Max Payne 3 Is A Disconnect From the Trilogy | A Retrospective

Max Payne 3 is the third and final entry into the Max Payne Trilogy and it is the only title not directly developed by Remedy Entertainment, and instead headed by Rockstar. This means the game is an excellent game no doubt, but does it belong as an entry into the established series...or perhaps is it a bit too disconnected from the source?
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[@BloodCell47]

My favorite part of Max Payne 3 was the flashback to Hoboken. Max killing that mob bosses' son was so iconic imo. Also the final shootout in the airport with Tears blasting in the background is so memorable. It's one of the memories that sticks with me even after so long. Also if you listen to the lyrics of the song it can be applied to Max's wife speaking to him from beyond the grave. "It's time to let me go. Give up on us. Follow what you want. Your memories are wrong. Save us once." I still listen to that song. Love the video and looking forward to your next work!

[@MrHammers]

I didn't actually know the lyrics! That's amazing, it's such a badass song and when it drops in the airport scene it gives you goosebumps. The Hoboken levels were so good as well, another person commented saying that the whole game should've been constructed around the Hoboken design and I agree. Maybe more flashbacks, or just have a larger focus on Max's roots. Thanks homie 🤙

[@michaelarmellino8334]

Straight up was my favourite part too

[@KH0LRA]

Seeing their graves there too was also another thing I liked tbh, Vinnie Gognitti probably not having most of himself being buried there lol Also TEARS (and PAIN) are the best in the score hands down 🙇🏻‍♀️

[@elilennon1678]

The flash back was the best part of the game it was the game I wanted it to be

[@Turismoshepard]

If you love the song Tears, you might like the GTA Video I made of it on my channel. Shameless plug😁

[@liamriddell8461]

"You'll walk with a limp." Is a bad ass fucking line

[@esteemedyams]

And it's a delicious twist on that old trope where the good guy lets the bad guy live but then he has to kill him anyway because he pulls out a secret weapon or whatever.

[@BrandonFlint-ro2ns]

And he snaps the dude's leg in half. Brutal.

[@carlpissatto1198]

No its just a bad line

[@Ava6581]

Max Payne 1: Snow Max Payne 2: Rain Max Payne 3: Sun

[@RobertEdwinHouse9]

That why max Payne 2 is the best and 3 the worst

[@UnskippableCinematic5875]

@@RobertEdwinHouse9 Yes and no.

[@danielgeronimo5538]

*sun everywhere else dark in some place else

[@Endru85x]

More like : Sun that covers the filth, corruption and nasty places that are not that far from what Max seen on daily basis.

[@christian.xavier.villagran]

@@RobertEdwinHouse9moron its got it all.

[@Scallycowell]

As much as I love this series and especially Max Payne 3, I don’t think a fourth game is warranted with how the last one ends. Max fought through the darkness of the first only to find no relief, tried to find love and again was left with nothing by the end of the second game, and in trying to escape his past in the third, he finally is given the light at the end of the tunnel that he had spent the last twenty some-odd years fighting for. Max deserves his retirement. He deserves to live in the sun after wallowing for so long in the dark.

[@ghostalk2em159]

Bro to be honest I'll be happy to get one but I'm good 👍doe I'm not really interested in it but love the series doe they need me make a new street crimes series

[@olzhas1one755]

Finally someone who agrees on this. I mean, even the first game wrapped up nicely, but Max Payne 3 isn't too bad.

[@yeihernandez5012]

Yeah, otherwise it would feel like Punisher. It would be better a remake trilogy.

[@monstergonads11]

I agree 3 left off perfect. I don’t really want to see poor max get dragged through hell a 4th time lol. I’m not really expecting it to be that great either. When you have 3 incredible games in a row you just can’t really expect the 4th one to top it’s predecessors, just feels very likely it will be a little washed up and dragged out.

[@dearhorse085]

I really liked the cutscenes in Max Payne 3. They're expertly directed and well put together. They're there mostly to hide loading screens, but they do get repetitive since you can't skip a lot of them. The "Mona business" and other shenanigans from the first game get mentioned in chapter 8 if you choose to interact with the tomb stones.

[@constantinezh7156]

Cutscenes are not expertly directed. The beginning was ok, but then they're just over-using aberration and random floating text from the dialogues in every single cutscene. Not for artistic value or purpose, just for style, and yeah it gets boring and repeptitive. Unskippable cutscenes are the reason I only played this game twice, whilst Max Payne 1 and 2 I have finished like 10 times.

[@brysonbridges1496]

Cutscenes suck in this game, the glitchy screen affect gets annoying after the 100th time it’s used

[@K1LL3Rm0nkay]

I dont mind the cutscenes, there are just WAAAAYYYY too many. The game screeches to a hault every few minutes for a cutscene. I wish they put more of the cutscene content in gameplay.

