At least if the gossip spinning out of an alleged Game Informer cover story is to be believed. Via VG247, we have a low-res photo of said possible cover, showing Mr Payne looking more than a little worse for wear. A follow-up story on Deeko condenses what it claims are the salient points of the feature – our Max is down and out in Brazil, addicted to painkillers and living in a “fully-destructible world.” Sound plausible? And if it does, how do we feel about Rockstar moving the poor lad from his traditional home of New York to Latin America? Sounds good to me: potentially very colourful, as I’m not sure I can stand many more grim’n'gloomy-looking shooters.
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@Fitzmogwai
You know, so would I come to think =)
Fully destructible = you can break non-plot essential boxes and a wall.
@Jim
Actually I have, with all due respect, to disagree with you. When Conviction was first announced it sounded pretty rancid and the new makeover has not really done it any favours.
I’m all for (good) games getting sequels but, as I mentioned above, utterly changing the fundamental nature of a franchise simply to make a new sequel always results in bad games (see SC: Double Agent as a case in point).
As to consoles ruining PC games? Not a rule I grant you but, without trying, any RPS member, staff or otherwise, could knock out a top 20 of games that were utterly destroyed by being put through the console mill.
As I say though, not a rule. Am currently playing Prototype which is clearly console oriented and really rather liking it.
The theory is multiplatform isn’t bad when handled well, the reality is that’s often not the case. It’s a vicious circle as well when most journos (RPS is clearly a minority) don’t even consider PC when they talk about multiplatform (you only need this E3 for proof of that), I almost have to puke when so many questions and inquiries are solely based on how a game would play on consoles/with a controller and not on how the PC version could work out. The worst part here is that many formerly PC-only developers don’t seem to be disturbed by that focus or all those requests for missing standard PC features in their existing multiplatform games (how about making the server browser in L4D standard without the hacks Valve?).
GTA IV on PC couldn’t go wrong as well, wasn’t it? With that in mind I am not holding out for MP3 just yet. The look doesn’t seem too convincing either judging from those scans.
As happy as I am about MP3 existing, nothing in that article puts my mind at ease. The wiki article says Sam Lake isn’t involved, so I’m preparing to run around screaming “The sky is falling!”.
But I’m still trying to be hopeful. As colourful as Brazil may be, won’t that make it all the more interesting as the dark heart of the country becomes visible during the game. Talk about contrast.
That’s about as positive as I can be at this stage. The rest of the article is console-fanboy-bait (cover system, destructible scenery, multiplayer).
I don’t want to condemn this game like the AIM did to L4D2, but the story is integral to the game. The MP games so far did a fantastic job of telling a story that wasn’t happy or heroic. It was one man’s desperate tale of revenge followed by him being lost and alone. At the end of both games, he hasn’t achieved anything. He hasn’t saved the world, he hasn’t saved himself, he’s just found momentary peace.
Please don’t screw this up R*. I’m asking nicely.
Multiplatform, eh? I can’t wait for the cover system
I hold Remedy and their games in very high regard which is why I don’t want some lower-teir developer messing with their property.
To me this is like some internal EA studio doing Diablo 3 or HL3. Perhaps slightly exaggerated, but that’s kind of how I feel. I really don’t want them touching this
edit: oh it actually has a cover system! What a surprise… we should get perspective eh Jim?
Nice copy of Y: The Last Man there too. Much better than Max Payne, but probably be ruined by Le Bouf in the rumoured feature film…
But I liked the noir.
:(
I must confess, I have my concerns that this might turn out to be franchise abuse, guess we’ll have to wait and see.
First game did noir.
Second did pulp fiction.
What could the third be?
I am very concerned about the shift from NY – like others have said, I think the city defines Max and his story. We’ll have to see how it it turns out but I’m cautiously hoping it won’t be a travesty. And if it is we can just ignore its very existence.
I don’t really care. Most of the games I’ve played the later years have been oh so boring.
