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Max Payne 3 is a bad game [very long rant]
- Thread starter Messofanego
- Start date
InvaderZimmer
Member
Just from a story standpoint I didn't expect or want the character to end up like he did. Loved the other two games this one played well but the story felt like a chore.
DangerStepp
Member
Also, I didn't intend on dredging up an old thread merely to salt up the place. I'm just currently frustrated with something I'm having a hard time enjoying with a series I am fond of.
The game has certainly had it's highs and despite my complaining above, the gameplay as far as Max Payne games go is somewhat solid. It's just that the cover mechanic is frustrating... and feels very out of place-- it does not do anything to service the game and yet it is imperative to some of the encounters.
On the other hand... I can see where the developers would have gotten flack for not implementing a cover mechanic in a third person shooter this day and age. But then again... it's Max Payne. I would be curious to see if it even needed it to breathe on its own. I'll alt + tab back in and approach it that way.
The game has certainly had it's highs and despite my complaining above, the gameplay as far as Max Payne games go is somewhat solid. It's just that the cover mechanic is frustrating... and feels very out of place-- it does not do anything to service the game and yet it is imperative to some of the encounters.
On the other hand... I can see where the developers would have gotten flack for not implementing a cover mechanic in a third person shooter this day and age. But then again... it's Max Payne. I would be curious to see if it even needed it to breathe on its own. I'll alt + tab back in and approach it that way.
Night_Trekker
Member
Make sure to try Kane and Lynch: Dog Days!
Stripper13
Member
I thought the game was fucking terrible. I bought it during an XBL "Games on Demand" sale for $9.95 AUD or something.
I really tried - I did. But the cutscenes were way, way too much. I ran into some shitty glitches (chasing some dude up an elevator? cutscene wouldn't trigger, had to restart and do the entire section again for it to magically work).
I also felt that the gameplay was poor. Certainly not terrible - but (and the OP covers it much better) poorly thought out in terms of level/encounter/cover design. The animations and bullet time were impressive as fuck, but it just couldn't carry the game for more than a few hours for me.
I got to a point where I started in a swamp? Can't remember exactly - and stopped there with no regrets. I played it enough to see the formula and experience the 'cinematics' - and I feel like I wasted my time and money on the game. I ALMOST bought it full price at release...
I really tried - I did. But the cutscenes were way, way too much. I ran into some shitty glitches (chasing some dude up an elevator? cutscene wouldn't trigger, had to restart and do the entire section again for it to magically work).
I also felt that the gameplay was poor. Certainly not terrible - but (and the OP covers it much better) poorly thought out in terms of level/encounter/cover design. The animations and bullet time were impressive as fuck, but it just couldn't carry the game for more than a few hours for me.
I got to a point where I started in a swamp? Can't remember exactly - and stopped there with no regrets. I played it enough to see the formula and experience the 'cinematics' - and I feel like I wasted my time and money on the game. I ALMOST bought it full price at release...
petethepanda
Member
It was definitely a letdown, and completely out of line with the rest of the series (though it was obviously expected to be). The most damnable thing was the fact that there were maybe two sections I wanted to go back and immediately play again, where 1 and 2 I replayed to frigging DEATH.
Multiplayer was surprisingly good, though.
Multiplayer was surprisingly good, though.
TUROK
Member
Fuck, he lost me.
Wrong, MP1 was like that due to budgetary constraints.
Why the fuck am I still reading this crap? Guess I'm not done after all.
Only Max Payne 1 was like this too, and even then, it was nowhere near as lighthearted as he suggests. And in MP2, any "self-awareness" the characters had was completely gone. It was a mostly serious game with a handful of lighthearted moments, and Max Payne 3 is a logical progression of the template set by MP2.
Shit write-up.
Werewolf Jones
Member
Well the game is kind of a Brazilian slaying simulator. I never had any issues with MP3 at all, the first time I played it I did the few first chapters it didn't click too well but the second session I powered through the games and learning to free aim shoot is really rewarding. The whole filtered cutscene thing is either a love or hate thing when it's a stealth loading screen I loved the style personally but it took some getting used to.
What? What are you disagreeing with?
Dick Justice
Banned
Run and gun more, don't use cover unless you need to take a short breather and plan your next line of attack. You're not meant to stay still. Roll and dive around to avoid getting shot. Also, if you're using auto-aim, I'd recommend switching to free aim.
TUROK
Member
That Max Payne 1 adopted the graphic novel cutscenes due to technological limitations. It was due to budgetary constraints, Sam Lake says so himself in some video interview about the creation of Remedy.
Same thing essentially, I don't remember the interview but I as sure he stated it was due to a lack of budget as well as technological limitations. In any event, the result is the same the graphic panels were done due to limits placed on them yet they turned these limits into something amazing.
I hated Max Payne 3 the first time I played through it. I found it really hard, and the enemies to be bullet sponges.