[@WM-mu8ep]

I know this video is like a year old but that's not the point. People have said for years since 3 came out that the cutscenes were tedious. If someone doesnt care about a story they shouldn't have to watch it in any game if they just want the gameplay. That should be a individual's choice. It's not just that though I didnt like 3s gameplay and cover system

[@jonathanbirch2022]

I hate the control of the character being taken away from me every 3 minutes. There’s even a cutscene for Max climbing a ladder for crying out loud

[@n.a8396]

I think Dan Houser loved and respected the character so much that he wanted to give the old hardass his walk into the sunset. Love that song and scene, gets me every time

[@nikobellic8290]

Max Payne 3 didn't get the love it deserves It is one of my all time favourite game🖤

[@nothingforyouhere418]

Max payne is my favorite and i didnt particularly like 3 because of the reasons in this video

[@iamsick_gaming]

@@nothingforyouhere418 yeah you're on crack max payne is great game and all grew up playing 1 and 2 on the ps2 but max payne 3 has the best shooting mechanics for any 3rd person action shooter.

[@robert779]

@@nothingforyouhere418 Max Payne 3 is the best of the trilogy because of Health’s soundtrack ALONE!

[@WM-mu8ep]

I didnt like max payne 3. I loved the first 2 max Payne's. I also loved wet and the f.e.a.r. trilogy. Hated max payne 3 though.

[@axd2312]

@@robert779 LoL, you are a kid

[@mr.skarkasm7755]

Max payne 3 had a 3 part comic series released for free that explains some of the things that happened between max payne 2 and 3, Mona got on to opening a hotel(as seen in a TV ad), Jim bravura got a heart attack and had to let max go from the department after the scandal of him killing a(Later discovered to be a corrupt cop) detective, and going on a mob murdering spree, they did leave him with a bit of money that max had been living off of.

[@bigwavesun]

They should've included that back story into the game. Would've made more sense, but still very weird considering he finds peace at the end of the second game. Oh well.

[@trupaozbornowie9513]

Mona died homie its mentioned in the comic and in the "Ain't No Reprievement Gonna Be Found Otherwise" chapter , that hotel thing is just a reference/maybe a sanity slippage. Max even says that he might be losing it.

[@AydarBMSTU]

Ah yes, the thing that's required to be in the game, sure, take it out

[@arkanjoteixeira]

And believe it or not, Sam Lake co-wrote these comics.

[@3ShotTGK]

I had the comic series and if I remember correctly it ends as soon as Max pulled the gun on DeMarcos kid

[@Kaisaccountt]

Dan houser is a great writer but sam lake understood who max payne was as a character better. I wish he wrote max payne 3 instead of houser. We could’ve potentially gotten the greatest trilogy in gaming history.

[@ivan_vulic]

Changing the writer makes less than 0 sense. Imagine someone other than J.K Rowling writing the last book of Harry Potter. Nobody would've acknowledged it as official since no "law" or "paper" can claim that someone other than you is "the parent of your baby."

[@Garland846]

I think Max is largely accurate in personality and motivations, the dialogue is just less poetic and more crude and cynical

[@erminioottone1344]

​​​@@Garland846accurate? Max Payne 2 literally ends with Max being in peace with his past and being mentally stable. Max Payne 3 is a great game, but we can say the truth: it's one of the best shooter ever made and one of the worst sequel ever. Rockstar wanted to make Man on Fire: The Game and also wanted to give a realist and crude portrait of Brazil situation, they had the Max Payne IP in their portfolio and they thought it would be cool to have the Man on Fire game set in Brazil with the bullet time mechanic from Max Payne. They regressed the character to fit the Man on Fire adaptation, they watched Elite Squad and Max Payne 3 was born (story wise of course). Yes, the monologues are there but the writing is totally different, he simply isn't the same person. I mean, at that point they were free to do whatever they wanted with the franchise, but it's objective that every choice made with Max Payne 3 only answered to Rockstar needs, with very little concern about the first two games. I understand the shifts from Remedy's style in terms of tone, atmosphere, setting and plot, Rockstar had to have their take and put their DNA and vision in the game, but it was the bare minimum to expect at least consistency with the character development from the the first two game.

[@SlurpyPie]

I still think it's a great trilogy but Sam should've definitely been the main writer considering how well he understood Max. Not to discredit Dan at all considering how many incredible stories he's written hell even tho I have my problems with MP3's story it's still pretty decent and what it tries to do in terms of its themes and all is nothing short of incredible but it would've been even better if they included Sam. Hopefully if they decide to remake MP3 just like the first two games Sam could polish up the story a bit more and then it'd be basically perfect imo

[@EVHORIA4EVER]

at the time when MP3 was about to be released, marvel comics released a tie-in written by sam lake. in the comic it showed what happened after the events of MP2 and what happened before MP3 begins. you also get a peek of max childhood in the comic. it was a short but interesting series.

