New in-game shots, and details of the game's setting and story. Bring. It. On.
Max Payne and its sequel are seminal PC shooters. Rich with story, blessed with cutting edge (for the time) graphics and physics, and with a main character that's more noir than a bar full of drunk LA private eyes. We're expecting the third in the series this summer, and at last we're getting an idea of what this new episode will be about, and what the game's going to look like.
Max Payne 3 is set 12 years after the last game, and Max has moved on from his dark past. Moved on all the way to Sao Paolo in Brazil, where he's doing bodyguard duty for a wealthy local family. He's spent the years acting as a security consultant and odd-jobs man - and getting kinda old, as you can see in the pics.
He's fallen about as far as an ex-cop can fall, but as the game opens he's about to discover that trouble still follows him like a lovelorn dame.
The game's going to feature Rockstar's RAGE engine, along with Natural Motion and a new particle physics system to deliver deadlier than ever combat and more natural environments. Dual-wielding is looking to be more flexible than ever, and the game will even boast an intelligent cover system; Max? Cover? Yeah, we don't think he needs it either.
And the painkillers are back, too. Wouldn't be Max Payne without 'em.
Rockstar's chosen Sao Paolo as the setting as it wil deliver some unique combat environments, and because of the city's long association with crime and excess. From the screens, it looks as though a lot of the action will take place in the sprawling slums of the city, and we've no doubt we'll also see shining drug mansions, corporate enclaves (what's a Max Payne game without corporate intrigue?) and more.
We can't wait to see this game come to release. It'll be out this summer, on all major platforms. Check out the gallery above in the meantime!
Issue: 133 | February, 2012