They think some checklist is gonna save their game.
Vehicle section, cover system, stand still for health.
This won’t change my mind about Max Payne 1 & 2.
Great games, shit I will remember. Thats what developers should aim for. Something you can think about. Something you can remember. Part of someones life.
I wonder what they mean when they say “Brazil”. I guess it’s like that last Hulk movie, starring Edward Norton: a goddamn jungle. Or if it’s not the jungle, then it’s Rio de Janeiro and their slums.
Shit, I’d love to see someone portrait Brazil correctly for once. Not that I expect anyone to do so. Or even care.
I’m fearful that Rockstar are going to become acquainted with “the genius of the hole”:
O_O ……He’s Bald……
I will definitely agree with taking him out of New York…
That’s like taking Batman out of Gotham City and Putting him in Las Vegas or something…. Max needs a vacation and an Anonymous meeting. xD
I hate the way franchises are turning into….I love a lot of the new games now; it’s just that there needs to be longer stories: with atcual meaning!!.
Vinnie Gognitti: Well, that was fun… in a fuckin’ terrible, sick, not-at-all-fun kinda way.
@dartt,
What about the honest cops in space at the time of the mass extinction? Who are the Red Orchestra and why are the Japanese Millitary hunting Max? And why does everyone shoot lightning?
@ Jonathan Does it snow in Brazil?
Yes, in the mountains in the South. (Ok – not often).
And anybody who thinks Brazil means ‘colourful’ needs to put down the travel brochure and actually go there. I’m looking forward to Max navigating through sprawling, dilapidated concrete jungles and shit-strewn favelas.
Man I tell you, the toilets in brazil have one colour and it’s not white
God, Jim really can get on my nerves. Really Jim, you do not see where these guys — we guys — are coming from, at all?
Max Payne 1 and 2 were absolutely fantastic and felt very much in their element on the PC. This we’ll see, but the trend is certainly obvious.
Yeah, I loved the Max Payne games and I also pretty much enjoy everything R* does, but I don’t know about this. What’s wrong with the NY noir setting? Now it looks like Max Uncharted. Also here are the scans from inside the magazine…
Argh, I hate how every character in a videogame nowadays looks like Marcus Fenix.
I also read, no James McCaffrey as the voice of Max this time.. wtf.
If they’d call it something else.. it wouldn’t be as annoying. Is that wrong? Generic cover based action shooter would be a better name than tying it with a series it apparently has almost nothing in common with besides violence.
Nicely said Jim! This comments thread is making me angry. It’s the dev studio who made Bully which was an excellent game, we know nearly nothing about the game and no one here has either seen it or played it.
Plus am I the only person who thinks all third person games should have a cover system? It suits Max Payne especially well with its John Woo vibe. I always felt you should have been able to take cover and reload by a door before diving in slow-mo. IMO cover systems need to be added to all third person shooters, you can do it in real life after all. It’s like when they first added mouse control… It’s just better.
I read the title as Max Payne 3: Fat Ballard
Cover system?!? It’s freaking Max Payne. He dives into hordes of gunmen because he has freaking Bullet Time, akimbo uzis, and a handful of painkillers to get through it. Have some of you even played Max Payne?
…ach.
But, I am curious. A chance for a noir game based around here: hmm.
So much stupidity in one thread. Let’s all have a moan about a game we know fuck all about! Why don’t you go set up a internet petition while you’re at it?
teo said: “I hold Remedy and their games in very high regard which is why I don’t want some lower-teir developer messing with their property.”
Firstly, it isn’t Remedy’s property any more. Secondly, on what planet is Rockstar Vancouver a “lower-teir” (sic) developer? Bully and Homeworld Cataclysm is a pretty decent CV.
Here’s a suggestion geniuses: wait and see how the game turns out before moaning about it. The new Max looks awesome – if you really want the old Max there’s nothing stopping you playing MP1 and MP2 is there?
