew members).

Joining a crew also lets you join in the “Crew feuds” metagame, which works a bit like the in-game Vendettas, except that they’re persistently carried by Crews across multiple games.

“If there are two Crews in a game, we’ll put those Crews on opposing sides,” Bewsher said. “And if a Crew kills five members of the opposing Crew, we’ll automatically enact a Crew feud at this point. And you’ll see on the screen, this scoring, and essentially, the first crew to reach 10 kills, they win the bragging rights and win the feud.”

Obviously there’s a lot to take in here, but it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into making Max Payne 3’s multiplayer work well while retaining the series’ flavor. And we won’t have to wait long to get our hands on it again, considering that the game’s May 15 release date is right around the corner.

Max Payne 3's main campaign may be a solitary journey of bullet wounds and self discovery, but the game's multiplayer mode is anything but. See how Rockstar is aiming to make Max's online fight just as stylish and chaotic as his solo adventure in the studio's new multiplayer trailer...

Max Payne 3's multiplayer mode will feature the series' hallmark "bullet time" mechanic, adding a new level of strategy and flair to the game's online gunfights. The move will also be available in Payne Killer, a mode wherein gamers will team up as Max or his partner Passos and take down waves of invading enemies while chugging painkillers and popping heads in slow motion.

Rockstar is also using Max Payne 3 to launch its Gang Wars feature. This multiplayer mode will allow Rockstar Social Club members to form individual “crews” and compete in story-based matches against competing factions. More than just a one-off novelty, Rockstar is planning to extend its Gang Wars mechanic to future games like Grand Theft Auto V, thereby allowing “crews” to stick together through multiple titles.

Learn more about Rockstar's multiplayer bridge in Max Payne 3's multiplayer “Crews” to connect with Grand Theft Auto V, and prepare for the 16-player slaughterfest in GR's preview, Max Payne 3 multiplayer details – a chat with the lead designer.

First things first. I've never owned a gun or been in ownership of a gun licence. The only gun I've ever fired had the word 'NERF' written on the side. I'm afraid the headline to this article is a shameless grab for your attention. Sorry about that. The idea was to have a headline that said 'Max Payne 3: the most fun I've had with a sniper rifle since ' but after at least 2 minutes of hard thinking I came up completely blank. Nothing. Sweet diddly squat. So I went with the gun licence angle instead. That explains that. Let's move on (but please feel free to remind me of any fun sniper rifle sections in the comments).

Above: Max has a sniper rifle. I do not

In a recent visit to Rockstar's London HQ I had some intimate time with Max Payne 3. I played through two of the game's levels - Stadium and Docks. One of my standout moments from those levels was a sniper section. Which is quite surprising. Sniper rifles are regarded as the reserve of silent assassins inexplicably endowed with the seemingly useless skill of being able to not move for days at a time. This sedentary soldiering is entirely at odds with the aerobatic, hyper-kinetic dual-wielding run-and-gun gunplay action that is Max Payne 3. Also, FPS campers that annoy the shit out of everyone use sniper rifles.

So what gives? The joy of sailing through the air with bullet-time engaged and pumping bad dudes full of hot smoking lead is an undeniably joyful experience. It's a fast-paced slow-motion massacre that leaves you with a thumping heart and a pile of elegantly dispatched enemies in your bloody wake. Which is, of course, great. But the frenetic nature is not always conducive to sitting back and admiring the carnage in all its glory. That's where the sniper section comes in. By offering the closest thing to respite the two levels I played had to offer, the sniper-based interruption to the fairly relentless man-slaying afforded me the opportunity to really savour and appreciate the grisly, artful beauty of Max Payne 3's killing.

Above: Notice how Max Payne is not diving through the air while shooting guns and being shot at in this picture

Here's the set-up. With the aid of a sniper rifle, Max has to protect his partner Raul Passos from some not very friendly paramilitary pursuers as he scurries through rows of tiered seats at a soccer stadium. Despite the long-distance enemies and the altogether more composed approach to shooting them dead, this is still an intensely high pressure moment. This was the first time my ears properly registered the quality of the soundtrack above the noise of the game. The suspense running through the whole scene is superbly amplified by some Latino-inspired music that expertly builds tension and creates a real atmosphere of jeopardy.

The soccer stadium sniper section combines two of the game's most awe-inspiring features to powerful effect. They are: 1) the final kill-cam and 2) the rag-doll physics of the Euphoria engine. The former is all about revelling in the brutality of a bullet going about its devastating business in stupidly satisfying slow-motion. The latter is all about revelling in the spectacle of a fatally wounded enemy tumbling down steps with all the grace of an overly imbibed tramp. This compelling one-two combo of morbid entertainment is exactly what the sniper section brings to the party.

You want to see some people falling down steps, right? Well you can see that happening on the next page...

This is what happens. Max's man Passos finds a hiding spot. The paramilitary hostiles close on his position. If Passos is discovered it's game over. I line up the shot and take out the enemy closest to him. He goes down. But he doesn't just go down. He flails and jerks and staggers about before rolling head first down the stadium's steep steps. He keeps rolling. All the way to the bottom. Like a human slinky. He finally comes to rest. A crumpled puzzle of limbs. I always love it when baddies die with a flourish - a little theatrical flair can go a long way when it comes to getting shot dead - and Max Payne 3's baddies are quite the performers when it comes to getting shot dead. Honestly, I haven't had so much fun with the Euphoria engine and some steps since we did this in GTA IV:

Much to my delight, there are more enemies to snipe. And I experience additional delight watching each one twist and turn and bounce and slide and thump their way down the steps. Beautiful. But it gets better. This is just the foreplay. The ballistic money shot is still to come. I set my scope on the last remaining soldier, take careful aim and fire. Instantly the camera switches to 'final kill cam' view and follows the bullet.

When the kill cam has been triggered (which only happens when taking down the final enemy of an area), players have the ability to slow down the bullet. Obviously I slow it down to the maximum and watch like a jolly psychotic as the pointed projectile scores a direct hit in the enemy's nut-sack, which in-turn elicits an explosion of haemoglobin juice and causes the target to recoil in a manner befitting someone who has just been shot in the nut-sack. And while still enjoying the gruesome spectacle of the final kill cam, I fire another shot and watch as that too hits home like an exploding bug on a windscreen made of meat.

Above: When not using the sniper rifle, Max Payne does a lot of this sort of thing

There's still more. As the kill cam finally releases the fatally perforated paramilitary bullet sponge from his state of suspended animation, I watch as he takes a particularly amusing bumpy trip to the bottom of the steps. All things considered, it's been an incredibly bloody entertaining death of a video game goon to watch. The death of video game goons is rarely as entertaining as this. It is a thing to celebrate.

And so the rest of the sniper section continues until Passos reaches safety and Max returns to killing bad dudes dead via the dynamic medium of diving and shooting in one mighty impressive synchronised expression. It's gunplay with barely time to take a breath between bullets. But the sniper section is a wonderful interlude that affords a little time to really appreciate the grisly, artful beauty of Max Payne 3's killing. And it is fun.

If you want more information on Max Payne 3 you should definitely read our 11 things you need to know about Max Payne 3 preview. And if you're interested in the act of sniping you should almost certainly investigate our article on Sniping in war and videogames: Why it's hated, why it's loved and why we do it. It's a classic.

Max Payne 3 is scheduled for Xbox 360 and PS3 release on May 15 (North America) and May 18 (Europe). The PC version is scheduled for release May 29 (North America) and June 1 (Europe).

When we had our first hands-on experience with Max Payne 3, we were surprised to find out just how well it preserved the feel of the first two games. At the same time, its bringing a lot of new stuff to the table, not the least of which are two unique multiplayer modes, Gang Wars and Payne Killer. In the first, up to 16 players wage war as gang members in matches that follow a story, with each rounds objective dictated by what happened the last one. In the second, two players take on the roles of Max and his sidekick, Raul Passos, and have to work together to survive against six other players.

