Well designed, varied, and intuitive to navigate levels that play into the strengths of the movement/gunplay and that aid the AI so well you forget it's incredibly stupid and cannot hit a strafing target.

Encounter design/pacing that keeps you on alert and either forces you to develop a sixth sense (paranoia), or to wear out your F5 key. Balance makes every encounter feel tense and forces the player to utiltize the environment and movement to survive.

Writing style that while obviously derivative, is well executed and fairly unique in the medium it's in.

Plot that while by itself isn't anything too unique, is very good at giving context to the action, and when combined with the levels gives the game some of the best pacing I've seen from an action game.

Comic book panels that help maintain the noir style the game is shooting for as well as give the game a unique look/personality. However, they are often hard to take seriously due to the amatuerish look of the actors and how they are overlayed.

Somehow manages to maintain a gloomy noir atmosphere despite frequent campiness.

Weird issues with bullet spread and inconsistent damage on weapons (mostly pistols) that affects both Max and other NPCs.

Yes Sam Lake I get what you're going for with the Norse Mythos allegories. No it is not smart enough that I need the characters to literally point it out and explain it to me.

Mandatory patches for widescreen compatability, working sound, and to not be softlocked by issues caused from high FPS. The age of the game combined with how simple it is to find and install the patches makes this something I'm not too fussed about.