Is the Third Time the Charm for Max Payne?

Max Payne 3 is obviously the third game in the Max Payne series, but it comes nine years after Max Payne 2.  Does the old boy still have some punch, or have new game play improvements passed him by?  Lets just say that it is good to have him back, and I hope we don’t have to wait another nine years for Max Payne 4.

If you have never played a Max Payne game before, then what you need to know is that Max Payne brought bullet time to video games.  It is a technique that slows down time and lets you aim in real time, making you feel like you are playing an action movie.  Also there is no regenerating health in this game, you have to find pill bottles to ease your pain if you are injured.  They did add cover to this game to try and keep the action fresh, and because every third person action game needs it now, but with destructible environments you shouldn’t stay in one place too long.  Max can’t take a ton of damage so walking out in to the middle of a firefight will get you killed pretty quick, and you will die a lot if you are like me, but it is still a ton of fun.

The last nine years have not been good to Max, loosing loved ones, drinking, and pill popping have left him a mess. The story recounts how Max ended up in Brazil as a personal body guard to some rich folks, and what he does when they come under attack: he pretty much kills everything that gets in his way, and talks about it.  Like all Max Payne games it has that noir moody retelling, and James McCaffrey’s voice is once again spot on.

I got this game during the Xbox Live supper sale, but it is worthy of your purchase at any price, and there is multiplayer that I have not tried, but I hear is okay, and it adds to the value of the game, but it doesn’t need it.  The single player is what you buy this game for, and I can’t wait to see what trouble the old man gets in to next.