Obviously, learning all this filled us with questions. How will Bullet Time work in multiplayer? What will the modes offer, aside from an opportunity to blaze away at other players like weve already done a million times before? And why add multiplayer to Max Payne at all? Luckily, the games lead multiplayer designer, Charlie Bewsher, was willing to enlighten us with detailed answers.

Charlie Bewsher: Ideas to incorporate competitive and cooperative multiplayer into the Max Payne series have been around since the first game you can actually see some of those roots taking shape in the form of Max Payne 2s Dead Man Walking mode so it was never a question of if we would do multiplayer for Max Payne 3, but what we could to do make it something really special. We wanted to create something that would fit seamlessly alongside the single player campaign, and that maintained all the key elements that make Max so distinctive to play, from the combination of finely tuned shooting mechanics to the emphasis on movement, to the highly cinematic presentation and of course, Bullet Time. In addition, we want to build relationships between players and break away from the sense of anonymity thats so prevalent in todays online shooters.

Our flagship mode, Gang Wars, is where youll immediately notice this work. Gang Wars essentially takes events from the single-player campaign and uses them as a springboard to dive deeper into some of the events surrounding what you experience in the single player game. Players take on the roles of the various factions at war with Max and each other during the course of the game, such as the New York crime families, the gangs of the favelas, paramilitaries like the Cracha Preto or the elite police known as the U.F. E, and creates a branching story thats unique to each match.

Each match of Gang Wars pits two factions against each other and consists of five rounds, with each round shifting dynamically based on the events of the previous round. For instance, if the first round is Team Deathmatch and one player really dominated the match, the next round might be a VIP-type mode where the rival team must hunt down and kill that player. The rounds are all tied together with customized motion-comic cutscenes, narrated by Max, in which individual players are called out for their accomplishments.

CB: Bursts are special abilities acquired through leveling up that play on the same themes and fiction from the single-player experience paranoia, conspiracy, treachery, betrayal, and other themes that exist in the Max Payne universe. Bullet Time is a burst that everyone will immediately recognize and understand. Bullet Time is Maxs special ability that allows him to slow down time to gain an advantage over his enemies. Another example is a burst called Sneaky that changes the color of your nameplate to appear friendly to the opposing team. Its very handy against players who may not be so observant of their surroundings, or for sneaking into enemy capture points. Paranoia is a burst that turns the opposing teams nameplates to appear hostile to one another. In addition, each burst has three levels to unlock, so at higher levels Paranoia will actually turn on friendly fire for the opposing team!

CB: All the bursts consume a resource we call adrenaline. An adrenaline meter is located next to the character health outline and replaces the Bullet Time meter from single player. The meter is broken into three tiers one for each burst level and is filled by shooting and killing enemy players and looting their corpses. Once the first tier is filled, you can activate level one of whichever burst youve equipped. When a particular tier of adrenaline is filled, it will persist until the player decides to activate it, even through death. Any partially filled tiers will be lost when you die.

CB: We always want to reward and encourage players for playing multiplayer. Progressing through the ranks will consistently unlock new weapons, gear, bursts and projectiles. Excluding weapons and projectiles, players can equip a total of five items three unique pieces of gear, along with varying degrees of body armor and tactical helmets. We have several dozen pieces of gear in the game, all of which bestow passive advantages to give players a boost in the heat of battle. They can range from things like sutures to decrease the time it takes to replenish health, to ammo pouches that increase maximum ammo. Rest assured that well have a ton of unlocks.

CB: Bringing an ability like Bullet Time into multiplayer was incredibly challenging, but were really proud of how its turned out. When a player activates Bullet Time, it doesnt produce a slow-motion bubble around the player, nor does it affect the entire map. Youre correct in that its based on line of sight. Basically, if I activate Bullet Time and youre caught in my line of sight, you will also be in Bullet Time. Both of our avatars are equally slowed down. The advantage to me is that my rate of fire and reload speed are normalized, whereas yours are dramatically slowed down. If you manage to run, roll, or shoot dodge away to break line of sight, you will be free of the Bullet Time effect.

Bullet Time also chains from player to player through line of sight. If youre caught in my Bullet Time and your teammate spots you from 50 yards away, they will also be caught in the effect along with anyone else who can see them. So if an enemy spots me from behind, he will be caught in Bullet Time with a slower rate of fire, giving me time to turn around and deal with him.

CB:Weve given Max and Passos the same abilities, but with a few slight variations to suit their personality. Max starts with his iconic dual-wield uzis, and Passos starts with a high-powered RPD assault rifle. Both characters are given two painkillers, and while their health does not regenerate in this mode, they have significantly more health than enemy players. Working together is crucial to surviving against an outnumbered onslaught, and teamwork has to be established on the fly, as two random players can become Max and Passos at any time.

Level progression is consistent across all our multiplayer modes, so experience and cash for gear/weapons is utilized across the entire experience.

CB: Its more complex than deathmatch, but its not story-based like Gang Wars. With Payne Killer, we want to give players the chance to play as Max Payne in online matches, and take advantage of his special abilities and personality. And while it doesnt have the same direct plot tie-ins that Gang Wars has, it still maintains the same detail and presentation, with narration delivered by Max. Because it combines cooperative and competitive elements, Payne Killer creates unique partnerships and rivalries that are constantly changing from moment to moment. We hope that Payne Killer helps build unique relationships with players, and delivers unique incentives to work together in a decidedly non-traditional way.

CB: Each Gang Wars scenario is placed within the timeline of Maxs story in the single-player game, and involves the factions he meets as the story progresses. Some Gang Wars storylines fill in the events before the single-player story happens, and some flesh out what happens after the events of the game. Once the stage is set, the match plays out dynamically from there, with new modes and gameplay types. Maxs narration also provides context, with the story changing as one side wins or loses a specific round in the match.

There are several gang factions at play in Max Payne 3, and theyll each have their own place in multiplayer. Players can create their own customized gang member so they have their own look. Gang wars helps explain their involvement and motivations in Max Payne 3, and gives players an even deeper look at the themes surrounding Max in the single player story.

CB:Were still tweaking all the final branches, but theres plenty of potential for many varying storylines within each Gang Wars match, and the changes from round to round are based on a variety of statistics happening behind the scenes. If one of the rounds is a turf war, for example, and one team really dominates, the next round may lead to a search and destroy type mode, where the losing team must plant bombs in the opposing teams territory. The possibilities are dependent on the outcomes of each round, and the narrative process in Gang Wars is built to bring an extra layer of tension, drama and variety into multiplayer.

When Rockstar has a game to show off, the gaming press pays attention although for a little while there, it seemed almost strange to see the house that brought us sprawling adventures like Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire lavish so much attention on a shooter like Max Payne 3. Of course the return of Max is a huge deal, but after more than eight years, is he really still relevant? Without developer Remedy at the helm, can the game stay true to its roots?

So far, the answers to those questions look to be a resounding "yes," although it'll be difficult to say for sure until the game comes out this May. For now, though, we can say that our first hands-on with Max Payne 3 has erased any lingering doubts from our minds. Two levels were proof enough to convince us that, linear or no, Remedy or no, Max still has what it takes to impress even his more jaded fans, and to be every bit the visual, visceral powerhouse he was eight years ago. We learned a lot during our demo, and we've boiled it all down into 11 key points, starting with

1. Sao Paulo can be a pretty nasty place

Rockstar seems pretty focused on making the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo a central character in its narrative, which sees ex-New York cop Max Payne turn to private security work for an ultra-rich family in the sprawling metropolis. The divide between Sao Paulos rich and poor is enormous, however, and crime particularly kidnapping is both widespread and commonplace. So it is that, early on in the story, Fabiana wife to Maxs employer, Rodrigo Branco is kidnapped by a street gang known as the Comando Sobra, and held for a $3 million ransom.

