With a whole lotta time in-between and a change of developers this game has quite a few differences from the previous two. Most obvious is the precision required in combat. Max and his foes were never sharpshooters in the Remedy games, but here is a different story. Max can shoot semi autos with pinpoint precision, and even the first few shots of automatics are extremely accurate. This enables quick kills with precise headshots, which is required when the enemy is very lethal. Bullet Time is less about storming into a room and hosing down goons, and more about letting you nail a headshot on an enemy poking their head around a corner. It's not about you getting the jump on an enemy preemptively, more for reacting when the enemy gets the jump on you. It's a very noticeable change from the originals, more akin to Dead Eye from Red Dead Redemption really. The shootdodge does retain most of its original form however. Biggest difference is Max will slam into objects once he leaves his feet. This can suddenly take you out of Bullet Time and leave you in a bad position, so the change is to make the move less exploitable overall. However, combined with the precision Max now has with his weaponry I think this is the best version of it yet. A good shoot dodge can clear 5 bad guys out with 5 bullets, which feels incredible.

That said, the dawn of cover shooters did have an effect on Max. Cover is a key component of combat, enemies will pop out and shoot you from it which ends up slowing the pace at times, and leads to some frustrating encounters. Also with the general increased lethality of foes, running in the open can be a good way to get yourself killed, though as long as you have a painkiller left you can kill your attacker in Bullet Time before you hit the death screen to recover and regain your health. It's a neat mechanic, but its novelty will wear fast, especially when your assailant is behind cover and you're forced to sit there an extra 5 seconds to think about your mistake.

One thing I'd like to mention with the combat is its setpieces. MP1 was a budget game, it's why Sam Lake was the face of Max. But this game has Rockstar money. And while it's no GTA, there's a lot of spectacle, and has brilliant use of Bullet Time in certain segments. Max Payne has always been about emulating the feeling of action hero badasses, and this game gives it a budget to match, and it does not waste.

While it may lack the comic noir thriller presentation, it has its own interesting thing going on. There's an interesting style to the cutscenes, but I love how it blends seamlessly from gameplay into cutscene. Kill the last enemy in an area and Bullet Cam will activate, and will then transition into a cutscene. It's super slick.

As a whole, Max Payne 3 is good, but different. Its highs are the peaks of the series in my opinion, but on average I found it a bit more rough than 2. Especially later levels where enemies can be ultra tanky and the corridors get even tighter, it can be quite frustrating popping in and out of cover. All that said though I don't think this game is blasphemy, far from it. It has its own style while retaining the best parts of the gameplay from Remedy's games. Not an imitation but an iteration. A game worthy of its title in my eyes, and worth checking out if you like the previous games.

With a whole lotta time in-between and a change of developers this game has quite a few differences from the previous two. Most obvious is the precision required in combat. Max and his foes were never sharpshooters in the Remedy games, but here is a different story. Max can shoot semi autos with pinpoint precision, and even the first few shots of automatics are extremely accurate. This enables quick kills with precise headshots, which is required when the enemy is very lethal. Bullet Time is less about storming into a room and hosing down goons, and more about letting you nail a headshot on an enemy poking their head around a corner. It's not about you getting the jump on an enemy preemptively, more for reacting when the enemy gets the jump on you. It's a very noticeable change from the originals, more akin to Dead Eye from Red Dead Redemption really. The shootdodge does retain most of its original form however. Biggest difference is Max will slam into objects once he leaves his feet. This can suddenly take you out of Bullet Time and leave you in a bad position, so the change is to make the move less exploitable overall. However, combined with the precision Max now has with his weaponry I think this is the best version of it yet. A good shoot dodge can clear 5 bad guys out with 5 bullets, which feels incredible.

That said, the dawn of cover shooters did have an effect on Max. Cover is a key component of combat, enemies will pop out and shoot you from it which ends up slowing the pace at times, and leads to some frustrating encounters. Also with the general increased lethality of foes, running in the open can be a good way to get yourself killed, though as long as you have a painkiller left you can kill your attacker in Bullet Time before you hit the death screen to recover and regain your health. It's a neat mechanic, but its novelty will wear fast, especially when your assailant is behind cover and you're forced to sit there an extra 5 seconds to think about your mistake.

One thing I'd like to mention with the combat is its setpieces. MP1 was a budget game, it's why Sam Lake was the face of Max. But this game has Rockstar money. And while it's no GTA, there's a lot of spectacle, and has brilliant use of Bullet Time in certain segments. Max Payne has always been about emulating the feeling of action hero badasses, and this game gives it a budget to match, and it does not waste.

