It’s been 9 long years since “the fall of Max Payne,” and it seems Max just keeps on falling…and, drunkenly, getting back up on his feet. Moving on to a new town, a new life away from the NYPD, and a new addiction or two, Max Payne still seems to get himself into a whole heap of trouble. It’s the same old Max we know and love, but after 9 years and in the hands of a new, albeit highly dependable developer, does Max Payne 3 deliver the pain, and the fun, just like its predecessors?

Max Payne 3 starts off with an immediate inner monologue-featuring cut scene, with Max lamenting his past and sulking in a sad state of weariness, alcoholism and pain-pill addiction. The story of Max Payne 3 is not told in chronological order, and that includes this opening cinematic. Throughout the game, Max flashes back to prior events in Hoboken, New Jersey, the chronological beginning to this tale being a confrontation at a bar therein with the son of the Demarco family mob-boss. It’s here that he meets Raul Passos, a man who remembers Max from their academy days; although Max does not remember him…he doesn’t remember much of anything anymore.  Raul intends to persuade Max to take up a new job opportunity in Brazil, security detail, and it’s this proposal that sets forth a series of events that is signature ‘Max Payne.’ The story is involving and Max is as empathetic as ever, really investing the gamer in his plight.

The gameplay is, for the most part, a real throwback to the previous titles. A cover mechanic has been introduced, which is essential on the harder difficulty levels, but the run-and-gun style of gameplay is inherently present with the shoot-dodge and bullet time features that made the gameplay of the original Max Payne unique back and better than ever. And with Rockstar’s Euphoria animation system, Max will crash into objects as he shoot-dodges and react accordingly, shift his weight when changing direction and even rotate 360° whilst on his back/belly to shoot at foes quickly from a prone position – of course, there is the danger of being too static as a target. Objects and cover are destructable, and coupled with an intelligent and aggressive a.i, this means you can't stay in one spot for too long. There are many action set piece moments, and also a new mechanic called “last stand” that has Max fall into slow-motion as his health bar is depleted by a final gunshot, only to be given the opportunity to shoot his attacker to regain his health and continue on. This only comes into effect when Max is in possession of a bottle of painkillers, which make their return as the designated “health pack” of the series. There are two “arcade modes,” so to speak, with New York Minute making its return, and Score Attack making its debut. Online multiplayer modes are mostly variations on the death-match formula.

The presentation is truly unique, and is the evolution of the graphic novel panel style of the former Max Payne games. Cinematics have freeze-frame moments, reminiscent of motion comic-books, with page transition animations to push the images along and make way for the in-game rendered footage to take centre stage, keeping the cut scenes moving, literally. Certain keywords spoken by the characters on screen also pop up and phase out, sometimes in steps – just to add another level of visual flair. This integrates really well into the game and fits with the overall atmosphere and tone of the game. When it’s time to get back into the fray, the cinematics weave and flow into real-time gameplay without a hitch. “Bullet-cam” is also back, and can now be controlled by the player so as to devilishly savour your kills with an even slower-motion camera shot. And finally, it goes without saying that you can expect Max to narrate throughout the experience, and his dialogue is as good as ever. He really communicates just how he’s feeling at any moment, and also paints a clearer picture of the magnitude of situation at hand, driving forward the importance of certain moments and actions.

‘Health’ wrote, produced and recorded the entire soundtrack for the game, and it really encapsulates the experience on a whole. It emotes a melancholy feel that reflects Max’s current state of mind. At times, it’s harrowing – especially when you hear the classic Max Payne theme played to a wasted, drugged out Max. They also managed to capture the atmosphere of the Brazilian favelas really well in their music. Overall, it’s a complete synergy between visual and audio elements - really pitch-perfect work from Health.

Remedy created the film-noir genre in games with the original and it’s first sequel, but Rockstar has breathed new life into Max Payne. It may be brighter and more colourful at times, but it’s definitely just as dark as his past adventures. “You buy yourself a product and you get what you pay for, and these chumps had paid for some angry gringo without the sensibilities to know right from wrong.” This is what I paid for, and although I’m not a chump, you will be if you don’t give Max Payne a shot…from a gun or a glass, either way, pun intended.