The Max Payne series was first developed on PC and was the birth of the cinematic action-shooter. It was a game designed around the choreography of shooting and manipulating time so that players could get the sensation of placing or reacting to every single bullet with precision and style, giving them the opportunity to enjoy each individual shot.
We’re very happy to be bringing Max Payne 3 back to PC and our goal is to create the most cinematic, sophisticated action shooter yet made.
Given its rich heritage, we knew that the PC version had to be thoroughly optimized for the platform, and so the PC version has been developed in parallel with the console versions.
The game has been designed to run beautifully straight out of the box, taking full advantage of everything the PC has to offer and we’re proud to say that Max Payne 3 will support Direct X 11 features including Tessellation. This means a higher frame rate, greater visual fidelity, precision mouse and keyboard controls, a full suite of customizable visual and control settings, and optional 3D functionality for an even greater sense of immersion.
We are also aware that not all of our fans are in a position to run Max Payne 3 the highest spec hardware, so we've made sure that the game will run amazingly well through a vast range of hardware configurations.
Max Payne 3 also pushes boundaries in the way that we’re presenting the action.
Max Payne 3 is pushing its own technological boundaries by using brand new editing techniques that treat gameplay like film - including a real time motion comic panel generator - to blur the lines between cutscenes and gameplay, and making the shifts from level to level completely seamless and free of load times.
Story Background
Max Payne 3 take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil after Max accepts a job offer from Raul Passos, a long-forgotten former colleague from the police academy days. Inadvertently, meeting Passos also winds up kicking off a chain of events that ultimately leaves Max with little choice but to leave his hometown of Hoboken, NJ.
When Max Payne 3 begins, Max and Passos are working to protect the family of industrialist Rodrigo Branco, including his two younger brothers, the politician Victor and playboy Marcelo. All three men are well known members of Sao Paulo’s wealthy upper class.
It’s when Rodrigo’s beautiful trophy wife, Fabiana is kidnapped by a gang called the Comando Sombra that all hell breaks loose, and Max finds himself at the center of something much bigger than a simple kidnapping
Gameplay Details:
Bullet time
Bullet Time is fundamental to the Max Payne experience, affecting almost every design decision in the game – from how Max moves, to the way AI reacts, the weapon designs, audio, and even the way each individual bullet is modeled.
Realistic Shoot-dodge
The integration of Natural Motion’s Euphoria character behavior system gives Max more realistic movements, including during shoot-dodges, with Max reacting to his environment and bracing for impact when shoot-dodging into or over obstacles.
Final kill-cam
The bullet-cams of the original games have become ‘final-kill’ cams, letting you know when you’ve taken out the last enemy in a specific area or wave. In addition, players can speed up or slow down the speed of each bullet in a final-kill cam, and the cameras are dynamic, depending on how you take the shot.
RAGE Engine and Animation
Max Payne 3 features cutting-edge advances in animation thanks to a new iteration of our own RAGE engine and tight integration of Natural Motion’s character behavior system. Thousands of animations work together with Euphoria to give Max a realistic momentum, weight and feel. Max places his feet naturally and does not skate or slide. Enemies also feature dynamic reactions to every shot registered by a bullet, whether in real-time or bullet time.
Graphic-Novel Cutscenes
Graphic novel cut-scenes are back for Max Payne 3, but instead of a set of static panels, they have evolved using a motion-comic feel that blends in-game footage, text and Max’s iconic monologue. These will be used in conjunction with in-game cinematic cut-scenes at different points in the game.
MULTIPLAYER
Our approach is to take Max’s kinetic sense of movement and artistry with weapons including Bullet Time and directly translate that into a multiplayer environment that builds on the themes and fiction of the single player game, and lives up to the single-player game in terms of sophistication, storytelling and cinematic presentation
Gang Wars
Gang Wars is a series of multiplayer matches based on events within the world of the single player game. The match objectives of each round shift dynamically based on the events of the round before to create a series of matches with their own unique story thread. So for instance, the team that grabbed the most turf in the previous round might have to defuse bombs set within their territory, or the player with the most kills from the round may suddenly find themselves the target of a hit squad in the following round. The goal is to add a layer of narrative and meaning to multiplayer matches, and create extra drama out of the interactions that go on between players within each match.
Payne Killer
Payne Killer gives players the chance to play as Max Payne in online matches, and take advantage of his special abilities and personality. And while it doesn’t have the same direct plot tie-ins that Gang Wars has, it still maintains the same detail and presentation, with narration delivered by Max. Because it combines cooperative and competitive elements, Payne Killer creates unique partnerships and rivalries that are constantly changing from moment to moment. We hope that Payne Killer helps build unique relationships with players, and delivers unique incentives to work together in a decidedly non-traditional way.