[@AydarBMSTU]

Ah yes, the thing that's required to be in the game, sure, take it out

[@MerlautZone]

It was co-written by Dan Houser who had reached out to Sam to write the earlier portions of Max's life.

[@matthewbyrd810]

It would've been cool for them to incorporate this as a graphic novel cutscene like the ones they used in the first Gane

[@marcosmaldonado5393]

Hoboken´s chapters, specifically the cemetery part for me is one of the most Max Payne´s moment on this game, specially with the music " Dead " by Health with the baby´s cries in background. Separate point, Sam Lake is a genius.

[@adriantrusca1245]

Mona is mentioned in Max Payne 3 in the graveyard level. You just gotta know wich grave stone to click on. Also you could play as her in the multiplayer.

[@WestCoastGamer64]

That and Sam Houser and Sam Lake wrote a 3 part comic mini series, going over Max’s back story and everything else building up to the first flashback mission in MP3.

[@gabrielgicuta8538]

Yes,only a sentence.that is too bad.

[@buzzsawgr81]

mona is referenced in MP3, you can find her grave in the cemetery. and also the little jersey shore reject that max puts a bullet in in the bar flashback also mentions him being involved with killers (another reference to his romance with mona).

[@buzzsawgr81]

@Samuel Giam there are 3 graves you can interact with, winterson's, vinnie's, and mona's.

[@cor.tenebrarum]

5:22 she is mentioned in intro cutscene for cementery level as is detective Winters when you investigate tombstone in the same level.

[@ExeErdna]

That intro hits different now that Dan left Rockstar. His writing is legendary

[@nild9153]

Mediocre at best honestly

[@-.stranger.-]

@@nild9153 couldn't agree more

[@MerlautZone]

@@nild9153 Considering GTA IV or Niko Bellic alone, I can't agree. Dan's style just didn't fit Max Payne as good.

[@bipstymcbipste5641]

@@MerlautZone Yeah, he's a great writer. I think the GTA games all show it but Max Payne is not his style

[@HelterSeltzer_the_one]

I get your points. I've never played the other two. They totally went with the grainy VHS look on this one. I feel that someone was sold on this game as a R* version of Kane and Lynch. Haha

[@gagejohnathan9641]

And it paid off. Lot better than Kane and Lynch themselves

[@HelterSeltzer_the_one]

@@gagejohnathan9641 yeah. Max Payne 3 was a good game. But I also understand the video's points and how he feels it is a disconnect.

[@MerlautZone]

I woulda loved if R* had given Kane & Lynch a go since Square Enix clearly aren't gonna do more with the IP. : (

[@fernandog.ramirez.6917]

What would do great is a full on remake of the first two games but with the mechanics of 3. Leave the story, the comic book style cutscenes intact and just revamp the games.

[@bigkmoviesandgames]

Yeah I really wish that the third game had the comic-book style cutscenes because waiting for the damn game to load as I was waiting to skip the cutscenes on my playthroughs was so annoying.

[@saurabhgogoi340]

Exactly

[@brandonplaisted8194]

Just don't have grove street games do it as seen in the gta trilogy Remastered.

[@bigkmoviesandgames]

@@brandonplaisted8194 preferably remedy could make it.

[@wetalkinb0utpractice]

You're getting what you wanted

[@MarkoVuckovic32]

I love all 3 Max Payne games but my favourite is definitely this one. The story is great, graphics hold up extremely well even today, the shooting mechanics are still unbeaten when it comes to third person shooters in my opinion and that airport level combined with Tears gives me goosebumps every single time I play it. I have no idea how many times I already completed it but I always come back to it at least once a year

[@axd2312]

Really? The story of MP3 is great? I'm sorry bro but you don't seem to know much about storytelling and narrative. All you care about is Graphics.

[@MarkoVuckovic32]

@@axd2312 I do not care only about graphics, the shooting mechanics are amazing as well and story may not be the best ever but it's not bad either also Max's monologue described his character perfectly in my opinion, it is a bit sarcastic, occasionally fun and maybe even relatable from time to time.

[@axd2312]

@@MarkoVuckovic32 Alright bro, i understand. But according to me, as far as the story is concerned, maxpayne 1 and 2 were great.

[@taw4527]

Max Payne 3 on PC is the greatest 3rd person shooter of all time. the combat and gunplay are unmatched to this day

[@Gotakibono]

Man, your videos are incredibly well made and you continually improve and outdo yourself. Keep it up and I swear the sky is the limit for you. I've even put you on my featured channel list because I want as many people as possible to come across your channel. Fantastic work and I look forward to what's next. Hope all is well with you. :)

[@MrHammers]

Damn man, thank you! I am honored. Much love dude

[@Journey_Awaits]

2:35 the soundtrack bangs so hard......you should take a look at Kane and Lynch it’s basically the low budget Max Payne.

[@thewarriors3048]

Kane & Lynch is an ugly game.

[@we-must-live]

@@thewarriors3048 "kane & lynch is an utterly irredeemable game."

