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[Barrylad]

Game was just eight bucks in CEX so I picked it up to replay it. I never did check out New York Minute and the other modes.

 

[Kinyou]

One day I'll finish the new York minute mode hardcore mode.

Spoiler

I'm so going to die during the boss battle

 

[speculawyer]

Max Payne 3 seems to be a cult game now. It didn't do so hot initially but every few months a new LTTP: Max Payne 3 thread appears.

 

[Andrew.]

It's sold 4 million which is great, but shitty by Rockstar standards when something like GTAV does what? 50 million? I'm sure Redemption outsold it by a bunch too.

I don't know who's to blame either. I just choose to focus on the abysmal Wahlberg flick.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

One day I'll finish the new York minute mode hardcore mode.

Spoiler

I'm so going to die during the boss battle

I've played the hell out of this game but I don't even want to attempt this. There are too many one-hit-kill moments that aren't QTEs (e.g. the APC tank can one-shot you if you move while in cover at all).

 

[Andrew.]

Well, at the end that was actually a soda. I mean, do you really want me to go through his arc? Or are you going to remain stubborn and it really wouldn't matter what I would say? I mean it really is screenwriting 101 and follows "the hero's journey" closely.

Fuck it, here it goes. (though its not told in a linear fashion because of the flashback format)

1. Limited awareness of problem:

Spoiler

Max is an alcoholic and doesn't give fuck all.

2. Increased awareness of the need for change:

Spoiler

NYC mob attacks after shooting the mob bosses son on a drunken whim. Later the yacht attack. All those fucking bodies.

3. Fear; Resistance to Change:

Spoiler

Knows he needs to get his act together, though still hits the bottle at the nightclub and really hits it after losing Fabiana.

4. Overcoming Fear:

Spoiler

Branco attack. Max barely makes it out alive. Shaves head and goes cold turkey. <--- "Rebirth"

5. Committing to change:

Spoiler

Lone wolfing in the thick of it inside the Favelas. Nodes to old Max the detective, asking around about Fabiana and following clues. Gets a soda when offered a drink by Da Silva at the strip club.

7. Preparing for major change:

Spoiler

Da Silva fills him in on some of the real players in the game. Not just gang members but also private military.

8. Big change with feeling of life and death:

Spoiler

Fabiana in gunned down in front of him and therefore...

9. Accepting consequences of new life:

Spoiler

Lost Fabiana but can still save Giovanna and reunite her back with Passos.

10. New challenge and Re-dedication:

Spoiler

Finds out about the human organ smuggling and the corrupt police who are also behind it. Determined to take down Becker. Also finds out Victor was in on it.

11. Final attempt(s) Last minute dangers:

Spoiler

Turns himself in willingly to try and get Becker. He gets away. ("Tears" plays. AMAZING) Finally goes through taking down everyone at the airport.

12. Mastery:

Spoiler

Max is back and true to form! Sipping on a soda sees that Victor got what was coming to him. Walks away like a badass ("Tears" plays again now even more awesome!)

Like I said before, I appreciate your opinions about the mechanics or if you didn't like the story. But when it comes to the character, this is actually one of the rare occasions in games when you get to see a flawed character. And also a character that realizes his flaws and proceeds to try and make a change.

I love this breakdown so much

 

[Andrew.]

My memory is wicked hazy on this, but on the Panama cruise ship who is responsible for attacking it and why? And what was the deal with Passos' and Marcellos' shadiness?

 

[Dick Justice]

My memory is wicked hazy on this, but on the Panama cruise ship who is responsible for attacking it and why? And what was the deal with Passos' and Marcellos' shadiness?

Pretty sure the attackers are Panamanian mercs. They attacked to get at the money that Marcelo was transporting to launder for Victor. Passos was helping them out, and Max was too drunk to notice.

Also, I think it didn't sell as well as something like LA Noire due to not being open world, and maybe because that shitty film managed to taint the brand name. Which is a shame, because it makes LA Noire look even more like dogshit than it already is. The guy in charge of that was also in charge of The Getaway, which doesn't surprise me.

 

[Andrew.]

Pretty sure the attackers are Panamanian mercs. They attacked to get at the money that Marcelo was transporting to launder for Victor. Passos was helping them out, and Max was too drunk to notice.

Awesome thank you. At that chapter now. Probably my fav. The music for this part is super fantastic. It's got a very cool, slow burn to it as well as the transition to a much tighter, compacted corridor shooting segment.

