Max Payne, Remedy's third-person shooter, wraps the best of hard-boiled suspense and Hong Kong action into one well-endowed package. Welcome to the Maxtrix.

by Libe Goad

PLATFORM: PC

PUBLISHER: GOD games

DEVELOPER: Remedy/3D Realms

GENRE: Action

ESRB: Mature

Remedy Entertainment's third-person action title rings in the start of 21st century gaming with its new, innovative game engine, the use of new technology for superior lighting and graphics, and an absorbing storyline. Aside from a few camera problems and occasional clipping, Max Payne sets a new standard for console and PC gaming.

The saga begins when the title character, Max Payne, returns home after a long day of work. There, he finds that several junkies have broken into his house and murdered his wife and baby. Max's rage and grief turns into an obsession with revenge. He goes deep undercover in the mob to enact punishment, but, eventually, his cover is blown, and he's framed for his partner's murder. Max has nowhere to turn, and must use wits and weapons to escape his sticky predicament. That's where you come in.

Max Payne's gameplay is revolutionary. Remedy has stocked what could have been a regular Joe of a third-person title with John Woo-style side jumping, two-handed shooting action that never grows tiresome. If Max faces a gang of goons, he can make like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix and move in slo-mo yet still pull off shots in real time. It's beautiful. It may take a bit of practice to pull of jumping, shooting and activating Bullet Time simultaneously, but once you go there, there's no going back. Max Payne also measures your skill level and adjusts the gameplay for your enjoyment. No one wants to play a game that is too easy or difficult, and the engine pulls this off perfectly.

Max's gigantic arsenal helps keep the gameplay from growing stale. As the game progresses, you'll have the use of a standard Beretta, shotgun, hand grenades, along with the IMI Desert Eagle, Ingram Mac-10, Pancor Jackhammer, Colt Commando and Grenade Launcher, to name a few. Each weapon has its strengths, and it's especially beneficial to know them before you lead Max into his mission. There's plenty of ammo lying around as well.

Enemy AI also keeps you on your virtual toes. The thugs you meet may be low on the intelligence totem pole, but they'll have no problem spotting you as you peek from your hiding place. When a goon exclaims, "What tha…?" and starts running toward you, you'll know you've been spotted. It's a refreshing change of pace from games that allow you to dance a jig in plain view before an enemy will shoot. Also, leaving a room filled with enemies doesn't mean you're safe. Some baddies won't let a measly door stand in between you and the end of their guns.

Third-person games tend to be rife with camera problems, but there are relatively few of these glitches in Max Payne. Unless you're standing high or close to a wall, the camera is a perfectly organic part of the game--except when it intentionally isn't. In addition to Bullet Time, the game also adopted The Matrix's signature spinning cameras. You can make it spin to your heart's delight by pausing the game and other times it does it on its own. In the words of Beavis and Butthead, it's "Huh-uh. Cool."

Average game time extends between 10 and 16 hours, which, if you were washing dishes, would be a long time. But once you taste the Payne, you'll never want it to end. This game is so enjoyable that 16 hours is not enough time to fully savor its flavor. As a consolation, once the game is completed, other, more difficult modes are unlocked, including a New York Minute, in which chapters must be completed in a certain time limit. The other modes, Hard-Boiled and Dead On Arrival is the same game, but with more resilient enemies and less ammo. These two modes are more difficult, but are, really, just the same game all over again. Remedy also threw in a do-it-yourself level creator. It's fun to program your own levels, but unless you're a pro the mods probably won't satify like the actual game.

Visually, Max Payne is a stunning piece of artwork. In addition to its gameplay innovations, the game fully utilizes photo-digitized pictures and radiosity lighting. Essentially, these techniques create one of the most realistic virtual landscapes you've ever witnessed. New York City is captured perfectly, thanks to Remedy's team who came to NYC and shot pictures for the development process. The lighting, the dingy environments, the skyscapes (minus the one shot of the World Trade Center, which will be edited from the console versions) look like the real deal. Incredible. The occasional clipping caused some confusion (i.e. enemies getting stuck while trying to run through a door), but these are hardly noticeable given the game's excellence.

As for women, there aren't many in the game. The few you meet are hard-boiled babes who aren't afraid to wield a piece and run large, covert operations. Better yet, they wear normal clothes and aren't portrayed as silicone-filled sex objects. Be still my bleeding heart.

If Max Payne is the future of gaming, consider me cemented in for the ride.

SCORE: 9.5