Games

Max Payne

Remedy Entertainment

2001•Shooter•PEGI 18•About 11 hours

Taste attributes: actionthrillerdetectivefastunsavouryheavyimaginarygrittyall consuming questfighting evilfish out of water/culture clashinjustice/tragedy/vengeancerescue/escape/jeopardyself destruction/implosionsocial commentarysolving the riddle/not as it seemstroubled leadsunderdog triumphs

See which match your taste

Boxlist takeExpect a pacy, morally murky shooter, heightened rather than true to life. Best if you like edge over warmth.

Pace: fast · Originality: balanced · Tone: dark · Weight: heavy · Realism: imaginary world · Story: balanced · Structure: balanced · Look: balanced · Scale: balanced · Emotional punch: balancedHow we score

IGDB rating

80 / 100

1,811 ratings

Your matchTake the taste test to see your match

Based on your film and TV taste: games are matched on the same ten characteristics, with your own match bands.

About This Game

Max Payne is a man with nothing to lose in the violent, cold urban night. A fugitive undercover cop framed for murder, hunted by cops and the mob, Max is a man with his back against the wall, fighting a battle he cannot hope to win. Max Payne is a relentless story-driven game about a man on the edge, fighting to clear his name while struggling to uncover the truth about his slain family amongst a myriad of plot-twists and twisted thugs in the gritty bowels of New York during the century's worst blizzard. The groundbreaking original cinematic action-shooter, Max Payne introduced the concept of Bullet Time in videogames. Through its stylish slow-motion gunplay combined with a dark and twisted story, Max Payne redefined the action-shooter genre.

Summary: IGDB

Story

In December 2001, as New York City is enduring the tail end of the worst snow blizzard in the history of the city, Max Payne, a renegade DEA agent and former NYPD detective, is standing at the top of a skyscraper with a sniper rifle in his hands, smiling, as police units arrive on the scene to arrest him. He then experiences flashbacks from three years ago and the last two days he experienced. Three years earlier, on August 22nd 1998, Max was working as a regular NYPD detective, having just finished his day's work. His longtime friend and DEA agent, Alex Balder, invites him to transfer into...

Characteristics

Where this game sits on each taste spectrum

SlowPACEFast

FamiliarORIGINALITYOriginal

DarkTONEWholesome

LightWEIGHTINESSHeavy

FantasyREALISMRealistic

SimpleINTRICACYIntricate

Non-LinearLINEARITYLinear

UnderstatedSTYLEStylised

IntimateSCALEEpic

RestrainedEMOTIONIntense

Genres and themes

ActionThrillerDetectiveAll consuming questFighting evilFish out of water/culture clashInjustice/tragedy/vengeanceRescue/escape/jeopardySelf destruction/implosionSocial commentarySolving the riddle/not as it seemsTroubled leadsUnderdog triumphs

Keywords

Neo noirMurderDrugsDeathInsanityAction-adventureNoirBullet time

Where to play

Details

Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Publishers: Gathering of Developers, MacSoft Games, 3D Realms, Rockstar Games, Feral Interactive, Take-Two Interactive
Released: 23 July 2001
Series: Max Payne
Platforms: Xbox, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 2
Modes: Single player
Perspective: Third person
Time to beat: 7h rushed, 11h normally
Age rating: PEGI 18
Taste scores: How we score
Source: IGDB

How game matches work

Games are scored on the same ten characteristics as films and matched with the same formula and your own match bands, from your film and TV taste. Game scores are estimates, made by fixed rules from IGDB genres, themes, keywords and descriptions.