Our demo covered two areas: a massive, state-of-the-art soccer stadium that was home to the (fictional) Sao Paulo Galatians team, and a dockside complex filled with seedy warehouses (and conveniently explosive propane tanks). The stadium is where it all began, though, with Max and his partner, Raul Passos, arriving with the ransom. Just when it seemed like the handover would go smoothly, though, all hell (predictably) broke loose, as snipers from a mysterious paramilitary outfit (the Cracha Preto) opened fire with the aim of grabbing the money and ruining the deal.

2. Shootdodging is essential

Modern shooters and their over-reliance on realism and cover have turned a generation of gamers into cowards. Too often, their response to hails of bullets is to press a button to stick to the nearest piece of cover, where they wait, trembling in fear, for an opportunity to poke their heads out and rattle off a few shots. They dont realize that the correct way to face this kind of danger is face-first, with guns blazing. But Max does.

While you can activate bullet-time and slow down the action when youre running, standing or crouching, Maxs signature move has always been the shootdodge, a leap (in any direction) that engages bullet-time and lets him aim freely while sailing through the air in slow motion. It was a key part of the last two games, and picking it back up again felt natural. It was also incredibly fun; diving headlong toward enemies as their bullets whizzed overhead and unloading our guns with pinpoint precision at their crotches is a feeling most other games simply dont offer.

Certain parts of the levels we visited also seemed tailor-made for self-destructive shootdodging antics; theres a segment in the stadium level where our demo began, for example, where Max had to fight squads of goons across the bleachers. When they started attacking from the bottom of a long staircase, we immediately dove straight down the thing, blasting away at the thugs and landing with a crash on their crumpled bodies.

Well, it would have been on their bodies, except that we missed them and Max smacked into the concrete, taking some damage in the process. However, we were told that if wed managed to land on our enemies corpses, the damage wouldnt have been as bad.

As a bonus, Max will stay prone when he lands from a shootdodge, enabling you to keep shooting while keeping your profile low. Which is good, because

3. Maxs health doesnt regenerate

Of course, we all know that the real reason gamers have gotten so attached to cover isnt cowardice its that these days, hiding behind cover for a few seconds is the only way to heal. Max, by contrast, lacks the Wolverine-like healing factor enjoyed by so many other shooter heroes. Mostly, anyway if hes near death and you take a breather, hell recover just enough health to take a couple more slugs. If you want to keep Max alive, though, youre going to have to indulge his painkiller addiction.

Painkillers act like health packs (and can, thankfully, be carried around until you need them), and can be found in improbably located medicine cabinets scattered throughout the game. Theyre also fairly rare, so stumbling across a small cache of them feels like a godsend. (And if your stock of painkillers is somehow already full when you find a new one, it makes you feel like an unconquerable badass.)

4. Cover is helpful, but not always essential

OK, so, maybe shootdodging everywhere isnt for you. Or maybe youve gotten too careless with it, and now youre stuck in a bad place with just a sliver of health and enemies bearing down from all directions. If you want to do things methodically, Max Payne 3 has plenty of sticky cover to hide behind, enabling him to pick his targets from relative safety and gun them down one by one. Purists may deride it as a needless concession to modern gameplay mechanics, but that doesnt make it any less useful a tool.

5. The kill-cam is AMAZING

The biggest surprise of our demo wasnt how well shootdodging worked, or how easy it was to slip back into using bullet-time it was how much fun the final kill of each gunbattle was. When you kill the last of a group of enemies, the game briefly switches to a dramatic view, tracking your bullet as it leaves the gun in slow-motion and slams into its victim, who reactively spasms in realistic ways (also in slow-motion).

Thats not the cool part. The cool part is that your gun remains aimed perfectly at your enemy while the camera is focused on him, and you can continue pulling the trigger to elicit new reactions as new bullets rip through his torso. And at the same time, you can hold down a button to slow the action even more, varying the speed and pumping your enemy full of bullets and laughing your damn fool head off as he jerks and twitches.

The effect is breathtaking, and we hope it never, ever gets old. And speaking of things that never get old

6. Close-quarters kills are brutal

Get too close to an enemy, and attacking them will start up a nifty animation of Max smacking them around with his gun. The beauty of it is that you can pull the trigger while hes doing this, ending the combo with a quick execution. It may not be the most moral thing in the world, blowing away a thug youve already beaten senseless, but that doesnt make it any less cool-looking when Max beats an enemy with a shotgun and blasts him in the face at point-blank range.

7. Last Man Standing can and will save your life

Every so often, Max runs out of luck, and no amount of shootdodging, bullet-time or sticky cover can save him from taking one bullet too many. The good news is that if youre carrying a dose of painkillers, all is not lost. As Max collapses to the floor in slow motion, his reticule will slowly start to drift. Let it. Its trying to find the bastard that shot you, and when it does, youll be able to shoot him back. Pull that off, and your health will shoot back up to full as the painkiller dose you were carrying disappears.

8. Youre not always a lone gunman

Max traditionally works alone, but having Raul along changes up his usual dynamic a bit. In addition to watching Maxs back, Raul was a key part of some of the stadium levels more interesting moments like an extended torture sequence in which he interrogated a wounded gang member in Portuguese (something we were free to interrupt with a quick mercy killing).

Less gruesomely, one segment of the level involved covering Raul with a sniper rifle as he raced through the stadium stands, trying to reach safety. We could use bullet-time to easily take down the Cracha Preto thugs that stalked him, but with a little advice from our Rockstar handlers, we learned that by just leading them with the sniper scope keeping the reticule slightly in front of them we were able to take them down flawlessly every time. Basic stuff, maybe, but it worked beautifully.

9. You can aim your own way

One of the things that Rockstar seems proudest of is that its made it easy to aim accurately from the hip, something that used to be standard in shooters but in recent years has fallen into disfavor as zoom-aiming has become standard. And certainly, Maxs movements are quick and fluid enough that simply pointing yourself toward an enemy while running or shootdodging is usually enough to score accurate hits (although bullet-time helps with that a lot), but we still caught ourselves zooming in for a tighter, over-the-shoulder view more often than not.

And thats fine, because really, it works either way. Its also possible to adjust the level of aim-assist to your liking; after trying out free aim for a while, for example, we decided to bump down the difficulty a notch and make Max automatically target the nearest enemy when we zoomed in. Its possible to tinker with the aiming to the point of simply giving Max a lock-on function, apparently, but going that far seemed like it would defeat the purpose of the game.

Also, Max can carry up to three firearms at a time, wielding either paired smaller guns or one larger one, which he lugs visibly under one arm when not in use. Sometimes it was hard to remember to switch between them in the heat of battle, but in any case we ended up chewing through our ammo and finding new guns too quickly for it to really matter.

10. The animation is one of the games biggest showcases

Weve heard quite a bit from Rockstar about how Maxs dynamic, carefully motion-captured running-and-shooting animations are part of what sets Max Payne 3 apart and when you have a chance to drive the guy, youll see what they mean. Maxs movements, from the way he twists in midair to avoid a chunk of furniture during a shootdodge to the casual motion he uses to smash out a pane of glass so he can shoot through a window, are fluid, natural and make sense in the context of his surroundings, without the faintly robotic tics that typify other third-person shooter heroes.

But thats only the start every character in the game moves with a similar fluidity, frequently combining ragdoll Euphoria physics with scripted animations (i.e. when Raul ascended a staircase early in the demo, occasionally pausing to breathe or pull himself up the banister, we were told it was a motion-captured performance created using a life-size staircase set). The end result is satisfyingly realistic, especially when youre drilling it full of bullet holes in slow motion.

11. When Max isnt in Sao Paulo, hes in his own head

Well, technically, the entire game takes place in Maxs head, because its a story that hes recounting. However, the bits where hes somewhere other than Sao Paulo in New York, for example are flashbacks. Something will make Max wonder how he ever got into his current predicament, and naturally that means flashing back to something that happened a while ago. Its an interesting way to set up the games chronology, and hopefully its one that can inject a lot of variety into the already-varied setting and gameplay. In any case, our short time with Max Payne 3 was enormously fun while it lasted, and were eager to see what else the game has in store when it finally hits on May 15.

