A joy to experience from beginning to finish
Anyone who has been playing games since the 90's should have at the very least heard of Max Payne - and hopefully experienced his story during that time. While not as epic a tale as that of Solid Snake, the story of Max Payne focuses on loss, guilt, depression, and the inability to move away from the past in order to begin a new future. It is in this state that the protagonist of this thrilling tale finds himself years after the original events.
With all of this said, Max Payne 3 leans towards more of a playable novel than an action game. It is filled with cut scenes and seamlessly transitions between them and actual gameplay. For me, this was not a bad thing, but in today's society of gamers it has been subject to a lot of criticism. If "playing a story" is not your thing, than the game nor this review will benefit your decision.
The story is told beautifully with believable characters, amazing voice acting, and graphics that will blow your mind. Even after 20 hours of gameplay, I marveled at the realism of the world of Max Payne 3. For me, this was the highlight of the game. I don't want to mention any spoilers, but you will not be disappointed with the way the story is told.
The overall story is not anything novel, however. It is unfortunate as there was a lot of things to build on from the previous games that were not touched on this time around. Max Payne 3 had the potential to really delve into Max's past experiences more (which was done in a few scenes/chapters) to better tell the gamer what drives him/what shapes his current character.
The gameplay itself is very similar to previous Max Payne games (surprise). Unfortunately there's nothing new here, but everything it did, it did right. The gun battles are extremely well done and highly entertaining. As you are shot, you retain bullet holes (even through cut scenes) to make the experience that more solid. Shooting enemies in different body parts matters - as they will have extremely graphic consequences. You hit someone in the eye? Their entire socket is blown out and an exit blow out is seen in the back of their skull. You hit the groin? The femoral artery is spurting blood for a few seconds as the person bleeds out. It's as close as it gets to pinpoint accuracy. When Max Payne is shot to death (game over screen) - there are times when his eyes cross or roll back as the image is captured in black and white, most time making me cringe in disgust at what just happened.
With all the good things, there are some drawbacks to the gameplay. The enemy AI tends to be borderline retarded, even on hard difficulties. You shoot them 4-5 times and they are still standing up lifeless. They take cover poorly sometimes, with their head or their leg sticking out for an easy kill. If you are lying on the floor, they mindlessly line up to die if they don't have a shot at you from a distance. This is an unfortunately experience as it ruins some of the realism, but it won't ruin the overall experience.
This is a game I can easily recommend to fans of the genre. It is not a perfect game by any means. However, it is a solid experience beginning to end and one that should not be missed.