[@michaeldaley724]

Kane and Lynch is Max Payne if he took a lot of cocaine

[@lucaswibisono1316]

And it hit hard. As in you can't shoot straight.

[@fobo3361]

Extremely low amount of views for such a well crafted video, dont be discouraged tho you'll for sure find your audience in time Edit: nevermind seems you already have XD

[@javilcm]

Mona, winterson, vinnie gognitti, and punchanelo were all mentioned in max payne.

[@TDUShelby]

I won't pretend to like the first two games as MUCH as I do the third, but I get that's more to do with me than the games themselves. I like to play MP3 every year or two, if only because it's such a good trip.

[@SaberRexZealot]

I think Max Payne 2 has aged incredibly well personally. 3 was always my favorite but revisiting 2 gave me pause. They’re both incredible fun. 1 is more rough around the edges.

[@thepassingstatic6268]

@SaberRexZealot yeah. I think it's because of the canned death animations in MP1. Even down to the explosions, you would always fly though the air the exact same way. I liked MP3 alot, but I do see people's point about how this doesn't truly capture that noir feel. I felt like I was playing through a Michael Mann film, and I say that as a postive

[@dibadu234]

I'm really getting into your channel, since i found it the other day. This is some quality content about some of my favorite gaming memories. You covered every rockstar game that flew undeservedly under the radar... You're on an interesting journey.

[@MrHammers]

Thanks dude! Glad you like it

[@brandonwooldridge1877]

It would be amazing if Remedy bought back the rights to Max Payne. Those first two games are some of the best narrative driven third person shooters ever. OG Max Payne especially is a true classic. The dark noir theme, Max's overly poetic storytelling coupled with the 4th wall breaks were hilarious and a very memorable

[@Densiozo]

I don't like 3 and I still don't like. I really wish Remedy didn't sell Max Payne to Rockstar. The story is pretty basic, you know right from the start that it's a member of the family that did the bullshit. I only liked the throwbacks part. The game is not funny, too serious. Max Payne 1&2 were tragic, noire and funny at the same time. Alan Wake feels mord like Max Payne than Max Payne 3

[@brandonwooldridge1877]

@@Densiozo I never played Max Payne 3 but based off the footage Ive seen it looks fun. Too many cutscenes though

[@Densiozo]

@@brandonwooldridge1877 Just play Max Payne 1&2 and their mods. It's more fun

[@REblll]

Love your take in these vids! Your definitely my favorite new discovery!

[@MrHammers]

♥️ Thanks so much

[@yonimeller]

The title makes no sense - Max Payne 3 *is* part of the trilogy.

[@MaynardCrow]

It doesn't feel like it belongs in a trilogy with the other two games.

[@yonimeller]

@@MaynardCrow Sure, but it's a disconnect from a trilogy. That would only work if there were three previous games (a trilogy) and it didn't belong with them.

[@SpeakDaTruth11]

5:10 Mona's grave can be found in the graveyard sequence and max makes some depressing remark about it

[@jbk19xx57]

Honestly, the game is AWESOME, I’d give anything to play it. It should be re-released on current and next gen consoles.

[@Disissid19]

It should be given mouse and keyboard support. It can be very punishing on controller

[@jbk19xx57]

@@Disissid19 Yes in some cases.

[@chiefr9627]

@@Disissid19 It's on PC. You just have to put up with Rockstar Social Club. Honestly the shooting and mechanics are pretty on point.

[@TazZ243]

You can play it on next gen.

[@spencerhering8684]

Mona is mentioned. When max is reminiscing at his wife and daughters grave

[@paco680]

Being the first I played in the trilogy, I have to say it's a perfect and awesome game...now I wait for the remake of 1 and 2

[@jaythegr33nundead8]

Love Max Payne 3, it’s a masterpiece to me. Loved the combat, environment, gang wars was awesome & lots of fun, the unlockable cosmetics were cool, my favorites were the demonic skulls & absolutely will always love the soundtrack! I still fire it up from time to time just for the atmosphere. 🍻 To Max Payne!

[@JellyJman]

Ah yes, the "it's a good game, it's just not a good Max Payne game" take. How brave.

[@we-must-live]

ha. really though, i think max payne 3's ending is quite fitting for the series: you've been playing as a traumatized, hard boiled af, nihilistic shell of a man - spouting more noir-istic one-liners than physically capable from any other, non-maxpayne protagonist. every other ending of the series has max spouting some hopeful words for the future, yet... it never feels like the end (even though it does, know what i mean?). for example, 1 ends on a high note - max has got his revenge and is no longer haunted by his 'ghosts', but we know there are still unresolved plot points, stories and a lot more. 2 capitalized on that, and introduced us to a whole new tale, 'max and mona, sitting in a tree, K.I.L.L.I.N.G!' - but, by the end, there's still the unknown status of mona, and even though max seems utterly content, there's still a lingering thought in the back of your mind that says he could do more. guess that's what lead to 3. and for 3, there's no cinematic sendoff - max isn't shoved back into the police car and his life of detectivism, neither is he embraced by his lover, dead or alive... max just watches the aftermath of his actions, and for once in his hard-boiled-to-the-point-of-inedibility life... he doesn't say anything. because there is no more to say - max payne is over, and his legacy will be remembered forever... like an beach sunrise after a hard day of work. max payne: a man who has felt an extreme amount of loss, regret and overall pain (perhaps to the maximum extent), yet manages to turn that pain into something positive for the world at large.

