Why Rockstar does the franchise right.

Details

Published on Sunday, 24 April 2011 00:52

Written by Cypress

As I surf across message boards and various news sources to obtain new information about Max Payne 3, I can't help but notice a lot of doubt and comments about Rockstar's take on Max Payne 3. Personally I had my doubts as well but very much like this "new" direction and therefor will do my very best to convince you with this article. A summary of revealed information related to the Max Payne franchise. Feel free to comment below or on our forums.

A Man With Nothing To Lose

The ending of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne has left our hero feeling empty and in a very peculiar way satisfied. Satisfied with the fact he came to accept his pity life will never be the way he imagined. All he wanted was redemption, to find peace. But instead he got anything but. While a solitary man, his inner demons and grudges keep him constant company.

So imagine yourself in his situation. Manic Depression. How will you continue your life? Will you even want to continue your life? Clearly it is all Max has left, but he just doesn't give a damn about it.

Turmoil, Bloodshed, Hope. Nothing too fancy.

Details about Max Payne 3's plot reveal to us he actually tried to pick up his normal way of living, but again, failed miserably. For reasons yet unknown he was forced to quit the NYPD and started drifting, drinking and taking a few more painkillers than usual.

As there's no more reason for Max to stray the streets of New York, Rockstar needed a place that reflects and fits Max Payne's mental being. Violence, bloodshed, turmoil, desperation and hope are all elements this new location required to have. Sao Paulo, Brazil, has all. This place is perfect for Max to become anonymous and will be his latest attempt to live a normal life. He somehow finds himself a job in the Personal Security sector. A job Max had more than enough experience for. All is well.

  
Quite a sentiment, but deep down Max knows it's only a matter of time until he finds himself in another unfortunate predicament. Somehow he gets double crossed, needs to find the truth and a way out. His changing appearance reflects just how crazy Max becomes to survive. Too stubborn to die.

The many faces of Max Payne

The absence of either James McCafferey and Timonthy Gibbs scared plenty of fans around the world. This feeling became stronger when Rockstar revealed they were looking for a new voice for Max. Contrary to previous statements, it was recently confirmed McCafferey will return not only as the voice but also as the face of Max Payne. A full acting role.

However, Max's face changed before. Due budget limitations Remedy chose to cast internal staff to star in their first game. While in the second, Remedy hired professional actor Timonthy Gibbs.
When you look at it, along with some fantasy, McCafferey does look like a perfect fit to portray Max in his older years.His voice and acting coming along being a huge plus in my book. That said, it was Rockstar's only choice to regain full trust of their loyal fans (including me). And so they made the right decision by doing so. All they need to do now is leave the epic Max Payne music theme intact, and this game is a straight win.

This also reflects Rockstar's philosophy behind the development process of Max Payne 3 . They're making this game for the fans and for the franchise to continue in a fresh way and yet still make sense. No deadline will decide how this game turns out. It will be as envisioned and will live up to expectations. So I'm sure the game will also do a good job gameplay wise. Read the recent previews for example, all will be overhauled to be even more exciting.

There are no happy endings

Max Payne 3 will be a great addition to the series. I'll admit it's a bit different, but all makes perfect sense in the Max Payne universe. This is exactly why Rockstar is doing the right thing. Like they have proven to have done many times before. If however, this game is a complete let down, I'll be the first to admit it. One of the reasons I'm writing this is to compare it to my review later. I'm sure biXen will write one as well, and I surely hope you guys will fire up a discussion about this on our forums. Closing words, like many of you I'm very looking forward to Max Payne 3. So far, so good.