While it may lack the comic noir thriller presentation, it has its own interesting thing going on. There's an interesting style to the cutscenes, but I love how it blends seamlessly from gameplay into cutscene. Kill the last enemy in an area and Bullet Cam will activate, and will then transition into a cutscene. It's super slick.

As a whole, Max Payne 3 is good, but different. Its highs are the peaks of the series in my opinion, but on average I found it a bit more rough than 2. Especially later levels where enemies can be ultra tanky and the corridors get even tighter, it can be quite frustrating popping in and out of cover. All that said though I don't think this game is blasphemy, far from it. It has its own style while retaining the best parts of the gameplay from Remedy's games. Not an imitation but an iteration. A game worthy of its title in my eyes, and worth checking out if you like the previous games.

Tons of great little gameplay improvements make this game a dream to play. Bullet Time slowing the world more and more as you pile bodies and keeping Max the same speed makes it so much more useful here. Being able to keep shooting after you hit the floor when you dive also is a game changer. Frequently in 1 if you didn't kill the enemy right in front of you after a dodge, he could pump you full of lead while Max was doing his getup animation, even if he had more bullets. Now in 2 Max only gets up once he's empty or you stop shooting. Small changes that make the best part of the first game even better. Physics enabling you to shoot enemies into the air and fly away is super fun. Gameplay is even stronger here in the sequel, with improvements to core mechanics.

Story presentation follows the same style as the first, though sadly missing Sam Lake looking ultra goofy. I think the tone is on average a bit more serious, though it has its goofier moments throughout. I did find the plot a little easier to follow, even if it came at a cost of being simpler and less ambitious. But that's not to draw attention away from the stellar presentation which it retains from the original.

I wouldn't call 2 such a major improvement that I would recommend playing it over the original. Instead, I think it's more of a refinement. Small issues cleaned up, to make the gunfights just that much more satisfying. A fantastic game that holds up stunningly well for its age.

Tons of great little gameplay improvements make this game a dream to play. Bullet Time slowing the world more and more as you pile bodies and keeping Max the same speed makes it so much more useful here. Being able to keep shooting after you hit the floor when you dive also is a game changer. Frequently in 1 if you didn't kill the enemy right in front of you after a dodge, he could pump you full of lead while Max was doing his getup animation, even if he had more bullets. Now in 2 Max only gets up once he's empty or you stop shooting. Small changes that make the best part of the first game even better. Physics enabling you to shoot enemies into the air and fly away is super fun. Gameplay is even stronger here in the sequel, with improvements to core mechanics.

Story presentation follows the same style as the first, though sadly missing Sam Lake looking ultra goofy. I think the tone is on average a bit more serious, though it has its goofier moments throughout. I did find the plot a little easier to follow, even if it came at a cost of being simpler and less ambitious. But that's not to draw attention away from the stellar presentation which it retains from the original.

I wouldn't call 2 such a major improvement that I would recommend playing it over the original. Instead, I think it's more of a refinement. Small issues cleaned up, to make the gunfights just that much more satisfying. A fantastic game that holds up stunningly well for its age.

A classic, that once you jump through the hoops to get running, plays superb. 8 hours of shoot dodging doesn't get old, though some encounters can be annoying, the game isn't hesitant to put guys with shotguns around every corner, and throw grenades at you in the tightest of spots. Frequent quicksaving will help. It's not quite a combat puzzle, but making a plan of attack before every door you encounter is fun. Dodge in balls to the wall with SMGs? Or peek through and pick people off with a shotgun with Bullet Time? There's just enough variety to make these choices interesting.

The story doesn't set the world alight, but it's a showcase in how presentation can do wonders. The style the game oozes is still unique to this day. It's hella goofy, and it works in this game's favor.

Only pain points are some of the spikes in difficulty, and the nightmare sequences. What they add to the story is absolutely not worth the trouble they cause the gameplay. But if you can put up all the fixes it will take to run on modern computers, it's worth a playthrough of this for sure.

A classic, that once you jump through the hoops to get running, plays superb. 8 hours of shoot dodging doesn't get old, though some encounters can be annoying, the game isn't hesitant to put guys with shotguns around every corner, and throw grenades at you in the tightest of spots. Frequent quicksaving will help. It's not quite a combat puzzle, but making a plan of attack before every door you encounter is fun. Dodge in balls to the wall with SMGs? Or peek through and pick people off with a shotgun with Bullet Time? There's just enough variety to make these choices interesting.

The story doesn't set the world alight, but it's a showcase in how presentation can do wonders. The style the game oozes is still unique to this day. It's hella goofy, and it works in this game's favor.

Only pain points are some of the spikes in difficulty, and the nightmare sequences. What they add to the story is absolutely not worth the trouble they cause the gameplay. But if you can put up all the fixes it will take to run on modern computers, it's worth a playthrough of this for sure.