[@jernie9384]

@@we-must-live I just thought that all of that already happened in part 2 so it’s more or less a repetition of the same narrative. Max experiencing loss and trauma only to realise that he can’t change the past nor fight against his grieve. You could say that was the whole Redon they implemented mona in the first place. I absolutely love 3, but „great game, not so great sequel“ fits the bill perfectly.

[@habadasheryjones]

You mean the opinion that amounts to "I wanted the same setting as the first two games, the exact same characters as the first two and I want nothing to be new or different ever despite an entirely different developer." That's all I ever hear. "It betrays Max Payne as a character and a franchise yaddayadda." You already got two games with your long noir york nights and your graphic novel cutscenes. Two games where Max is the same guy, free of any meaningful change or development. I love those games more than most but a change for 3 was super necessary. The hate for a bald Max Payne walking around Sao Paulo just goes to show that people were too hung up on aesthetics to notice it never betrays Max's character. It finishes his arc from a stale cynical drunk believing his own fatalistic fantasy to man who not only free from his demons but reclaimed a sense of agency in his life as well. I feel strongly that another long snowy night in New York, capping greaseballs again, where Max either dies at the end or doesn't change full stop would have been as faithful a sequel as it would have been feverishly bland. Dead Space 3 bland. Videogame sequels should aspire to be more than "just play the greatest hits again in a shinier engine." When I hear people say Max Payne 3 is a bad sequel what they really mean is it was an unsafe sequel that challenged their expectations of a third game beyond their comfort zone.

[@AydarBMSTU]

@@habadasheryjones gonna cry?

[@habadasheryjones]

@@AydarBMSTU gonna contribute to the discourse at all, troll?

[@scottypittman1]

This is a great review to wrap up three of my favorite games ever. Great work on the videos man. Also, do you have a reference for Remedy saying Mona surviving was canon? I'm curious about it.

[@pelvisdrones237]

I like the charm of 3 of the dirty brutal parts of Brazil where it's last place you want to be and the shoddy camera effects with the glitch adds to the dirty and ugly feel of the game it's going for, it's one place max didn't want to be and it shows

[@sashen6678]

BTW, Rockstar DID acknowledge the events of MP2 in a graphic novel that serves as a prequel to MP3.

[@Haytes1991]

So, I saw you video in recomended and I liked it. Also you motivated me to playe Max Payne 3, though I haven't played 1 and 2. I'll do it eventually, anyway thanks for video!

[@MrHammers]

Thanks! Max Payne 3 is amazing all on its own, no need to play the first 2 at all, I highly recommend them, but I understand a lot of people may be turned off by the dates graphics and such. Have fun with Max Payne 3!

[@Haytes1991]

@@MrHammers well, I don't care about graphics, I like retrogaming, and I'm playing a lot of old games of ps1-ps2 era. Though yeah, sometimes it might be problems with gameplay but this is other question already.

[@MrHammers]

Oh nice! Ps1-ps2 era had some of the best games there is. Games I grew up with haha

[@Nickzstuff]

Hell yes been waiting for this! 😀

[@MrHammers]

Thanks fam

[@ChristopherDonnerArtist]

I think it's one of the best games ever made .

[@KH0LRA]

It actually was the first game that took me a second chance to love! the difference shook me but as I played it again but I actually grew to love it as it is, despite how retcon it felt to me in terms of the series' established identity and lore. it stands on its own and I agree with that consensus. I can get with the rest of the story (they tried to be different and I really appreciate that) but it actually pissed me off how Max brushed off Mona like that despite how remarkable her prescence was to her in the second game. She was a big help to your identity crisis but go off I guess? Still love his character though

[@doktor3196]

Rest in peace James Mccafrey.

[@hatman3636]

I honestly felt like the Max Payne portrayal in this game was what let it down the most in terms of being a strong title in the series. For example, he's a seasoned detective, and yet he can't put 2 and 2 together that he's being used until the very end of the game? Seemed ridiculous, and just a way to piece the plot together more conveniently. Plus the charm of Max Payne's noir-esque one-liners and cheesy wisecracks was what really made Payne such a memorable and irreverent protagonist, and it's replaced by what feels like a cheap imitation of those tropes (read: crass and expletive-laden). Having said that, I really enjoyed the game itself.