Rockstar has been teasing the third Max Payne for far too long, and after multiple delays (including one a month ago), it’s nice to see any new visual proof that the game exists. Today Rockstar dropped a new trailer for the game that detailed just how much Max’s current life sucks, and how much worse it’s going to get. Watch:

That looks suitably dark and moody, even in a place as sunny and seemingly fun as South America. Also, it makes Brazil out to be the most dangerous place in the world, even more so than East St. Louis. Max Payne comes out May 15 in the US, May 18 in the UK, though the PC version comes two weeks later.

In need of a pensive, rain-soaked background or two? Then check out the latest Max Payne 3 artwork from Rockstar Games. The game was recently delayed until May 15, and to keep it from slipping your mind, Rockstar has been pumping out gritty depictions of Max’s misadventures in Sao Paulo. The latest shows Max rocking twin Desert Eagles, waiting for his ship to come in at the docks.

That’s not all. Rockstar has a whole gallery of high quality Payne illustrations. See Max stalk, drink, brood and generally have a bad time in seven high resolution images, many of which have 850x315 versions optimized for Facebook timelines. Between that and the avatars and buddy icons, you can slap a coat of Payne on everything you do online.

If you need even more Payne to pass the time until May 15, you should really check out Rockstar’s Design and Technology video series. An in-depth look at how Rockstar’s is trying to merge the precision of a first-person shooter with the character focus of a third-person action game, these videos are a lecture on ground-breaking game design.

Max Payne 3 brings a lot of changes for gamers to take in; a new locale, a new look for Max and a slew of new visual and gameplay changes for the series, for starters. Luckily, to help us make sense of it all, Rockstar’s continuing its fairly recent habit of releasing deep, lingering, explanation-heavy “Design and Technology” gameplay videos that aren’t so much trailers as they are pre-packaged previews. The latest presents a loving look at the game’s somewhat breathtakingly fluid gunplay, specifically the surprising nuances of its targeting system and arsenal.

OK, so, this one covers some of the same ground as the last D&T video, but it’s also one of the prettier looks at the game we’ve had yet; as you’re nodding to its explanations of first-person-style targeting, enemy AI and carefully balanced firearm management, take a moment to appreciate Max’s realistic range of movement, his destructible surroundings and the way his enemies spasm and jerk as bullet-time projectiles rip through them. This is clearly shaping up to be more than a standard run-and-cover shooter, and it’s got us more fired up than ever for the game’s release this May.

In less than two months, Max Payne will finally end his eight-year hiatus, making a multiplatform comeback that promises to update his groundbreaking, shootdodging action while still retaining the things that made the Max Payne series special. So far, we’ve seen the “new” Max fight through the streets of Sao Paolo with slickly realistic animation and his characteristic, Hong Kong-action-movie-inspired flair, but more than anything else we’ve seen a lot of awesome-looking, slow-motion gun-porn. This is a game that repeatedly reminds us, through meticulous attention to detail and dramatic bullet-time close-ups, just how important firearms are to its gameplay and overall character. So to get a more detailed idea of just what those firearms will offer, we caught up with Rockstar’s VP of product development, Jeronimo Barrera, for a quick chat about what to expect.

GamesRadar: In designing the weapons, how close to reality are you trying to make them, and what kind of research goes into creating them?

Jeronimo Barrera: We work hard on nailing the tiniest details across all our titles. For the weapons, that means we spent a lot of time getting the mechanics and feel of each gun just right. We looked at a lot of Brazilian-manufactured guns for inspiration, but in general we tried to create weapons that felt right for the new setting and circumstances that Max finds himself in. There’s also a certain element of balancing we have to account for, so we take some liberties in order to avoid a “one gun rules all” mentality. In addition to balancing weapons against each other, we also have to balance them against the enemy AI. Each encounter needs to be properly tuned. We don’t want to give Max the best available weapons right from the get-go!

GR: About how many different kinds of weapons can we expect to see Max wield this time around?

JB: We’ve included a great variety of firearms and explosives for Max to wield. Each player will have a slightly different play style, so it was important for us to include a good mix of weapons across multiple categories to provide options and choices. There’s always the hardcore fan who will want to play the entire game using nothing but pistols, but we make sure to add shotguns, assault rifles, submachine guns, and various explosive devices to satisfy the needs of varying styles and situations.

GR: What about the weapons in Max Payne 3 makes them particularly special? What about them made you want to include them?

JB: We looked at a lot of Brazilian-manufactured guns as inspiration for the game. We noticed certain weapons showing up in photos time and again during our research of the city and its various factions. Both the drug trade and police force in Brazil have specific preferences for shotguns and assault rifles to a point where those weapons have become wholly associated with their respective factions. This information helped us make some small tweaks to Max’s classic arsenal, and players will notice some subtle differences in the weapons Max has access to from the original games. With that in mind, we made sure to include some classic Max favorites from the original games, such as the sawed-off shotgun and fully automatic SMGs.

GR: Are there any weapons not based in reality? Will there be any secret weapons hidden in the game?

JB: For Max Payne 3, we wanted Max to feel like a real person in a real place. To that end, players should feel like they’re right there alongside Max every step of the way. We didn’t want to break that illusion by introducing weapons so outlandish that they would break the immersion. The short answer is no, we don’t have any over-the-top, sci-fi-inspired weapons.

GR: Do you see the guns as being an influence on, or an integral part of, Max’s personality and character?

JB: Well, Max is a very interesting character, and unlike most protagonists, has dealt with a lot of tragedy and failure in his life. That’s part of the reason fans fell in love with him in the first place. He’s complex, disturbed, and has a hard-boiled cynicism to him. Many fans have the classic Max Payne image ingrained in their minds of him in a black trenchcoat, two pistols blazing. The twin-pistol look is very iconic, but I wouldn’t say it influences or defines Max as a character. He is a man who communicates to the world through his weaponry, so his guns are definitely an integral part of the relationship between the player and the environment.

GR: How many guns will Max be able to carry at a time?

JB: Max can carry three weapons at a time. He can carry and dual-wield any combination of two single-handed weapons such as pistols and SMGs, and also carry a larger two-handed weapon in his off-hand such as an assault rifle or a shotgun. This helps us keep the Hong Kong action-movie atmosphere, as Max stylishly discards empty weapons and picks up new ones without breaking his flow of movement through the environment.

In addition, players will see each weapon represented physically on Max’s person, regardless of whether they’re playing the level in real time or watching a cutscene. This adds to the level of realism, and we've created cool custom animations for each scenario, such as smoothly reloading an SMG while Max carries a rifle in his off-hand by hitching the rifle up under his arm for balance.

GR: Will players be able to get by just using Max’s signature paired pistols throughout the game, or will the game mandate other kinds of weapons at certain points?

JB: Players will be able to play through the majority of the game using the weapons that they are most comfortable using. The only time the player is forced to use a particular weapon is when they are playing through a specific, scripted portion of the game which usually has Max handling a unique weapon suited to that particular sequence. Each level will often start Max off with a specific weapon loadout, but there is always a large selection of pistols, SMGs or two-handed weapons to pick up, so players can always stick to weapon types they’re most comfortable with.

GR: Are there any weapons that you think particularly alter the feel or rhythm of the gameplay?

JB: We try to tailor each weapon to look and feel totally unique, with each class of weapon having their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, pistols are extremely effective when trying to line up headshots, while SMGs, particularly when dual-wielding, are great for taking out large groups of enemies at close range. The assault rifles feature a powerful knockback that, even if they don’t outright eliminate the target, causes them to fall to the ground and recover before they can get back into the fight. The assault rifles are also incredibly effective at long range. Shotguns, on the other hand, are beastly at close range, but take some thoughtful placement to be effective. One shot can often take out a couple enemies if placed properly. Max can also get his hands on the multi-shot grenade launcher, a devastatingly powerful weapon that can take out groups of enemies with a single round. We balance out the power of the grenade launcher by making ammo extremely scarce.

