Max Payne 3 for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

this game is pretty freaking amazing. the story is just awesome, even though I lost track of it towards the end, but the clever script keeps you intrigued throughout. the music --oh, the music! They have awesome hip hop songs during these amazing battle scenes that just combine so well. I would absolutely give this game a 10, the only reason why I gave it a 9 is because there were some glitches. One being where when I would hide behind a wall, I would get stuck in that position, thus prompting me to roll away, then get some bullet shots to my dude. that annoyed the living daylights out of me. But disregarding that, I would have given this game a 10. Trust me, I wanna keep it because it's so good.

This game is a great new installment in the series. Rockstar has put together a game with great gameplay and a compelling story.

The story is told to us through flashy cutscenes and in-game narration that make the player feel as though they are watching a movie rather than playing a game. This isn't bad at all though. It gives the game a nice feel to it and a style all its own. The story is solid, spanning through years of Max's later years and although it is a bit confusing, it can be fully understood in one playthrough.

The gameplay is much like an average Rockstar game. Shooting is simple and the cover mechanic works well. The game remains challenging no matter what difficulty you play on, but never too frustrating, which is a plus. Painkillers for health aren't very hard to find as well, seeing as they are highlighted with a green glow, so health isn't completely scarce, but you do have to look around for it. If you're having too much difficulty and dying a lot, the game will recognize this, and give you extra painkillers to heal yourself.

Overall, the game was amazing. I found a few bugs where the audio would cut off during a cutscene, or your gun would disappear, but these are minor bugs, and can be worked around. Although the game is amazing, it is not perfect, due to the lack of replayability in story and a few minor bugs.

Just finished the game. Took me about 3 days to finish and I'd say approx. 12 hours. Overall, I was very impressed with the game, and highly recommend it to anyone. I'd give it a two thumbs up.

I'll start off by saying that I really enjoyed this game. This game was everything I expected. I truly missed Max's commentary as he walked through one death trap to the next to discover the truth. Though in a bright and sunny place the dark tone of the game is present is Max’s world. You feel Max’s pain as he drinks himself into forgetting his tormented past and lack of future. The mood in which Max Payne 3 presents overwhelms you and you instantly feel part of the story. For Feel I give 10/10

Now to the story, Max Payne 3 has a great story line. It will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, making you never want to put down your controller. However, though the story is good and a decent length, the story is also shallow. Though there are some twists and turns, the story is more of an action movie than an intense drama. For Story I give 8/10

Gameplay is the next stop. Max Payne 3 takes from the classic Max Payne and adds to it. A cover system is now in place and they added motion shooting as well. The big hit of the Max Payne franchise however is the Bullet Time. Bullet Time is present and strong in Max Payne 3, a little too strong. Though everyone loves slowing down time and shooting an enemy as you fly through the air, it loses its luster as you do it for the 100th time in an hour. Going out of bullet time in Max Payne 3 is nearly an immediate death, which in my opinion takes greatly from the overall game, often making the game feel slow and very repetitive. For Gameplay I give 7/10

Last is the Multiplayer. I don’t have much to say about it, however I do know I did not enjoy it the few hours I did put into it. I found it not as strong as the Single Player and unneeded in an otherwise strong game. For Multiplayer I give 6/10

I'll start by saying that I was a huge fan of the first two games and remember them being a huge amount of fun. Enter Max Payne 3 years after I played the last installment and I was just excited from the onset like I remember being when the others were new. Max is still a tough SOB with nothing but bad luck and dry commentary that I'd come to expect. The scenery is as gritty as I expected. The voice acting is some of the best I've heard in gaming and the story is pretty good. It kept me going from the start to the end.

Given all my praise, then how can I only rate MP3 a 5/10? In short I just didn't come away from the game feeling like I accomplished anything important or had any fun. After it was all said and done I felt relieved to finally be done with it so that I could send the game back. Truth be told I felt like I had to force myself to complete the game and by the end I was upset everytime a new chapter started up instead of the end credits.

I don't know what magic was lost here, but for the prior games I played through them multiple times to enjoy more bullet time combat alone. Don't get me wrong, I do realize that Max is getting old by this stage in the story, but they took character continuity more serious than maintaining fun gameplay. Something just isn't right with bullet time in this installment and I didn't feel like I was in a John Woo movie this time around.

I sure hope that the next MP is a prequal or someone takes his place, because Max, like Roger Murtaugh, is "getting too old for this ".