[@carnagepool7564]

I mean, he was drinking and popping pills for the majority of the game. Not exactly gonna solve any cases on that stuff.

[@hatman3636]

@@carnagepool7564 If he’s sober enough to pick up a gun, he should be sober enough to see the writing on the wall with Paso et al.

[@carnagepool7564]

@@hatman3636 a lot of people use guns while under the influence, the fuck?

[@ethandinchong32]

@@carnagepool7564 he doesn’t understand who max payne is. Bro sees himself as a failure, hes far from perfect.

[@unimportant719]

Pretty late to the party, but seems that Max is Sorta autopiloting for the whole time he is in San Paulo until he gets to talk to De Silva. He says that he never stopped to think about what was going on during the mission in Panama he was so disconnected that he was there only to get payed and disappear when he could retire essentially.

[@mgiebus1869]

What an awesome, well done video. You touched on my biggest issue with the game, the cutscenes. It makes replaying a chore as I'm going through the trilogy again. Still pretty cool that the worst game is still a phenomenal game tho

[@Garland846]

I don't get why people call Max "dumb" in 3 like he isn't wacked out of his mind on booze and pills for a majority of the game and only gains clarity towards the end. The scene where he charges into the room shouting "PUT THE GUNS DOWN!" is often used as an example of his downgraded intelligence... But he does the exact same thing at the start of Max Payne 2.

[@frank1313]

Max Payne 3 was my first Max Payne, but I agree with you, I’ve re played this game like 100 times & I love the gameplay, but the story writing is so much better in MP 1 & 2.

[@YoungSwaggness]

Great vid new sub 👍🏾

[@antoino1438]

the shooting in this game is so great but being interrupted every 5 seconds by a cutscene of a bad guy opening a door fucks me up every time

[@Pupppeteer]

Mr hammers smashes in once again! It has been a while but glad to see you put the cherry on this max Payne retrospective cake. Great work bro this is fantastic.

[@MrHammers]

Thanks my dude. Much appreciated, it feels good to conclude this series

[@thewardenofoz3324]

Nice Fallout 3/NV computer sounds in the opening sequence! I'm currently replaying New Vegas so it jumped right out at me.

[@bobblackmesa7914]

I feel that the max payne trilogy emulates the evolution of the action movie genre. With Max Payne, it was an homage to cheesy Hong-Kong action movies, it didn't take itself very seriously, and had some ridiculous elements, like the goofy facial expressions and dialogue. Max Payne 2 obviously had a more noir aesthetic, the game took itself more seriously, and was overall more realistic and less silly than the first game. Max Payne 3 is like a more modern action movie, right down to the gameplay, first of all, the story takes itself very seriously, and the game is far more gritty and violent than the first 2 games. It also has modern action flick style set pieces, boat chases, explosions, crushing people with vehicles, shooting grenades, and ziplining while mowing down enemies.

[@jaycobrichardson7041]

This was a great send off to Max. Even though this series doesn’t NEED a sequel, a remaster would be nice in the future.

[@Bandyk94]

Played Max Payne as a child. Really fucked up my childhood, seeing his murdered wife and baby.. So obviously this is one of my favorite games. Never understood the people complaining about the 3rd entry tho. Yeah it was bright and colorful but the story itself was still dark and gritty. Only thing missing was Mona.

[@SolidusGriloShow]

Loved the video! Like Journey awaits said, you should check or make a video about Kane and Lynch! Love those 'grungy' games, it shows the real state of the world.

[@TheBedroomSimRacer]

That airport level really reminds me of a certain MW2 mission....

[@StalkingPigeon]

Tasty, man! Very tasty! Perfect representation of the subject matter! I was there for Remedy’s seedier days, and when i saw you threw up a Max Payne Retrospect, I’m happy to say you delivered on every point i felt deserved spotlight. Well written, engaging, respectful of the subject while engaging in areas that deserve criticism of their dissonance.. a damn fine video, man! Im about to chew on Your Max Payne “Defying All Odds” Retrospect!

[@MaccaveliPL]

Mona business was mentioned in the game. They went with the ending where she died.

[@evanharrison4054]

Personally, I think setting a noir crime thriller in Sao Paulo was a brilliant idea. It's really tiring that all of them are set in New York or nighttime/raining Chicago. See, I maintain that the essence of noir is not in the visuals, but rather the story structure and the general attitude of the protagonist. Watching Max Payne hate Sao Paulo from top to bottom wasn't as much genre bending as it was a reimagining of the essence of the genre itself. I once read a sci-fi short story that took place in the time of the dinosaurs, millions of years ago. The main theme was the dinosaurs contemplating about the end of their era(due to dwindling organic resources) and the fact that very little, if any proof of their civilization will remain due to the fact that they built and wrote everything using organic materials while living a mostly nomadic lifestyle(the predators followed the herd that migrated from greenery to greenery) By superficial appearances, the story isn't science fiction, but it fits the category nonetheless, and, if anything, it improves upon it by bringing radical new ideas. That's what I think Max Payne 3 is. It took a classic character from "blackwhiteredworld" and then transported it into one of the most colorful, vibrant, but also vapid, economically disparate regions of the world. The colors and the settings don't matter as much as the sardonic responses the main character has about his environment and situation. See, Max is a noir character. He would remain a noir character even in the middle of the Rio Carnival. He could wear a three foot feathered headdress and a pink boa and he'd still be miserable.