GR: How important is resource management? Is ammo going to be scarce, or will this be more of a bullet orgy?

JB: If the player continues to pick up new weapons, there will always be an abundant supply of bullets on the easier difficulty levels. Higher difficulty levels limit the amount of ammo that can be carried, so carefully placed shots become a much bigger element to survival.

GR: Are some of the more exotic weapons from earlier games, like the Jackhammer or the striker, going to return in MP3? If not, do you have similarly destructive replacements planned?

JB: We definitely have some very explosive and destructive weapons. Max will get his hands on a few different types of grenade and rocket launchers. Obviously these are devastatingly powerful weapons, so we try to limit the ammunition.

GR: Do different weapons have differently modeled bullets? Similarly, can you talk a bit about the different kinds of effects that different weapons will have on the environment and enemies?

JB: Each bullet in the game is individually modeled from the time it leaves the gun to the time it hits its target. That means we had to take the extra step and model different types of bullets for pistols, SMGs, shotguns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles. During the final kill camera sequences, you’ll notice the spray of pellets from a shotgun, or the high-caliber bullet from a sniper rifle penetrating its target. To that end, the ammunition also affects the environment in unique ways. Bullets from a pistol will leave a single small hole in a wall, whereas a blast from shotgun will create gashes over a large area. Players will also notice materials such as wood and glass splintering and shattering in very realistic ways in reaction to the type of ammunition used.

Always wanted to be target practice for millions of online gamers? Well Rockstar’s Max Payne 3 casting event is your chance. Just go on Twitter and using the hashtag #maxpayne3. If your tweet is one of ten randomly selected, you’ll be asked to submit a picture. If your pic impresses the gang at Rockstar, you’ll join the ranks eight fans to be immortalized and then murdered for all eternity on the internet.

Rockstar has already chosen four winners, and is looking for four more. As you can see, being a guy who looks like Soap Mactavish or a girl with a cool haircut is a serious advantage. The contest runs until January 13th. Here are the official rules, and Rockstar’s newswire about the selection process.

Rockstar Games just posted a behind-the-scenes look at their research into the world of Sao Paulo for the upcoming shooter Max Payne 3. It’s a study of both the sunny side and seedy underbelly of Brazil’s largest city. If you’re counting down the days until Max’s release in March, there’s no better way to pass the time.

It’s not a bad life, working for Rockstar. According to the post, their developers took numerous trips to Brazil for the purposes of researching the game, visiting areas both gritty and glamorous. You can see how their tour of densely packed hillside favelas (read: shanty towns) influenced a moment of the game.

Rockstar also plugs the Unidade de Forcas Espciais, a fictional special forces unit set to appear in Max Payne 3. They name check the movies Elite Squad and Favela Rising as inspiration, as well as the real-life Brazilian special forces GARRA, which stands for Robbery and Assault Repression when translated.

Above: A developer diary on the technology and design of Max Payne 3

While Rockstar has given several looks at Max Payne 3, including videos, and an interview with GamesRadar, this is the first mention of real-world research. There’s more to come, as Rockstar mentions in the post, “Over the coming weeks and months, we'll be offering a glimpse into just some of the behind-the-scenes research and production design done over the course of Max Payne 3's development, from information and asset-gathering trips down to São Paulo, to local casting for pedestrian types in all the game's levels, to extensive study of municipal law-enforcement wings, weaponry and much more.”

Max Payne’s going through a lot of changes in his third game: a change in locale (from New York to Sao Paolo), a change in appearance (from youngish and weary to middle-aged, bearded and weary) and a change in tactics (having added sticky cover and zoom aiming to his repertoire). At heart, though, he’s still the same tormented, painkiller-addicted anti-hero he’s always been, and his game’s still about shooting from the hip while diving through the air and dodging bullets in slow motion. To get a little more insight into what’s changing and what’s staying the same, we caught up with Max Payne 3’s art director, Rob Nelson, for a quick chat and a little bit of exclusive new gameplay footage.

Nelson also let on that some of the inherent weirdness of earlier Max Payne games will resurface in the sequel (although we probably won’t see anything as extreme as the first game’s nightmare sequences). Most of his emphasis, though, was on gameplay – and specifically on the challenges of adapting Max Payne’s run-and-gun style for a modern audience without losing what made the series’ gameplay unique. We won’t know for sure how well they did until our first hands-on with the game (which releases in March 2012), but for now, we like what we see.

Here's a look at Rockstar's newly-announced Definitive Special Edition for Max Payne 3, which goes on sale today. In two months, $99 will get fans a pre-order for the game (obviously) plus two bonus multiplayer content packs, an art book, a CD with some Payne-appropriate music on it, and some tangible objects to remind you of Max even when you're not playing his game.

Above: Grab 10" of Payne

The edition's strongest draw is probably a tie. The 10” Max Payne figurine will turn any bookshelf or counter-top into the mean streets down which a hard man must walk alone, a gun his only companion, etc, etc; whereas the troublingly authentic styling on the bullet keychain looks boss and probably won't amuse cops, TSA screeners or anyone else who doesn't get the reference. Besides that, there's the official Payne 3 soundtrack CD and an art book showcasing “some of Max Payne’s inner demons and vices.” So, drugs.

The Definitive Special Edition also includes two multiplayer content packs for those who prefer their bonuses to be digital. The Classic Character Pack adds Payne 1 and 2 characters such as Mona Sax and Vladimir Lem to the multiplayer roster, and the Disorderly Conduct Weapons Pack adds several attractive blowing-people-up-online options. The whole package is available now for pre-order from Rockstar and Amazon, but you only have until January 15 to decide whether you want it.

It may sound like an easy decision, but $99 probably buys a lot of Valkyr, after all.

Rockstar usually keeps its hand close to its chest when preparing a new game for release, opting to hide the design behind cinematic trailers and cutscenes until after launch. With Max Payne 3, however, they seem fairly open to sharing its secrets beforehand, as displayed in this new "Design and Technology" video. It’s more of a “demonstration video” than a typical “trailer,” but it’s still chock-full of new gameplay footage to enjoy.

We're not complaining, though – it looks absolutely marvelous. The video goes deep into the game's shooting, promising to provide a first-person shooter level of accuracy without losing the third-person shooter perspective. This lets Rockstar maintain the series' typical level of cinematic fidelity without sacrificing accuracy, which, obviously, is good for a game based around diving into rooms in slow motion and shooting gang members in the crotch with shotguns. Speaking of which, there’s a ton of raw footage of bullet-time, and it looks just like you remember it. Things turn grey, everything goes slow, and Max kills people with guns.

Ah, memories.

The slow motion, bullet-time thing went through a purple patch after the original Max Payne in 2001, but it quickly turned into a brown, rotting, stinky patch. Publishers fell over themselves in an effort to sign the next dual-wielding, sideways diving, gravity defying shooter – from John Woo’s Stranglehold to the under-rated Total Overdose. While it was fun for a bit, people became weary of the tired gameplay and all of a sudden the trend died out quicker than disco.

Fast forward ten years and we’re sat in Rockstar’s office watching Max Payne’s third outing and we can already sense the inevitable clones trying to match the slick skills on show.

Deep down and dirty

Our Max Payne 3 demo begins with our grizzled hero – with hair intact - chatting with a pal from his NYPD days, Raul Passo. Max’s apartment in the Big Apple is a disgrace. There’s empty bottles of booze knocking about the place, trousers thrown lazily on the floor and the whole place feels dingy. You’d expect a tramp to turn their nose up at such a shit hole.

But his cleanliness is the least of his worries as the chat with Passo is rudely interuppted by a loud-mouth mob boss, Anthony DeMarco, ordering his goons to kill Max Payne. Why? Well, in the events leading up to this demo Max popped the gangster’s only son in the head and now he wants revenge. Cue immediate and utter carnage.

Before fighting his way to safety, Max stacks up on the pills knocking about his abode. Yup, a returning feature is the need for pills to help Max stave off death for one more dramatic leap into trouble. But there’s a new game-changing twist to his pill poppin’ - the last man standing ability.