I've only played the story to chapter 6 and i can tell ya that it's an OK game but not a 10. Seems like there's 10 min of cut scenes for every 15 min of gameplay. Wash/Rinse/Repeat

So i'm on chapter 6 and so far it's been a Linear affair. Point A to Point B. Which isin't bad,but would be alot better if it were an open-world game like GTA or RDR. The "Bullet Time" got old to me pretty quick. I don't really use it cause you don't have to if ya don't want to. What makes Bullet Time awkward is the controller layouts. No option to custom configure the controller layout. Ya gotta pick one of the preset configurations.

The cover system is clunky at best. Ya get stuck alot when trying to run around in the limited enviornment.
The constant loading while long cut scenes play that you can't skip till it's done loading which is almost the end of the cut scene anyway. Nicely done cut scenes i can say, but i'm in it for the gameplay. If i wanna see a movie i'll rent a movie. I like my games to be focused on gameplay not cut scenes that i can't skip.

When it comes to gameplay,it has it's moments of fun,but it's like a really long,3rd person COD campaign. With a bad controller layout. Just seems like your doing the same thing over and over again in different enviornments. Get from point A to Point B without dying,finding stuff along the way like gun parts,painkillers,get killed and ya start over from the last checkpoint. They mix it up like COD too. Shooting from a helicopter in one mission,sniping from somewhere in another,ect.

Other than those things it's a nice looking,fun at times,game but that's about it. These 10 ratings,TO ME,,aren't justified. RDR and GTAIV are closer to 10's than this game.. I think it's a 8 tops. I give a 7 (good game).

Starhawk is a better 3rd person shooter than this game. Uncharted 3 is also a better 3rd person shooter as well.

Max Painful gets a 7 out of 10..

Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics: 7/10
Story: 8.5/10
Lasting Appeal: 8/10
The most memorable things about this game are its "bullet time" mechanic, and its story. The bullet time is a bit gimmickey, but that doesn't mean it's not fun. When playing on hard mode it is absolutely essential. In that way it almost becomes a strategic game. Overall it is a mediocre attempt which almost accidentatlly becomes fun. The story is also decent. The way it is told (noire style) with blurry cutscenes and constant frame splits can be annoying, but if you get used to them you may like what they're trying to say.
Definetly worth a rental at least. I personally would not buy it.
Overall: An average but redeeming game worth 10-12 hours of your time. 8/10

The graphics are ok, not great.. The cutscenes are where the good graphics are, not the game play. The load times are horrible and I dislike that you can't skip the cutscenes.. I also disslike the fact that they give you collectables and gun pieces to look for, but the minute you wander around looking for them, you get a level failed and have to retry. Maybe it was just certain parts of the missions, but it started pissing me off.

The game might be fun if you were allowed to play in more than 10 second spurts. I'm in these games for the campaign mode and the campaign mode on this is one long cut scene with maybe 10 total minutes of gameplay. I wish there would be some push back in the gaming community against the excessive use of cut scenes. It's just padding. I'd like games to include some kind of warning, "THIS IS A BLOATED CUT SCENE EXPERIENCE BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THE BUDGET TO BUILD FULL ENVIRONMENTS!"

I would rather watching a loading icon.

I think the point I realized this was not the Max Mayne games I was used to was when I put 200 assault rifle rounds into the skull of a guy in a T-shirt and he wasn't even phased (on Normal difficulty, mind you). Max payne 3 tries desperately to continue the dark and gritty and realistic tone of its predecessors and utterly falls on its face as its actual gameplay embraces a cartoonish fantasy land more fitting for Duke Nukem.

This games reminds me of when a friend tells you how much you just MUST see a movie. Then it turns out terrible. I will be honest, I never played the last 2 MP games because I was in and out of the gaming scene at the time with alot going on. But I don't think that had ANYTHING to do with my terrible experience. Right away the game felt VERY stiff. The cover system got me killed me multiple times. I got stuck on a wall where I could not even move for about 2 1/2 minutes and finally failed the mission before I could get off the wall!

The graphics were pretty sub-par minus the details of the back drops. Everything else was kind of bland it seemed. I did really enjoy the effects that played during cut scenes however. But other than that it was very bland. I also enjoyed the fact that the games gives you lots of attempts to retry if you fail and usually starts you out in a good point. And that is a good thing because with all the bugs causing me to get stuck on the floor and various other things I died alot. And I consider myself a pretty patient gamer but I was mad and yelling most the time.

Overall without going into a ton of detail I can tell you the game just felt very unfinished and buggy. The amazing story the critics like IGN raved about was very boring to me. But then again about 3 hours into the game I became so mad I ejected the disc and sent it right back to gamefly. What a waste.

