"I'd been sitting at the bar for three hours, or five years depending on the way you looked at things."
-An action packed single player that does away with some of the more noir-like elements found in Max Payne 1 and 2 in favor of a more modern style reminiscent of movies like Scarface or Die Hard. Luckily, I found the Max Payne narrative and writing quality to be intact and was not disappointed with most of the storyline/thematic changes Rockstar made.
-In addition to the story, Max himself has undergone some interesting changes and you get the sense that he's REALLY at the end of his rope this time as he struggles to overcome his regrets and his ever-present drinking problem. Some of his psychological/behavioral changes manifest themselves in his appearance, which we see many variations of as the story progresses. This is top notch character design and development.
-MP3 introduces some welcome new mechanics to the series: use of cover, last man standing, dynamic kill cams, and fluid melee attacks.
-Most of the environments look fresh and full of detail, although certain graphical aspects such as facial animations and water splashes are just average and won't give you anything to write home about.
-Multiplayer was well implemented with a variety of modes, maps, and unlockables. There is enough here to keep you busy for dozens of hours.
-Rockstar sacrificed the ability to backtrack for seamless gameplay with no loading screens. It was a necessary sacrifice.
-The music was noteworthy, I especially liked the track at the airport and credits by "Health." That said, I would have definitely liked to hear the Max Payne theme a little more.
-Good voice acting.
Bad:
-A lot of the menus, controls, and game mechanics were blatantly intended for console play.
-My first playthrough took about 10 hours, too short for my liking.
-Most cutscenes can't be skipped immediately because the game is loading.
-Extremely annoying that your equipped weapon(s) get automatically changed out for a handgun after almost every cutscene. This is even worse when you die because you're out of handgun ammo.
-Cutscenes lack interactivity and often drag on for too long. The game would have been improved by taking some cutscenes out or through some simple pacing changes.
-Cutscenes would have been better if flashy elements like color blurs, fades, and cross-cutting had been dubbed down. They wanted it to look cinematic and stylish but it really just became increasingly annoying.
-Savepoints are often too far apart and there is only one or two approaches to certain situations that won't result in your death. It's also a bit wonky that they just give you more painkillers and bullet-time for repeated deaths.
-Sat through some frustrating last-man-standing deaths because my attacker was nowhere to be seen within the small area that the camera literally forces you to shoot within. I understand that they want you to know where your attacker is, but was this really necessary?