 

[Duxxy3]

Cutscenes drove me nuts. Ruined the game for me.

 

[Ermac]

Is there any fan patch that provides English subtitles for the Portrguese dialogue? After playing through the game twice I really want to know what they're saying.

 

[Andrew.]

Also, I think it didn't sell as well as something like LA Noire due to not being open world, and maybe because that shitty film managed to taint the brand name. Which is a shame, because it makes LA Noire look even more like dogshit than it already is. The guy in charge of that was also in charge of The Getaway, which doesn't surprise me.

Good ol Team Bondi

 

[Disgraced]

My memory is wicked hazy on this, but on the Panama cruise ship who is responsible for attacking it and why? And what was the deal with Passos' and Marcellos' shadiness?

Spoiler

UFE, the corrupt militant cops, tipped off the paramilitary pirates who attacked about the money Marcelo and Passos were smuggling. And UFE most likely got the info to tip from Victor. Max discovers this in a clue at the police station offices

during chapter 13.

What I gather from this, is the

Spoiler

pirates were instructed to kill all of the civvies to eliminate any witnesses, including Max, and then the pirates take the blame for the massacre/sacking, so the real deal, Victor and Marcelo's laundering plan would fly under the radar.

Regarding Passos and Marcelo

Spoiler

more generally and conflictually, Marcelo is implied to be jealous of Rodrigo's and Passos' SOs, Fabiana and Giovanna. And Marcelo is just like a mid level uptown crook dude, and Passos is just a dumb muscle thug caught in middle of all the drama, who himself doesn't really hold any negative intentions, and who grows to really care about Max as a friend. If they never really did go to the academy together, it doesn't matter, because a friendship between them blooms anyway, ignited by a lie or not.

[Edit: Was still typing while Justice explained.] (Please consider this my personal take.)

 

[VaizardNL]

Now I regret not buying it during last weeks Deals with Gold And it was only 5 euros or so..

 

[Andrew.]

Thanks for the clarification guys I really appreciate it. I was always so thrown off about why those two always seemed so calm and collected after everyone had been slaughtered and Max gets off the ship. Granted, they didn't know it was happening but it was still an odd change of tone after everything you go through prior.

 

[Andrew.]

TEARS live. Had no idea they were an actual musical instrument band, nor did I know the vocals were done by a dude. Figured it was all peeps behind computers. Still though, that bassist does jack shit except look like a jackass and it seems like most of that performance was pre programmed except for the vocals, and some guitar and drums.

http://youtu.be/kcelAH_4Z3g

 

[Spinluck]

Probably the best third person shooter ever made.

It's up there, no question.

 

[Screaming Meat]

Thanks for the clarification guys I really appreciate it. I was always so thrown off about why those two always seemed so calm and collected after everyone had been slaughtered and Max gets off the ship. Granted, they didn't know it was happening but it was still an odd change of tone after everything you go through prior.

That was my only issue with the plot. Their reactions seemed really out of place.

 

[TheJLC]

I loved the game. Not perfect but one of the best TPS.

 

[Dick Justice]

That was my only issue with the plot. Their reactions seemed really out of place.

For me, the occasional lack of clarity and boring villains were the main things that brought the story down for me. You see Becker maybe 2 or 3 times before the end, so him, Victor and Bachmeyer come off as non-entities for the most part. None hold a candle to Vlad from MP2.

 

[Disgraced]

For me, the occasional lack of clarity and boring villains were the main things that brought the story down for me. You see Becker maybe 2 or 3 times before the end, so him, Victor and Bachmeyer come off as non-entities for the most part. None hold a candle to Vlad from MP2.

You're not wrong, and I totally get what you mean, but the way I understood it,

Spoiler

is that while Victor and Becker were technically the main baddies behind all the going-ons, the real antagonist all along was Max himself. Meaning the ultimate struggle was less him shooting everyone and more him finally getting over himself while finding a sense of contentment amidst the chaos. Or rather, amidst the wreckage.

And yeah, Vlad's fantastic.

 

[Screaming Meat]

None hold a candle to Vlad from MP2.

Dear god, yes. Vlad the Cad is brilliant.

"I was compelled to give Vlad his gun back... One bullet at a time."

I think the lack of clarity doesn't bother me too much. It's kind of par for the course with Noir. I mean, there is a corpse in The Big Sleep that even Raymond Chandler left entirely unaccounted for!