Max Payne 3 is an upcoming video game and the third title in the Max Payne franchise set to be published by Rockstar Games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Development is led by Rockstar Vancouver in collaboration with the New England, London and Toronto studios. This is the first game in the series not to be developed by Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment and not being written by series creator Sam Lake. The lead writer of Max Payne 3 is Dan Houser, who was also the writer of most games in the Grand Theft Auto series, and of Red Dead Redemption. ameplay
Max Payne 3 is a third-person shooter in which the player assumes the role of its titular character, Max Payne. Max Payne 3 will feature the over-the-shoulder zoom aiming and cover mechanics. However, these will just serve as garnish to the game's classic run-and-gun shooting. Max Payne 3 will also make return of bullet-time in action sequences, which the franchise is notable for. In bullet time it will be possible to see every bullet make a hole in your foes. There will be a "Last Man Standing" mechanic, which gives Max a reprieve from death for a small period if he has one painkiller on him. If the player is able to kill the enemy that delivered the wounding shot with bullets he'll recover enough energy to soldier on.
Max Payne 3 retains the shoot-dodge mechanic from the previous games. Max will also be able to stay grounded after a dive, which enables him to shoot 360 degrees around. Rockstar has blended physics and animation, so that when Max dives around, he does so appropriately according to his surroundings. Through advanced utilization of the Euphoria physics engine, shooting and killing enemies in Max Payne 3 will look noticeably more realistic than in any preceding Rockstar games as well.
New to the series are cinematic action movements, interactive cut-scenes which will transition seamlessly into continuing gameplay. Moreover there will be no loading screens across gameplay and cutscenes.
Multiplayer
The game's online multiplayer features maps and modes that dynamically change within a match, as well as reward, ranking and clan systems.
Max Payne 3 will let players form private crews with friends, or join public crews. Players can be a member of up to five at the same time, and completing tasks as a crew will gain XP points for the player. Among the crew features promised are persistent Feuds, that see the player scrapping with opposing gangs who've killed someone on the team. Social Club integration connect play across multiple titles, starting with Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto V. By playing both games multiplayer "crews" that the player set up in one will be carried over to the other.
Synopsis
Plot
According to Rockstar's Sam Houser, it is their intention on starting a new chapter of Max Payne's life with the game. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever." Since the last game, the press release states Max has left New York City behind and has "drifted from bad to worse." The press release then goes on to say Max has been double-crossed in this new city and he is searching for the truth and a way out. The game will be set in São Paulo, Brazil, where Payne is working in the private security sector for a wealthy local family, set eight years after the events of the second game. Max Payne now works in executive protection for the wealthy Rodrigo Branco in the hopes of escaping the memories of his troubled past. When a street gang kidnaps Rodrigo's wife, Max is pulled into a conspiracy of shadowy, warring factions threading every aspect of São Paulo society in a deadly web that threatens to engulf everyone and everything around him.
Characters
Rockstar initially claimed that series staple James McCaffrey would not return to the role of Max Payne, instead opting for an older actor. However, in Edge it was confirmed that James McCaffrey will not only return to voice Max Payne, but will also return in a full acting role through motion capture.
Development
"We've been blessed with being able to actually see the game and give some feedback. We've been meeting with Rockstar and looking at Max 3 – it looks absolutely phenomenal – the nice thing is we've been giving our feeling on the game but at the end of the day we don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting, which is nice. Rockstar don't make bad games, so you already know it's going to be good. Just like we hope the Remedy brand is a seal of quality, you know that Rockstar's brand is a seal of quality. It's been nice to be part of the process, but we don't want to take any of the limelight. From what we've seen it's going to be absolutely fantastic."
—Oskari Hakkinen, Remedy Entertainment franchise development head.
The game was originally scheduled for release in late 2009. However, it was pushed back to 2010 alongside several other Take-Two Interactive franchises in order to "benefit from having more development time." In June 2010, the game was again pushed back to 2011. On December 21, it was not present on the 2011-2012 calendar year, and was pushed back again. The game was still in development and not canceled or indefinitely halted when Rockstar released two new screenshots for the game. On September 8, 2011 Rockstar announced a March 2012 release date for the game, with a debut trailer released on September 14 In January 2012, Take-Two delayed the game by two months from its original March release date to May 2012. The publisher said the decision's been made to "ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest quality."