If Max is near death, but carrying at least one pill container, the screen drops into slo-mo as he swings his gun in the direction of his would-be killer. If you can plug the enemy before Max slips away, he’ll get up with a small boost of health. Clever, eh?

There are snipers on the roof across the street and pistol wielding mad men making their way down the corridor towards Max’s place. In an instant, the familiar slow-motion dives are in full flow as the rooftop marksmen find a gaping hole where their forehead used to be. The window frames of the building that Max and Passo are fleeing from are peeling apart under heavy gun-fire.

Areas being shot up like the lobby scene in The Matrix is a common theme throughout Max Payne 3. Doors, desks, windows, pillars and basically anything else that should fragment under bullet impact will do just that. It adds to the atmosphere and helps the shoot-outs feel like Hollywood blockbusters every time we see it.

The escape scene is over fairly quickly and apart from some crazy guy coming out of his apartment, blasting two bad guys in the head then blowing up a batch of others by detonating his bomb vest, it’s business as usual for Max. We’re given a quick peek at the New York skyline and it sure does look pretty under the moonlight. But enough gushing, it’s onto Brazil.

This daylight action rankled numerous Max Payne fans who were worried that the sunshine would detract from the film noir settings of old. Not so. If anything, Max Payne 3 is grittier than it’s ever been. Plus, scoring a slow-motion headshot in clear light allows you to see every fragment of brain that escapes through the exit wound.

Another staple of the series is the ability to pick up weapons on the fly from fallen victims. You won’t be able to upgrade these along the way but flicking through the standard issue rifles, uzis, pistols and the like with a Red Dead Redemption style weapon wheel, means that you can mix up the action enough so it rarely feels one note. Obviously, this may change after many hours of play but during the demo it felt varied enough.

Max is now bald and is accompanied in Sao Paulo by Passo’s girlfriend, Giovanna. It's sort of an escort mission through a bus depot as your female companion screams at every cackle of gun-fire. Don't worry though, Giovanna stays far enough away to avoid the cross-fire so Max is free to blast away at will.

The new common features throughout Max Payne 3 are the set-pieces. Stitched into the action you'll come across huge, arena like areas where cinematic shoot-outs happen. All of these, we're told, were played out by actors in a similar studio style setting as what you see on screen. The one unfolding in front of us now sees Max and Giovanna crouching inside a beaten-up old bus. Four guards are stalking the grounds and there's a sustained feeling of anxiety as they inch closer to our hero's hiding place. Apparently, there are a number of ways this could play out. But after a soldier peers into the bus and spots Max, all hell breaks loose.

Here's where we get a proper look at the new cover system. Max Payne has always been about gung-ho gunplay rather than cowering behind low walls, but while you can still do this, the blind-fire and wall hugging is surprisingly effective. You can slide behind cover then leap out in slow-motion to finish the job in style.

When you do dive to the floor, Max can now spin 360 degrees while still shooting from this prone position. It all plays out seamlessly and the Euphoria animations make the action feel meaty and realistic. Well, as realistic as a bullet-time game can be.

The claustrophobic action amongst the wrecked transport vehicles is soon over, signaled by the final-kill camera. This is basically a close-up of the last bullet used to kill the last enemy on screen. It's particularly impressive when the last round is from a shotgun and it shows the buckshot break up and the multiple pellets fly into the bad guy's gut. BOOM!

As Max and Giovanna make their way into the bus terminal we're treated to another set-piece. This time it's all played out in slow-motion as Max leaps from rafters onto a chain that slowly lowers him to the ground. As he descends he pops off the on-rushing guards without breaking a sweat. There's even time for some environmental kills as Max pops some caps into the lift mechanism that's holding a bus aloft. It immediately drops and squashes the unsuspecting blokes below.

There's an on-rails section where Max is firing from a bus as Giovanna drives at a frantic pace. This is quite a change of pace to the run and gun action leading up to this but it all makes sense in the context of the story, apparently.

Our current impressions after the brief demo? Well, Max Payne 3 certainly shows epic potential. By creating a linear world for Max to blast his way through, the action feels more focused and as a result you never feel too far away from the next epic shoot-out. The new 360 degree, prone shooting is excellent and makes Max even more bad-ass than ever as he blasts guys while rolling to the next position. And the cover system, while not critical to your success, does add a nice extra dimension to your gameplay strategy. We're already looking forward to getting our hands on it in a few weeks and then hopefully we'll have a better idea of how the bullet-time veteran is really feeling.

Oct 6, 2011

Max Payne 3's constant delays burnt in our chest like the indigestion from a convince-store burrito. The occasional screenshot or rumor would subdue the bubbling, searing gas pains, but only long enough to remind us of a time before – a time of ignorance. But with last week’s trailer we’re finally seeing the light at the end of the cold, dark, depressing tunnel, getting a glimpse into a world where Max Payne 3 is a reality instead of the unkept promise of a sadistic developer. Now, Rockstar has released an updated version of the trailer, filled with interesting facts and expanded information, giving us hope of a brighter tomorrow.

It's done Pop-Up video style, with text blurbs appearing to fill in information that might have otherwise gone unnoticed in this hectic mess of a world. Some facts, like the return of Max's voice actor James McCaffrey, we could figure out on our own, while others, like the enhanced melee system, we're happy to read about in the developer's notes. Each balloon of text that appears reminds us of why we love Max Payne so much. Each blurb restores a little faith, taking us one step further from the ledge, and one step closer to redemption.

Sep 22, 2011

With about eight years between us and the last Max Payne, the wait for a new game was beginning to feel like the endless screams of a tortured child as it sees the corpse of its mother laying dead on the rain-slicked concrete of a city overcome by indifference. But today, Rockstar’s stepped out of the shadows with all the swagger of a would-be savior of the downtrodden, smugly delivering us the first-ever Max Payne 3 trailer as though it were a stack of bills soaked in the blood of a dog breathing its last gasp in a forgotten alleyway of dashed hopes granite bullets moonlight tear-streaked Raymond Chandler.

In all seriousness, the trailer looks pretty slick. Delivered with typical Rockstar polish, it gives us our first in-motion glimpse of the latest paunchy, aging incarnation of our favorite self-torturing New York cop, as well as the game’s version of Sao Paolo, Brazil. If the trailer’s anything to go by, it looks like the graphic-novel presentation of the last two games won’t return for the sequel, instead replaced by more conventional cutscenes – although it sounds like veteran MP actor James McCaffrey is returning to reprise his role as Max, so that’s a plus for fans. In any case, this gives us something to look forward to as we wait for the game’s March 2012 release to edge slowly closer.

Sep 14,2011

We never thought we'd see the day Mr. Payne put on a tan suit. But there it is. A lot has changed in Max Payne 3. The story begins eight years after the last game (which is about how long it's been in real life, too). Max is a washed up, drunk, and addicted to painkillers, which isn't surprising because he popped those pills like red potions in the last two games. He's fat, and bald, and living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, working as a bodyguard - all that, we can accept. But we never thought we'd see him trade his leather jacket and bad attitude for a tan suit and loafers. At least he's still killing lots of people.

Above: See more Max Payne 3 screens (aka evidence) in our gallery below

Showing no signs of remorse for breaking what appears to be a pricy pane of office glass, the well-suited Payne seems ready to finish off the gentleman on the left with his signature bullet time in one of the two new screenshots released by Rockstar Games. Max Payne 3 is expected out this December. We'll let you know if you should play it.

Aug 29, 2011

It’s that time of year again. E3 is coming and the hype train is beginning to hiss. In preparation for this year’s maelstrom of new video game delights, which starts on June the 15th, we’re running a twice-weekly series of features highlighting the big hitters you’ll want to keep an eye on at the show.

Some you’ll know, some you won’t, but all will require your complete and undivided attention. So tune in to GamesRadar every Wednesday and Saturday, and have that attention primed and ready.

