Whew. That’s a rush. I just got done playing through my first hour of Max Payne 3 and I feel… stimulated, enthralled, and defeated. I had to stop playing though. There is only so many times you can replay the same section after repeatedly accidentally bullet-time-ing off the side of a building. I’ll revisit another night. I’m sad that I didn’t get any good screenshots or video, however.

I must say it plays brilliantly – there wasn’t a skip a start, a stutter at max settings. The people are well modeled, move realistically (the trailers made them look a little doll-like) you can see the evolution from GTA IV and there is just enough stuff around like potted plants, dishes, bottles, etc to keep it looking realistic but I wouldn’t mind more environmental destruction. I’ve been playing a lot of BF3 lately, and especially with Close Quarters they set the bar really high in terms of detail and destruction.

I picked it up relatively quickly, using the 360 pad I didn’t quite get the hang of jumping into a room in bullet time for a bit. I am no sharpshooter with the gamepad. I should try it again with the mouse just for comparison, but I know plenty of people (Jay) who would lay waste. Real solid hits are a HUGE payoff too, with the virtually choreographed leaps and trails and entrance and exit wounds. It is quite satisfying to pull off a room finishing blow to the face and keep hitting the trigger. You follow the first bullet and get a front seat view to the others following.

You can tell they concentrated on the mechanics, rather then graphics – but the only disappointment there was the overuse of filter and video effects (you’ll see a couple in the screenshots). I’m theorizing that it is supposed to get you into the mindset of Max, attempting to visually convey what he is experiencing. That is his normal level of reality and inebriation, its a constant so it shakes you back into reality every time it hits.

There definitely is a way this game should be played. It’s difficult for me to just run in there when I don’t hit half my shots, but someone with good accuracy could lay waste like any virtual computer game hero should. In other words I’d probably love to watch someone else play it, I tend to fumble through it.

The story is in true RockStar style. Anti-hero, but not born that way, crafted, and shaped by his experiences. He’s protecting a rich schmuck in a foreign country and being paid well to tag along with him as he pleasure cruises his way through life. It centers on kidnapping, and running after people, and killing people before they shoot other people. There are also times when you want to shoot them before they shoot you. I was enthralled, though much of that is through emoting with the character, the rest is trying to keep him alive.

Here are some non-action shots anyway.