The debut trailer was released on September 14, 2011. Responding to criticism regarding the decision to abandon the film noir theme of the previous games in the series, the writer for the series, Sam Lake, responded by commenting that the game would "maintain its dark and gritty origins" and that fans of the series would be "in for a surprise." Remedy boss Oskari Hakkinen praised Rockstar's take on the series, and said Max Payne 3 looks "brilliant"
Rockstar conducted research to ensure that the vibe, culture, police, weapons and every element of São Paulo, Brazil is as authentic as possible. The research team visited São Paulo several times and went to lengths researching the local gangs, police and special forces, including each group's choice of equipment and firearms.
In a November 2011 interview, Dan Houser of Rockstar Games said that despite what the general public might think, Rockstar likes to "spend a bit of time" at the end of projects before deciding what to do next. "Basically we have been meaning to start [Max Payne 3] for a while, but we have limited bandwidth and limited studios, and more games to make than we've started. So suddenly it was a good slot," Houser said, explaining why it took eight years to follow up Max Payne 2. "Also, contrary to a lot of people, we like to take a little bit of time at the end of a game before starting a sequel, so we can wait for the excitement or disappointment and everything else of the experience to shake down and really see what we should do in the next game."
In March 2012, it was confirmed that the PC version of the game will feature DirectX 11 and stereoscopic 3D rendering. The Xbox 360 version of Max Payne 3 will be shipped on two discs due to the disc size limit; however, the PS3 version ships on one Blu-ray Disc.
Marketing and release
Mural ad for the game at the Figueroa Hotel in Los Angeles, March 2012.
Max Payne 3 will be Rockstar's "biggest and boldest marketing effort thus far". Highlights of the campaign will include prominent TV spots during the Champions' League finals and other mainstream programming, as well as outdoor campaigns. Rockstar Games ran a competition where its Twitter followers who tweet using the #MaxPayne3 hashtag through January 13 2012, could see their likeness featured in the title's multiplayer. Rockstar also ran another competition to win a trip from New York to São Paulo to attend at Sonar São Paulo, get a customized Max Payne 3 Xbox 360 console, and play the game a week before its official release.
Rockstar collaborated with several retail outlets on pre-order bonuses available through several store chains throughout the world. The Cemetery Multiplayer Map is a map pack, where pre-order customers get early access to the map. The Silent Killer Multiplayer Loadout Pack includes the "devastatingly destructive" Light Anti-Tank Weapon, the slippery character burst to quickly escape a deadly firefight, and the listening device item that amplifies hearing, allowing the player to hear approaching enemies from a greater distance. Those who pre-orders the game from specified retailers receive a code that allows to get the game's first paid Multiplayer DLC Pack for free. A "Special Edition" of Max Payne 3 is available for pre-order. The "Special Edition" includes a 10" tall collectible Max Payne statue, series of game-inspired original still life art prints, bullet keychain (copper and brass-plated iron bullet-shaped) and Max Payne 3 official soundtrack. Exclusive multiplayer content consists of Classic Multiplayer Character Pack and Disorderly Conduct Multiplayer Weapons Pack.
A three-part Max Payne comic book series will be released just in time for the launch in the third game. Published in partnership with Marvel Custom Solutions it'll explore the events of the original Max Payne game and its sequel, as well as delving a little further back in the protagonist's troubled past. Rockstar boss Dan Houser and Sam Lake of original developer Remedy are authoring the books. The series will be released as a digital graphic novel and in limited print editions.
Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions features rewards respectively for PlayStation Home and Avatars. Rockstar re-released the first Max Payne, subtitled Mobile, for iOS devices on April 12, 2012, with the Android version launching later. Max Payne Mobile has been optimized for both iOS and Android devices and features HD graphics, high-resolution textures, Social Club connectivity and user-customizable controls. The Rockstar Games Social Club is a website that displays the gameplay statistics of registered users and feature competitions and awards based on player activity within the game, which will support both Max Payne Mobile and Max Payne 3.