Today, we’re looking at the return of Rockstar's down-on-his luck hero Max Payne in Max Payne 3.

Why Max Payne 3 isone to watch

• This is the first Max Payne game developed in its entirety by Rockstar. This makes me excited. Previous dev Remedy did a stunning job with the first two games, but Rockstar is known for making games that are shitting amazing and consistent GOTY favourites. The company's Vancouver studio is in charge of duties. Its last game was PS2 classic, Bully. So, yes, Max Payne 3 is in good hands.
• It's been confirmed that Max Payne 3 is going to have *some* kind of online multiplayer. No one outside of Rockstar knows exactly what though. If I had to make a wild guess - and I might as well - I'd say it'll be co-op and Mona Sax will make a return. But that guess is so wild it should be locked up and fed pieces of raw antelope meat.
• Sure, he had the face of a man suffering the burden of a perpetually itchy nipsy, but Max Payne is one of gaming's most memorable protagonists for more than just his excruciating expression. Already established as the antithesis of a ray of sunshine, 13 years has passed for Max since the events of Max Payne 2 and we'll be reintroduced to him at his absolute lowest. With the help of booze, painkillers and bad-tasting memories, Max is crawling through the ass crack of life. It should be a blast to see how such a mountain of gloomy pessimism and misery is embodied in the new beardier, balder Max Payne.

• While Max's mood may be darker than a box of shadows in a windowless cupboard, the backdrop to Max Payne 3 will be contrastingly sunny. Leaving behind New York, Max has started a new 'life' in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he provides security for a wealthy family. Think an abundance of favelas, poverty, gangs, crime, corruption, guns and murder. I'd shit my pants visiting it in real-life. But in a game? It sounds like home.
• Like the previous games, Max Payne 3 will be absolutely laser-focused on silky gun play. And that means a return of Max Payne's pioneering Bullet Time. It's a feature that's seen more action than a whore's doormat, but Rockstar is promising that it'll be brought bang-up-to-date in a fashion that is spectacular and sexy. I'm picturing the kind of excellent post-shooting body contortionating witnessed in GTA IV. But slow.

Everything about Max Payne 3 looks different. The Brazilian shanty town setting is a million miles away from New York and Max himself looks a little more like generic shooter man than he used to, but hopefully his wit and personality will elevate him above the crowd. And his ability to shoot people more elegantly than anyone else.

May 26, 2010

His wife and baby daughter have been slaughtered by junkies, and he’s been accused of a murder he didn’t commit, forced into a hallucinogenic drug-fuelled nightmare, betrayed by those he trusted and marched out of the New York police force. He’s even been played on-screen by Marky Mark in a film adaptation that has a Metacritic percentile average of 31. Max Payne has every right to be cynical. If you couldn’t tell by checking his biography, you should look at his new bald, bearded and grumpy face in Max Payne 3, as seen plastered all over this page. He even wears a grubby white sleeveless T-shirt because he’s that angry.

To fuel his resigned fury even further, Max has been working as a security contractor in Sao Paulo, Brazil, mingling with unsavoury types. He has also become addicted to the very painkillers that boosted his health through his first two games. We can now reveal that the reports that Max Payne 3 will be a gardening simulation set in a retirement community in Miami have been wildly exaggerated. This new and sweaty Max Payne is going to kill a lot of people in slow-mo, and he’s going to do it while looking like a failed wrestler who has picked up a job protecting a C-list celebrity.

Since he first dived forward with two guns blazing as time ran at a reduced rate, everyone has joined in, from Persian princes to race drivers. ‘Bullet-time’ is the very definition of passé these days. You’ll be pleased to know that Max can now do the incredible and ‘take cover’ behind objects and even capture villains and use them as ‘human shields.’ Max hasn’t spent the last six years mourning his former glory – he’s been playing 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. He can now even dispatch enemies using quick-time events. What next?

Even the blind will know Mr. Payne is still not a happy man. He’s going to have more spoken internal monologue than ever, so expect him to moan about fortnightly bin collections and how Mars bars are smaller than ever while he stomps his way through shanty towns and the mansions of criminals, destroying the environment and killing every living thing between him and the level’s end.

These Brazilian locales remind us of Uncharted 2 and look just peachy, but it’s the animation of the killing that’s going to add further perverse pleasure to this stylish butcher’s yard. Bodies will react to bullets using the same animation systems found in GTAIV and so no two deaths will look the same. You won’t have to look hard to tell, because slow-mo porno-kills are as much a part of the show as ever.

There’s been a big uproar over the new direction Rockstar is taking with Max Payne. The cold streets of New York have been replaced by heated shootouts in the shade of palm trees. But let’s be honest, there wasn’t much else to Max Payne other than a slick noir look and violent slow-mo shooting while a man’s rendered, constipated face muttered stuff like, “I had a dream of my wife. She was dead.”

So is this new game really taking a major shift in direction? The gameplay would seem to be ticking the boxes while adding new gimmicks to the action like destructible environments. It may be less King of New York and more Scarface, but there’s the same amount of violence, slow-mo and pained expressions as before. This new Max should have some counseling. Nothing’s changed.

Jul 22, 2009

This article is taken from Total Film Issue 145 which goes on sale 5 August in the UK. To see more Total Film content visitTotalFilm.com

Last time out, Mark Wahlberg was fighting a mighty wind (The Happening). He didn’t look too comfortable… There was much brow-furrowing and air-gazing and short-sleeve shirt wearing…For Max Payne, Wahlberg is ditching the elemental for the supernatural and, in a hangar-sized suite at London’s Mandarin Oriental, he’s comically at ease: slumped back on a sofa in trainers and worryingly tracksuit-like trousers.

He’s short and sweet but built like a boxer: all carved bulk and knotted sinew, with a fighter’s air of serene self-belief. After a 45-day stint in jail back in the ’80s, Wahlberg toughed himself back into contention via hip hop, workout video production and an autobiography (at 21) “dedicated to my dick”.

“I was out of control,” he says. “I was lucky to get through it, but it made me stronger and, I hope, wiser. I had a lot of demons to fight. Maybe that’s why this character is my favourite role so far...”

Before Grand Theft Auto, before Manhunt, Max Payne sealed the idea that videogames could be more than jaunty interactive cartoons. They were for grown-ups, too. It’s doomy, cynical, brutal, brooding: a classical revenger’s tragedy played out in an uncaring gothic metropolis.

Max – who narrates, neo-noir style – is a cop haunted by the murder of his wife and baby daughter. Sent out to undercover pasture, grazing on cold cases, he sniffs a conspiracy behind a designer drug called Valkyr. Could its makers have fuelled – or even instructed – the killers of his family?

Max goes rogue, teams up with lady-assassin Mona Sax (Mila Kunis, in the film), infiltrates the Mob, gets framed for a colleague’s murder, takes counsel from a grizzled mentor (Beau Bridges), clashes with an internal affairs attack-dog (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges) and, eventually, swoops down on the ice-maiden business woman (Kate Burton) he believes is the root of the rot. He’s hell bent and – judging by the twisted nightmare-visions of winged gargoyle beasties – possibly hell bound...

“The hallucinations are a side-effect of this drug that’s been leaked onto the streets,” says Wahlberg. “A lot of the conspiracy comes from that: Max finds out that it’s a drug tested by the military to create super-soldiers, but someone has flooded the streets with it. It makes crack look like chocolate. He has to take it to keep up with the fight. But yeah, there’s a definite theme of Max fighting the devils inside. There’s a lot of action in this movie, but there’s also plenty of emotion and psychology. It goes pretty deep.”

Videogame movies are blessed/cursed with a pre-built but purist fanbase. So far, the blog bitching has targeted Max Payne’s director, Irishman John Moore, who made 2006’s limp redux of The Omen. But from what Total Film has seen, it’s the action-angst cocktail of Moore’s 2001 Bosnia war-thriller Behind Enemy Lines that makes him a tight fit for Payne. If he can mesh his lust for Tony Scott-style pyrotechnics with the game’s Matrix-apeing bullet-time balletics and get Wahlberg playing to his strengths – taking Payne deeper than just feral vigilante – Moore just might have the first videogame-based commercial-critical hit on his hands.

