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How To Not Suck At Max Payne 3

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Max Payne 3 is not an easy game. At least I did not find it so. Max Payne 2 had a similar difficulty curve, which gave me some problems. Bullet time is there, but it’s not overpowering. It’s made to feel like a helpful tool, and it’s just that; nothing beyond it. At no point in either of the games can you rely on it completely. As such it becomes necessary to be careful at every turn in order to ensure that the “you’re dead” screen does not pop up too often. Hence, I made this article outlining a few steps which should help any player new to the game cope up with the difficulty. So here are a list of things you should consider while playing the game to make it less frustrating.

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Screen 1
  • Accuracy is pivotal to the game. Bullet time or no bullet time, accuracy is a must in this game. It’s easy to wipe out a room only if you’re hitting headshots often. Otherwise, it can be painful and often fatal.
  • Bullet time is not a gimmick. It’s a limited resource which has to be used very carefully. It drains fast, and while active, it hinders the sensitivity for sometime which takes effort to get used to. So make it count. Aim for the head; always.
  • Treasure the meds which you get throughout the game. They only recover a sizable portion of your health. But it can mean all the difference between life and death. Also use them wisely. Use enough of the meds to keep your health above 50%. Bullets do tremendous damage in Max Payne 3, like they should; all the more reason to use them effectively.
  • Time your lunges effectively. Don’t go jumping in the middle of an open room surrounded by enemies. Doing so will result in an instant death. Lunging in Max Payne 3 automatically triggers Bullet time, which should be used properly to have any effect on the outcome of a firefight. Either use lunges to launch a surprise attack out of cover or use them to get into cover. Whenever you lunge, make sure you know all the directions from which enemy fire may hit you. Knowing exactly where the enemy is is critical for this purpose.
  • Health automatically regenerates in Max Payne 3. Use plenty of cover when you’re wounded. But be wary of the enemy AI. Enemies will often try to flank you and blow your cover. And they can use grenades too. So use cover effectively.
max payne 3 screen
Screen 2

While not a Dark Souls, Max Payne 3 sure isn’t the easiest game in the library. Hence, reckless gameplay will often get you killed. Following the above tips won’t exactly make you a pro at the game, but at least it won’t get you killed every time you try to put down a bunch of goons spreading chaos.

Max Payne 3 Doesn’t Feel Like Max Payne At All…

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Max Payne 3 is just around the corner. The third entry in Rockstar’s beloved franchise is looking like another hit in their collection. Rockstar has a history of making good stories, and this one looks no different. And we’ve missed bullet time, so it’s about time we get back to playing with time and wasting bullets along the way. But somehow, with the visuals and trailers, Max Payne 3 doesn’t feel like what we’ve come to expect from Max Payne; rather it feels like a completely different game, which leaves me a little disappointed. 

max payne 3 poster
Max Payne 3

The original Max Payne had put the players in a world which came to life in the depths of darkness. Darkness is what comes to mind when we talk about Max Payne; it has become synonymous with the series. And it’s not just a game mechanism, it is to beautifully-exaggerate Payne’s state of mind, and has been executed flawlessly in the first game. The second game ups the ante even further by taking madness to a completely different level. Hallucinations and nightmares ensue, which turn the game into more of a movie, better than most movies out there with similar story-lines.

max payne 2 poster
Max Payne 2

And this is what I want to stress about the third part. It lacks the atmosphere. Okay, the trailer looks awesome, and the game might turn out to be a masterpiece. It also has multiplayer, which should be fun given the Bullet time element which will come into play. But still, it feels more like the game lacks a main ingredient that made the first two games so unique. Slowing time is a trademark feature of the series, but it has been implemented by many games out there. But what those many games don’t have is the setting and the eerie nature of the story. Max Payne 3 seems to have lost it as well.

max payne 3 action
Max Payne 3 again!

On the bright side, the shooting mechanics are looking better than ever, and the player now has a multitude of options to handle each firefight. The classic 360 degrees action elements have been enhanced as well, in order to provide a more realistic feeling, while at the same time keep the fun intact. The graphics are looking spectacular. This might well end up becoming one of the best looking games out there. And the classic Max Payne sound track is there. It’s all there. It has all the makings of a great game, barring the one thing I might end up missing the most.

At the end of the day, it’s just a shot in the dark. What we have seen are just previews, which don’t signify what the full game might be like. Rockstar may be voluntarily hiding the atmospheric moments, so that we experience them first-hand without any spoilers. But of course, as a hardcore Max Payne fan, I can’t but express my concern from whatever I have seen until now. Whether it holds any value or not, only time will tell (which is ironical given how controllable time actually is in the game).