Max Payne starts off as a story-driven game with an interesting plot and colorful characters. The downside to this game is repetitive gameplay that gets boring by the fourth chapter. Imagine 'Grand Theft Auto' without the ability to free-roam. The problem arises early....you have cut-scenes that last WAY too long, that you can't skip. Once you're done not caring, you are thrust into the same duck and shoot level over and over again. The bullet timing is like putting a band aid on a heart attack. Quite frankly, by Chapter X I couldn't care less about any of the story or the plot. Simply put, this game is 'Uncharted' without any puzzles or manuevering. If you love hiding behind things with the same 4 lame guns for hours on end, then this game is for you!

Good game but targeting sucks. Why even have a prone position that's useless & never used. Also there's no stealth in this game at all poor decision because splinter cell is better.

This is a fun straight foreward 3rd person shooter. When I say straight foreward, i mean, even if you wanted to get confused you wouldn't be able to. The only thing slightly confusing about this game is why there are pieces of golden guns scattered around the poorest parts of Brasil. Anyways, the game play is easy to pick up and the controls are easy to master. The game kind of gets repettative and Max's commentary make me want to shoot my self.
One cool thing about the game is there are no loading screens. And the story, eventhough far fetched, was pretty good.
The online multiplayer is a bit cluncky and got boring fast. It takes too long to obtain cash to buy upgrades and or weapons and upgraded weapons give a huge advantage over weaker weapons causing me to die alot.
I do recommend you play this but do not waste your money. RENT

To be honest, I only made it through the first few chapters. Maybe it gets better, but I just couldn't stand it anymore. I loved the first two Max Payne games, but this is nothing like them. The moody, noir feel is gone. The quiet moments when you can search around or stop to watch a humorous soap opera on TV are gone. "Can't stop; gotta keep shooting people in the head" Max reminds you, in so many words, if you pause for a moment. Gone is the "jump" button along with any platforming elements. Gone are any kind of adventure-game-like puzzles or interactions. The first two Max Payne games were action adventures. This is not an action adventure as categorized; this is an action shooter. Shoot, run, shoot, run, shoot. Nothing more, except for the long, dull cut scenes that can't be bypassed. I haven't been this disappointed in something I looked forward to for many years since I saw _The Phantom Menace._ Maybe I'm just old and jaded, but even the extremely flawed "Uncharted" series is excellent entertainment compared to this. If I wanted to do nothing more than shoot things, I'd play "Duck Hunt." They should have saved that "The Fall of Max Payne" title for this installment.

First of all, I have always been a huge fan of this series, beating Max Payne II on Xbox 360 was an experience. This series has always been gritty, dark and bloody, and this 3rd chapter is no different. I've read other reviews where people felt the game was too long and didn't get a lot "different" as you progress. I for one do not grow tired of countless hours shooting people in slow-motion. The graphics have obviously stepped up as well and enabled the gamer to become even more absorbed in the game.

If you're looking for a great shooter and a great story, it is well worth the buy/rent. They really changed the game with the multiplayer and the rewards/accomplishments make it extremely addictive and impossible to put down.
I hope this helps!

Cheers.

the button layouts for this game are horrible. i don't understand why they couldn't just let u choose what button performs what function. this game may have a great story and all that, but i can't enjoy it because it plays clunkier than kane and lynch. i shouldn't have to choose between bullettime or reload to be the r3 button, i don't want ANYTHING to be the r3 button. i'm either wasting all my bullettime on accident or reloading on accident while trying to shoot a bunch of bad guys and getting killed. in this day and age, gamers shouldnt have to conform to a button layout, it should conform to us. we can personalize our computers, game systems, phones, cars houses etc, but not a control scheme? every time i turn on my 360 or ps3 to play a game, the control scheme i like should be saved on the console so games in the same genre control the same with minor tweaks for special abilities so we won't run into games like max payne, that would be great if the control schemes didn't suck

Finally after years of waiting comes the new installment to the Max Payne series. Max Payne 3 is set 9 years after the events of Max Payne 2 and I have to say; It. Is. Amazing. The story is still the best part of Max Payne involving painkillers, booze, and a rich story built on the fuel of vengeance.

Presentation - Max Payne is a body guard for a rich business man's wife and family settled in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Everything is just a party until Rodrigo Branco, rich business man, 's wife, Fabiana Branco, is kidnapped by Favela street gangs. Going through the story you will find out that there is a plot that is so big that it is even further up than Max could've imagined as he tries to find out the leader and take him down. There is only one downside to the story and whole game and that is the Tiete River mission. It is kind of not the same gameplay as the rest of the game.