[@remimartin8493]

Until the end... When he find peace of mind

[@Cj-xt6tv]

Great comment

[@Masterprocrastinator223]

Now that end part is a funny mental image.

[@yadielrodriguez4850]

They do mention Mona sax when you find the detective’s grave

[@michaelpitcher2820]

It’s so underrated . I like it AS much as the original 2 games and would love to see it out again

[@monstergonads11]

One of my favorite game series. The writing, tone, action, are all spot on. Such memorable and quotable games, you just have to love max’s character too. As serious and dark as it is, it also has the perfect air of lightheartedness to it to make it stand out from others. Supreme blend

[@wafflebunny123]

Ive finished max payne 3 about like 3 times already and I still go back and replay the whole story Its one of my favorite games.

[@ozandogan6769]

I mean yeah Max Payne 3 feels like it's disconnected because it's disconnected. It takes place in a different city with different people that speak different language so as the player and the character you feel disconnected, you don't know what's going on you don't know who's is who and that's what Rockstar was aiming to achieve. Even Max have lines about him feeling like a fish out of water. Solid video anyways appreciate your work.

[@nicholasdanger627]

Max Payne ended his story, let him live in peace. Let him sit on a beach somewhere thinking about the past, drinking a soda when he'd much rather have a whiskey living a quiet life

[@bipstymcbipste5641]

His story was already done by MP2. He found his peace and accepted his loss. It was time to move on but 3 comes barralleing in and undoes all of that

[@jonbourgoin182]

Max Payne 3 is still my only experience with the franchise. My local game shop had like over a dozen used copies of it for the 360 so I bought it on a whim for like 4 bucks. I found it to be a really frustrating experience and didn't have the patience to finish it. If I had paid more for it I probably would have stuck it out but I just said screw it and instead played through the other game I bought that day, The Evil Within.

[@raymxslappedyall3660]

watching that airport scene here was engrossing, thank u

[@SickBoyOC]

When you mentioned games left in the dust Smugglers Run belonged there too. But nobody ever remembers Smugglers Run 😢

[@MrHammers]

I remember smugglers run!! 😉

[@SickBoyOC]

@@MrHammers you're one of the few man not one video covering Rockstar's legacy do people mention Smugglers Run but they were so much fun! Respect man you earned a sub from me been watching your vids I like them

[@MrHammers]

Thanks my guy, much appreciated

[@lyricengg6942]

Great video

[@karamil9556]

What you got wrong is that Mona is briefly mentioned once in the opening Cinematic "I still hadn't forgiven myself for the Mona business but I knew that was in pure grief"

[@SaberRexZealot]

Don’t care what some people say, the entire Max Payne trilogy is an absolute gem. Just pure unadulterated violence coated in a thick layer of poetic caramel narration.

[@abdelali9279]

It's not like Max doesn't remember, it's that he's in witness protection!

[@abadi12416]

Matto will be in your nightmare 😂

[@UnskippableCinematic5875]

5:16 FR BRO!? I'm just learning this. Thanks.

[@Z3AL316]

There needs to be remakes of Max Payne and Max Payne 2 and a remaster of Max Payne 3

[@ryanbentley8475]

I love the seriousness & I don't think the lack of comic panels is a bad thing in my opinion.What happens to Mona is definitely puzzling though,although I think there's a vague comment made about her from Max but i can't remember what it was.

[@n1ch0l4st8]

Sam Lake as Max was Iconic, Timothy Gibbs and James McCaffrey, the latter also being the voice, were exceptional at visually being Max, but it was Sam Lake who wrote Max Payne the best, he made Max Payne even more depressing than GTA IV, and that was the story and atmosphere of Max Payne all the time. It wasn't the actor, it was the writer, Dan Houser was good writer, especially when you look at games like the more famous GTA series, but Max Payne 3 just felt like GTA V in mood, it lost the iconic Depression that Lake had put into the game

[@joshuaphillips755]

I finally got my hands on this recently and finished yesterday, so I was looking for a dive into the series... It was fun and felt like Max Payne, but it was definitely lacking in the story side. Thanks for the vid.

[@pRaX85815]

I cherish and love Max Payne 1. I have mixed feelings about Max Payne 2. I was very apprehensive about Max Payne 3 but in the end I felt like it's not only the best of the trilogy but it also does the character so much justice. Especially in combination with the music. Towards the end, when Tears starts to play... it hits so hard.