Why do opinions upset you?
@PaynsMe2SayIt: I’m curious, if “we know fuck all about” MP3, how is it that you feel justified in saying “The new Max looks awesome”? You are speculating just as others are.
Yes, those of us with concerns may be wrong, but voicing those concerns does not make us stupid (nor lacking in perspective for that matter).
A sequel isn’t one because it shares the title or main character – it’s a description that has to be earned by the game. Max’s story was a noir one, beautifully realised in an almost empty New York. Can you imagine the Max Payne theme over the sunny lit leaked scans?
If you’re not gonna make a Max Payne game, don’t steal that title. Make another game, say that you are inspired by the Payne games (creds to developers who are open with their influences, we all know when they are there anyway) and make whatever you want with it.
This will probably be a good game in itself, but it will always be facing the legacy of the name Max Payne, which can only harm it’s reception, though obviously not its sales.
@Guhndahb
Presumably you understand the difference between someone venturing an opinion on the concept art / magazine cover (fine, you either like it or you don’t) and someone moaning about aspects of a game they know very little about. Presumably also you understand the difference between speculating about the game, and lambasting a talented dev team for daring to do something new with a franchise.
@Payns: Indeed. However, your comment seemed to be commenting on more than just the concept art. Your admiration for the dev team leaked into that comment or at least appeared to do so to me. If all you meant was that the concept art “looks awesome”, I actually agree, and apologize for misinterpreting you.
Regardless, many of us, yourself likely included, have been gaming for many years and can draw pretty accurate conclusions from those experiences. Many of these speculations will be wrong, but many will very likely be correct. However, forming these opinions and speaking about them does not make people stupid. If enough people speak up on a subject, dev teams may even hear about it, so it’s worth doing. And even if that never happens it’s a decent pressure release.
Taking a series in a new direction is one way of looking at this situation. And this parallels the Splinter Cell discussions. What concerns some of us is that the new direction is the same direction tons of mainstream titles are going, and doesn’t seem new to us but discouragingly common. There are not many quality noir/graphic novel/intelligently written shooters out there, and we hate to see a series that fit that bill become something much more pedestrian. Similarly there’s not that many quality stealthers out there so the perceived action-centric changes to Splinter Cell have some concerned. These concerns may be ultimately be baseless – we know very little yet. But with what little we know, there are grounds for concern and reason enough to opine here at RPS.
@Guhndahb
Exactly what I was thinking. My problem isn’t with the talent of Rockstar Vancouver, but they haven’t made anything like this before, and some of their proposed ideas just don’t sound like the kind of game I would want to play. As a fan of Max Payne (and Sam Fisher), this sort of thing can be greatly disappointing. My perspective is that I don’t see a need for every game to be uniform in having a cover system or a destructible environment, though I agree that these can add a lot to some games, and it doesn’t make much sense to reinvent any good series to the point that it is hardly recognizable.
Obviously Rockstar watched Die Hard 4 before making this, where’s James Mcraffrey!? Why have they ditched him!? Fuck you Cockstar Vancouver! Pricks!
y dnt u people understand the fact that its been 12 years ,,he has been addicted to painkillers so its obvious that his condition will get worse,,and about the voice thingy,,u ppl shud get to noe dat wen some1 becomes older his voice changes,but not totally ,,it becomes a bit thicker,and that wat rockstar people exactly wanna convey,,they meant they arnt totally changin the voice but fitting some1 else who wud suit max in BIT diffrent manner,james macarffey would sound a bit younginsh wid this max .get to noe the truth people!!!
and here to this,,timothy gibbs who was max payne in max payne 2 is actually max payne 3 ,,i.e. he is max payne in the third game also
if u people dnt belive me go to this link-
http://maddieman.wordpress.com/2009/…uick-analysis/
re: the above post
See, this is why this site should require a proper registration before you can post. Please RPS?