Gameplay - Bullet time is back and at its best. Max now jumps through the air better than before as it is portrayed like how it would when you fall to the ground in real life. There are tons of things in the game that you can jump over and use bullet time to not make it repetitive at all.

Online - I was a bit skeptical when they were trying out putting bullet time online, but I've already played it a couple times and here's what I can tell you; it works. They balanced out the normal gameplay with slowing time down.

The Verdict - Max Payne 3 is a fantastic game through and through despite the one mission. The story is at its best and the online couldn't be better. I give Max Payne 3 9.5/10.

The Pain is back! It took 11 yrs for another good Max Payne title to come out. My expectations were high for Rockstar, seeing as they had 8 yrs to master MP3. To sum it all up they have been met ten fold. The controls,mechanics,gunplay,fights & graphics dare i say it are better than UC2 & UC3. That being said this game should sell like hotcakes. I'm off to find more Painkillers. $49.99 is worth the price of Admission

With all these reviews on here puttin this title down, I though id leave my two cents. This game is alot of fun. Its hard to find a game i wont just put down after a little and forget about, But this game i cant. I just got it, started up the campaign, and played it for a couple hours, starts kindaaa slow and repetative it seemed like. whateverrrr it was a blast.

Then i tried muilti-player, and mannnn it was saweet. So addicting, i like the money system, the gun attachment system, and the avatar system. It feels alot like Uncharted muiltiplayer with the 1 hit melees, and the grenades how they are, But at the same time it plays like GTA 4. (not the muilti-player, the movement and cover system.)

Give this game a chance, its worth purchasing though! What am I saying give it a chance for. Its MAX PAYNE!?

(I read this one review where the kid said the game was pretty bad caus the controls sucked? and he couldnt control his guy as well as he wanted to. hahah get real.)

I have NO idea why some of these games get a ton of nines and tens. I only hope that after the goons get their nonsensical high scores out, others with more maturity will bring the rating down. I spent two days off and on trying this game out and have no idea why people seem to like it so much.

The controls are horrible and like others I tried to tweak them and they never felt fluid or right. I liked bullet time, but how many times can you use it before being tired of it? The weapons are boring and offer no real difference between them. The sets look nice, but cuts scenes are wooden and flaky with tons of cliche gumshoe dialogue and the all the goons look the exact same.

I couldn't even keep playing after the first 2 chapters. I admit to not playing online, but I'm guessing the reasons I dislike it will not be solved by online play.

I would avoid this game and look elsewhere for a enjoyable game that lasts.

Cons:

Gameplay is severely linear. Your options for alternate routes & ways to dispose of enemies is literelly limited to 1 option every time: go this way/keep shooting until they're all dead/repeat. If this sounds repetitive, that's because it is. As soon as I was done, I was actually relieved & couldn't get rid of it fast enough. That's not what I was hoping for but, to be fair, it was a fun experience overall. Too bad the replay value is as low as games get. A lot of the mechanics are decent but hiding for cover is a nightmare, it's way too slow & unresponsive...kind of a problem when you spend 80% of the game hiding for cover, no?

Pros:

Story, animations, & graphics are all fantastic. It's all very engaging and impressive ...as long as you can get past the intentional blurry & hazy cutscenes... it does get a little irritating after the 10th hour or so, trust me. I love the realism & tone the game portrays. It's very graphic & Rockstar nailed the feeling & tone they were going for.

BOTTOM LINE:

Perfect rental, horrible purchase for most gamers. Considering what other devs are doing now, this game is far too linear & repetitive. It would've made all the difference if there was at least SOME emphasis on stealth & SOME opportunities for exploration and freedom of gameplay. Sadly, there is NONE of this. Put in the 8-12 hours or so, have fun with it, & send it back. That's my recommendation.

It was a "fair" game at best, the control layouts are horrible (as stated in other reviews), but most of all was the just "lack" of game play. Bullet time is fun the first 3 or 4 times, then it just gets repetative. I must say that the level where the building is falling down around you is HORRID, the entire game the game pushes you to use bullet time, and aim for the head, on that level its just impossible. The realism of the environments is great, but realism related to enemies actually recieving damage is a little overblow. Wearing a bulletproof jacket wouldn't allow any enemy to survive 30 bullets from an A.K. I'd say that this game was WAY, WAY, WAY overhyped, and they should have put the money into game development instead of marketing. Sorry Rockstar, your 15mins are up.

Awful... so boring.. the game is like one giant cut-scene.