Then I found out that you get infinite shoot dodge and a little "x" appears on your crosshairs when an enemy is dead. After discovering that stuff, I fell in love with the game.
My only major complaint is the damn cutscenes. It really kills replayability.
I still don't really get the cover complaints. I rarely used the cover button. Sure, I guess I used cover, but that would just be standing behind a wall, only to shoot dodge out of it, murder people while in midair, then when I hit the ground, I'd stick to the ground and pick off anyone I missed. That stuff felt great.
Then I found out that you get infinite shoot dodge and a little "x" appears on your crosshairs when an enemy is dead. After discovering that stuff, I fell in love with the game.
My only major complaint is the damn cutscenes. It really kills replayability.
I still don't really get the cover complaints. I rarely used the cover button. Sure, I guess I used cover, but that would just be standing behind a wall, only to shoot dodge out of it, murder people while in midair, then when I hit the ground, I'd stick to the ground and pick off anyone I missed. That stuff felt great.
Rickenslacker
Banned
Is there a mod that removes all the cutscenes yet? Would love to replay it but I couldn't stomach sitting through hitting one every couple of steps again.
The OP post are nonsensical but I essentially agree.
I played it on easy and was having fun but after a while I noticed I kept dying a lot. There is this fairly long section where no matter what I did, I would die. Then it would slingshot me all the way back to the beginning where I would have to face the same mobs again. Not only that but I keep hearing that you have to play a certain way to progress. So lets see:
Repetitive gameplay
Rigid game design
Surprising difficulty
Hoards of enemies constantly flooding your screen
The game has some good point but those are pretty much deal breakers. What is the appeal? The joy of overcoming insurmountable odds?
Sorry, if I wanted to feel that I would catch, then cure cure myself of debilitating illness.
I played it on easy and was having fun but after a while I noticed I kept dying a lot. There is this fairly long section where no matter what I did, I would die. Then it would slingshot me all the way back to the beginning where I would have to face the same mobs again. Not only that but I keep hearing that you have to play a certain way to progress. So lets see:
Repetitive gameplay
Rigid game design
Surprising difficulty
Hoards of enemies constantly flooding your screen
The game has some good point but those are pretty much deal breakers. What is the appeal? The joy of overcoming insurmountable odds?
Sorry, if I wanted to feel that I would catch, then cure cure myself of debilitating illness.
GodParticle
Member
I got sick of hearing him whining about being a drunk. I was like, ok, I get it, you're down on your luck
MP2 was just as light-hearted and self-aware as MP1, the game doesnt need to literally break the fourth wall to accomplish this. In MP2, you had a scene where you protected Vinnie Gognitti from gangster assassins while he was stuck inside a giant Cpt. Baseball Bat Boy Costume. You had "Address Unknown" a TV series that is a direct parody of Max Payne and his entire adventure as well as nor-stories in particular, Sam Lake even makes fun of his own writing in it. You also had "Lords and Ladies" and the constant banter between the Cleaner bad guys which was always funny. The previous games never took themselves too seriously.
Max Payne 3 has none of this light heartedness it's serious business through and through with graphic violence, naked ladies, and lots of use of the word "Fuck."
Funchameleon
Banned
I love when this thread pops up because it reminds me about how fantastic Max Payne 3 was and that a series changing hands can sometimes work out wonderfully. Sucks that you can't skip most of the cutscenes though.
TotalBuscuit voiced every issue i had with it, along with his followup video afterwards about cutscenes.
its ironic playing Beyond now which is essentially the same type of game Max Payne 3 was, except unlike Beyond there were 2 games prior which were nothing like it, where as i expected Beyond to be like its predecessors Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy.
then again, seeing that neither Sam Lake nor his development team had anything to do with Max Payne 3 made it all more obvious for why it was nothing like the first 2 games, looking back on it after GTA 5, it almost seemed like a proof of concept with the larger scale and detail vs their other games, the fact they marketed it as the multiplayer carrying over to GTA 5 shows they had both in mind while making, which is also dumb why people keep worrying that a PC version of GTA 5 wont come out, they clearly said your crew and progress would carry over, last i checked Max Payne 3 came out on PC.
its ironic playing Beyond now which is essentially the same type of game Max Payne 3 was, except unlike Beyond there were 2 games prior which were nothing like it, where as i expected Beyond to be like its predecessors Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy.
then again, seeing that neither Sam Lake nor his development team had anything to do with Max Payne 3 made it all more obvious for why it was nothing like the first 2 games, looking back on it after GTA 5, it almost seemed like a proof of concept with the larger scale and detail vs their other games, the fact they marketed it as the multiplayer carrying over to GTA 5 shows they had both in mind while making, which is also dumb why people keep worrying that a PC version of GTA 5 wont come out, they clearly said your crew and progress would carry over, last i checked Max Payne 3 came out on PC.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
Damn right.
Max Payne 2.
