This did not take too long to beat.
I feel like in 2001 this would be a 9/10 game. For its time this game probably was seen as very revolutionary because I remember what was around at that time and pretty much the other biggest show in town was metal gear solid or grand theft auto. To have some straight forward cop shooter where the main guy’s super power is that he is so angry he can slow down time is really awesome. Max payne is basically the punisher, you are live role playing criminal genocide. All you do in the game is move from point A to B shooting as many guys as possible. It’s pure boneheaded caveman smashing rocks together type enjoyment. Considering I played this on a whim after playing Alan wake 2, it is completely and utterly head spinning to go from one of the most complex and intricate video game stories ever made to one of the most straightforward pulp ass hardboiled noir detective trope heavy stories. But it works well for the feeling of the game. Max Payne is always saying stuff like “snow flakes were coming down like I was about to come down on injustice”, it’s hilarious simplistic and stupid assume, I am defiantly going to start saying “I made like chow yun fat” every now and then for no reason.

The worst parts of this game are easily the dream sequences. Dawg kill me, I don’t ever want to do platforming in a game that is not made for platformkng while there is a looping sample of a baby screaming its ass off.

The bullet time and dodge mechanics still feel like a very fresh idea to me. You can use them defensively or offensively and they make everything that is on screen look very cinematic and fancy. It’s not quite a “trick” action game like godhand or vanquish but it gets the job done.

All in all this game holds up really well. I can see why it helped propel Remedy to the heights they have reached in later titles like Alan wake 2 or control.