When Max Payne first launched way back when in 2001, it was an instant smash hit, almost entirely thanks to two things - its strong sense of storyline, and its use of slow motion gameplay. Letting you hit a button to activate bullet time, the game effectively let you turn yourself into a tribute to the Matrix, diving into a room in slow motion, firing off bullets that left trails of distortion in the air, letting you blow everything up in the most cinematic way possible before your plummeting body even touched the ground. The sequel, Max Payne 2 expanded on everything the first game had done, and more, by pushing the story to the forefront in a self-described "Film Noir Love Story", as the bitter ex-detective with the improbable name fought a dark underground war full of betrayals, backstabbing, vengeance, and a woman he'd grow to love. For fans of useless trivia, it also featured the greatest song ever written, Late Goodbye, by the Poets of the Fall, who went onto later fame in Alan Wake as the Old Gods of Asgard.
Max is back. As ever, he's not that happy.
After some eight years in hiding, however, it seems Max's demons are beginning to catch up with him again. After falling into a deep depression at the end of the third game, Max hit the bottle, and, in an attempt to flee from his past, escaped to Sao Paulo in Brazil. There, simply to get a few dollars to rub together, he takes on work as a private bodyguard for an attractive, and powerful young woman. But, as often happens, history finds a way to repeat itself, leaving Max fighting to clear his name, and save the life of a helpless young lady...
Guaranteed to be full of twists and turns (even though development's being handled by a different studio), and with the same mix of story driven, third person gameplay and out-and-out action, Max Payne 3 is due for a release in March 2012. In the meantime, you can find the debut trailer below, which gives a small taste of the plot of the upcoming game, if nothing else.