Seriously, Max Payne 3 is one of the worst games of this generation. Poorly thought out, poorly written, weak level design (the best level design is in New Jersey--lots more open spaces where shootdodge actually makes sense, and it completely forgoes cover because cover is for chumps), weird bugs, stupid difficulty spikes...
And let's not forget five sections where the player has to sit still and shoot dudes who charge him.
And let's not forget ridiculous cutscenes that do nothing to better the story but drastically increase the filesize--y'know, like the cutscenes for climbing ladders.
People who like this game honestly baffle me.
I chatted with Film Crit Hulk about this--dude's got a sharp eye for good storytelling. The tl;dr takeaway I had from it was that the incessant self-loathing of Max was just plain bad writing. Which is, of course, what I felt while playing the original.
Fahrenheit
Banned
Max Payne 3 is the best in the series
So is Assassins Creed 1 while we are at it
BadAss2961
Member
Sounds like you don't know how or when to use cover. Somehow a lot of people missed the idea that the best strategy in this game is actually to play it a lot like the first two -- diving around using bullet time. Also when in cover, enter bullet time as you pop out to aim and shoot.
Question the story and cutscenes all you want, but MP3 by far has the best shooter mechanics in the series. I'm a big fan of all three games.
MMaRsu
Banned
Lol the shooting in this is easily the best this generation as far as third person shooters go. I can't put it above Max Payne 2 though.
I finished this game once on normal and another time on hard, this game is the shit. It's not BAD at all. It has unskippable cutscenes that are a pain in the ass though.
Don't stay in cover for too long, just shootdodge your way out of every goddamn fight, your Max Payne and you shall not stand behind a goddamn wall for longer than a few seconds just long enough to catch your breath.
I finished this game once on normal and another time on hard, this game is the shit. It's not BAD at all. It has unskippable cutscenes that are a pain in the ass though.
Don't stay in cover for too long, just shootdodge your way out of every goddamn fight, your Max Payne and you shall not stand behind a goddamn wall for longer than a few seconds just long enough to catch your breath.
HawksWinStanley
Member
Never played the first two but I loved Max Payne 3. One of the most underrated games this gen imo.
I should go back and finish this just for the hell of it, but I only got halfway before being totally bored.
The shooting mechanics are great, no doubt about it. The problem is the horrible story that goes nowhere, and the lack of any sort of variety. I think I shot down more dudes than in a COD game.
The shooting mechanics are great, no doubt about it. The problem is the horrible story that goes nowhere, and the lack of any sort of variety. I think I shot down more dudes than in a COD game.
I liked Max Payne 3, alot, till I had played a few hours and then became bored as after all it is kind of a standard FPS, and quite a depressing one at that. It also bugged me that even though its a video game and all that Max in the story is basically a mass-mass-mass murder serial killer superhero.
DangerStepp
Member
Rockstars cover system and the game play becomes a schizophrenic act of juggling between the legacy mechanic of dive and slow down time to cover and stop and pop. This is dissonance and thus makes the scenarios frustrating whenever an encounter is failed.
I've played plenty of third person shooters that use a competent cover system that works... This one does not. See my above post where I address the quandary of having a cover system vs not having.
Your suggestion that I "missed the idea" suggests that I wasn't playing as perfectly as the developers intended, which in itself, is poor design.
I appreciate the advice! I have found my encounters much more successful whenever I have taken this approach, however, the game sometime requires it and it becomes frustrating.
I'd rather play Dark Sector
Vanquish may have a non-existent story and awful voice acting, but it's mechanically sound, controls like a dream, and doesn't have frequent cutscenes obnoxiously lacking a skip button, so it gets my vote. I think the core of Max Payne 3 is quite solid, aside from the cover system, which due to the physics engine can be a bit wonky, but the game is severely dragged down by the largely claustrophobic levels and regularity of forced cutscenes -- at some point Houser forgot he was supposed to be making a game and instead developed an ode to Tony Scott.
M.W.
Member
Yep. Rockstar 's best since RDR.
Vanquish and that's about it for me. Apart from the fact the cutscenes are not skippable Max Payne 3 is an excellent game as far as I'm concerned. I played all three games in the series for the first time last year (and I finished them all at least 3 times) and even though MP3 isn't my favourite it's still bloody good.
One of my favourite games this gen. An amazing shooter and I absolutely loved Max in it as well. Played through it something like 6/7 times across PC, 360 and PS3 and I'm still not bored of it. Arcade mode thankfully removes a lot of cutscenes as well (though not all of them but a lot you can skip)
Sanctuary
Member
Hah! The first Assassin's Creed is a game that I feel like was pulling teeth to play. Bought it when it was first released and stopped playing it after five hours, completely bored. I then recently picked it back up again because I know how good Assassin's Creed 2 is (and I also have AC3 sitting unwrapped still...), and I wanted to play through the series in order. Started the first game up again...quit after three hours.
I also tried playing Max Payne 3, but thought "WTF is this shit?" after the first four hours. It sure looked like it was going to tell a decent story, but the gameplay itself was so awful that I didn't care.