“Oh, he’s shot the shit out of it!” insists Wahlberg. “I’m telling ya. You’re not going to be disappointed. John has pushed this thing so, so far. The action is incredible! Anyone who says, ‘Looks a bit like The Matrix...’ C’mon! All the slowdown stuff is in the game. And they’ve been trying to make this film for so long. They haven’t just ripped off The Matrix. They waited until the technology has been available to do it properly.

"We’ve been shooting at 1000 frames per second. And I’m not on any wires, either! All the jumping and firing and flipping and landing on my head... That’s all real. We shot it all on film, man! We weren’t doing motion-capture then sitting around waiting for some studio to deliver the special-effects shots. It’s for real. Well, maybe just a little greenscreen for the stuff you really can’t do – like blowing up the roof of a city-centre building…”

All of this in snowbound Toronto, dead of winter... Despite an epic seven-day blizzard grounding the shoot, the Omen guy delivered the movie on time and on budget...

“At first, I felt like I was just gonna do some videogame thing,” says Burton, daughter of Richard. “But John Moore excited everyone by having a much bigger ambition. He added emotion to the action. He’d make even the smallest little scenes feel crucial. He and Mark created a sense of camaraderie. We needed that warmth because it was freezing out there!

"I did a great scene where – as the woman who may or may not be behind the conspiracy – I was wearing this Cruella de Vil-style fur coat and sitting in a limo, arrogant and imperious. And the others had to freeze their butts off outside...”

“Oh, it was so cold!” shudders Beau Bridges. “The whole thing happens in a snowstorm so I think they purposely wanted to film it there to catch a mood. They wanted a chilly, on-the-street feel – with real steam coming out of our mouths. They got a lot more than that – and they couldn’t use the real snow, anyway. It doesn’t look right on film. But the weather problems helped, in some ways.

"John shot some dark, strong stuff. There’s a terrific scene in a graveyard, where Mark goes to the wake of his ex-partner, even though he’s suspected of involvement in his death. Nelly Furtado plays the guy’s grieving wife and she smacks Mark in the face – gives him a real crack! Nothing fake about it. Wahlberg was happy to go all the way.”

“How about the scene with Chris [O’Donnell] and Mark?” chimes in Burton. “Chris is my right-hand man and they have a big fight in my office. It’s really frenzied. It feels like they’re working out a lot of frustration. It’ll go down as one of the all-time great fight scenes.”

Wobble Number One... Despite the murder and grief and face-slaps and life-or-death scuffles and jagged ambience of snowflake-sprinkled menace, Moore and Wahlberg have shot Max Payne to be broad, bloodless, teen-friendly...

“But that’s great, man!” insists Ludacris. “Not a problem for me at all. It just means that the videogame fans and the adults can all go see it. I play this internal affairs guy who keeps tabs on Max. I get to boss everyone around and – better – be dominant over Mark Wahlberg! We have a lot of fun together – it’s cagey and rough. OK, so there’s no swearing, but that doesn’t mean the dialogue isn’t good. We shot some amazing action scenes!

“Just because it might be PG-13, doesn’t mean there won’t be action and excitement. I did a great scene with Mark in a building where a bomb has just activated the sprinkler system and we’re stalking each other in this weird kind of rain, guns drawn. It’s awesome! I tell ya, videogame movies get a bad rap, but this is gonna blow that stereotype right out of the water!”

“It’s like Sin City with a little more reality,” says Wahlberg. “But why swear? What are you trying to prove? Too much swearing would make it less – not more – adult. There was no need for me to drop the ‘F’-bomb, y’know? John and I just made sure that Max has an arsenal of weapons and cool dialogue – which is far more powerful than just cussing all the time. Neither of us wanted to hide behind bad language. We just wanted as many people to see it as possible.”

But there is gunplay, assassins, fist-fights, drugs, death, sex... In censor-board terms, there are definitely ‘adult themes’...

“Well, I think you can have all of that without showing too much blood,” shrugs Wahlberg. “It’s just not needed. We didn’t want to make some big gorefest. As for sex, it just doesn’t work for the character. The bit you see in the trailer, where Olga Kurylenko is sprawled on Max’s bed... He turns her down, man! Oh yes. He turns a Bond girl down!

“That’s Max, though. That’s the fun of the character. It’s more fun to see how he turns her down rather than sit through just another same-old sex scene…”

So it’s Dirty Harry (maverick cop) meets The Matrix (slo-mo gun fun) meets Death Wish (vigilante chic) meets Hard Boiled (slo-mo gun fun) meets Sin City (stylised noirishness) meets the Bourne trilogy (good guy gone wrong). Won’t all this cross-chatter muffle Max’s individual voice? Not with Wahlberg doing the looping.

“I’ve just done The Lovely Bones and The Happening,” he explains – then whispers, “Boy, I’m glad I don’t have to talk about that any more... [Laughter]. But as long as I’m doing something different every time, I’m happy.

“Next I’m gonna do The Fighter with Brad Pitt and then a HBO pilot for Martin Scorsese about prohibition-era Chicago... With Max, after doing two very emotional movies, it was great to just go off, go to that place, play someone who’s harder to like. But this film will stand out because it’s very layered.

“John let me make the character much more than a one-note action tough guy. Sure, I raise my voice, get in people’s faces… But I ramp up the humour, too. He’s like a version of my character in The Departed – sly and cynical but also very funny. That’s the kind of thing people like to see me doing.”

The Matrix moans will fade. If anything, Max Payne – like the game – owes much more to the pulpy athletics of John Woo. The real Max factor? This is Wahlberg’s shine-time. Can he shake off The Happening taint, build on that Oscar nomination, rise up the A-list, ignite the box office by name alone?

“Mark has great acting chops,” says Bridges. “He’s well prepared, very professional... The lead in a movie has to be just like the quarterback in a football team. He has to be the man, the driver. The on-set mood has to come from him. Mark is a great leader. You want to work for him. He could be a massive star.”

Payne the game has a sequel – The Fall Of Max Payne. A threequel is planned... If it flies, this could be the launch-point where Wahlberg shifts from holding his own in extended episodes of 24 (otherwise known as Shooter) to the balls-out bankability of his buddy and Departed co-star Matt Damon.

“Franchise? Well, I do love this character,” he twinkles. “If we could make it work, yeah, I’d love to bring him back and do more. But there’s talk about The Departed 2, The Italian Job 2... It’s all about making sure the sequels are better than the last one – otherwise there’s no point. You’ve gotta follow the Godfather II rule! But like I said, this is my most satisfying role so far. It feels like my own...”

So, just over a decade since his dedicated dick was prosthetically stretched for his Boogie Nights breakthrough, has Mr Wahlberg found his slot? An action-movie anti-hero who flays ’em and slays ’em? He bristles again...

“Well, I don’t see myself as just an action-movie star. I can do it all: action, drama, comedy. As long as I can mix it up and keep it interesting... And no, I’m not gonna get so big and precious that I won’t do my own stunts. I’m a physical kind of guy. I have a couple of buddies who help out because they’re tough and they look like me. But I’ve got two kids now and another on the way, so I gotta be more careful…”

Eyeing Wahlberg’s bandaged-up left hand, we remember Will Ferrell’s rollback during the 2007 Academy Awards (“Mark Wahlberg! Where are you? Actually, I won’t mess with you. You’re kinda badass...”). So how did he get hurt? Misplacing a right hook while training for The Fighter? Smacking down a couple of muggers?

“Um, it was tennis on the Wii! I was playing with my daughter the other day and she swung the remote real hard and it cracked me on the side of my wrist!” Cue careful laughter around the room. “Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. It sounds kinda funny – but it fuckin’ hurt, man!” Here comes the Payne.

Max Payne opens on 17 October and will be reviewed in a future issue of Total Film.