[@tylercouture216]

Max does mention Mona in Max Payne 3. He mentions her when he is at the gravesite of his family ...... someone needs to do a playthrough again lol

[@nima5398]

The song playing at the airport was dope as fuck, damn.....

[@hek9322]

I love your videos

[@DannyMillman.]

Great game! Great video!

[@zoubeirfaouzi149]

Max Payne 3 was Beautiful and Solid.

[@robertdiaz8658]

I remember alot of people not liking this game but I loved it especially the graphics imo it could pass as a modern game with just a little paint lol

[@GoDigital448]

FYI to those who may not know. Remedy and Rockstar games are currently remaking Max Payne 1 & 2 for next gen consoles

[@SwirlyJoe]

5:20 she's briefly mentioned a few times

[@thepassingstatic6268]

Max Payne IMHO doesn't need a sequel. What else is there for him to do? I think the 3 we have are more than enough, and I definitely understand what you mean when you say there's a disconnect, but I took that as a part of the overall ambiance. Max is in a WHOLE different part of the world. He's been there for a while and yet he's still a fish out of water. And I do think that they kind of addressed Mona and maybe his family in the game. In the beginning when he's in Mope Mode and he's staring at the picture: we never see what that picture is. We don't know if it's Mona or his wife. And then he says to himself "let it go" let what go? The pain of his past? The pain of Mona? His wife again? That's what I was thinking the 1st time I saw that. I would like to read the comics though, especially since Sam Lake had a hand in making them

[@wilhelmscream3813]

Max Payne 3 is written as if Max Payne 2 never happened. Remedy probably said that the 'Mona' lives ending of Max Payne 2 was canon so that Max Payne 3 could not be canon

[@mammoths_4229]

Haven’t played this since I was like 13, definitely time for a 3rd playthrough!

[@lowerclassbrats77]

Max Payne 3 is the only game in the series I've finished. I dabbled with 1 and 2 but now I feel like going back, really playing, and finishing them.

[@thedarkerknight2188]

8:26 does anyone know the name of this song? shazam cant seem to find it

[@ValdoMorais]

Missed college for a week to beat this game in the highest difficulty even tho never played it before

[@datawolf2318]

I disagree 1000 percent. All 3 connect very well in max pursuit of redemption and retribution. He finally found it in part 3.

[@newbrucewayn3]

First max Payne game I played in 5th grade 2012 . 360 double disc man this game is a underrated classic hope Xbox could have this backwards compatible or on game pass

[@PatricTheSpartian]

MP3 could have been a better Max Payne-esque game with another main character. An alarming amount of elements in the game just doesn't really work with Max, but they could work extremely well with some one else. Hell, I would be thrilled to play a fresh action shooter about a brazilian ex-cop.

[@grizzlysparks7117]

I’ve honestly never heard of any body not liking this game. This is probably in my top 5 favorites.

[@robert779]

Heck yeah! Smashing through nightclub windows, dealing with snipers in an empty soccer stadium, the airport shootout....Max Payne 3 is by far the best of the trilogy!

[@taw4527]

Max Payne 3 on PC is the greatest 3rd person shooter of all time. the combat and gunplay are unmatched to this day

[@Vman_95]

To me it felt like a good change that Max working as someone's personal bodyguard and done with cop work, but somehow chaos always found him. one of the best 3rd person linear shooting game of 2012. 🔥💯 I still hope rockstar atleast drop this on current and last gen with 60fps update.

[@Casshio]

Excuse me? Mona Sax survives? What the actual fuck. It made sense to me that Max didn't wanna talk about Mona aside from mentioning her when visiting the grave of his family. But if her survival is canon than... yea, that's ood. In any case. The depature in style and setting was in my eyes a very neat idea that was executed mostly well. Throwing Max into the unknown serves as the twisted holiday perfect for the years of midlife crisis he's been living through with no relief in sight other painkillers and booze. And the glitch effects do serve a purpose aswell. They underline the sheer amount of drug fueled violence that bang as distorted, noisy memories in Max's head. But aside from stellar action gameplay and the beautiful ugliness of this game I just loved that Max finally and actually won (again, didn't know about Mona...). He can now leave the past behind him. Just like lyrics of TEARS urged him to do.

[@reyjimenz]

It's not canon

[@dearhorse085]

He's just your friendly neighborhood Max Payne

[@AntTonyPony]

I totally agree about the story not feeling like the origal two Max Paynes. They should have went Noir with it. I would understand not going the dark noir setting if the game realesed only 3 or 4 years after the 2nd one, but this was 9 years later. It didnt need to feel new and fresh. It needed that nostalgia feeling of what we loved about Max Payne. I just hope they do a 4th one eventually. I just wish Remedy would be contracted out to do it, but that i know wouldnt happen. A dude can wish :)

[@robbyraystewart6978]

Can you provide the source for Mona's death not being canon? I've heard (although I can't find any legitimate sources) and assumed that she dies considering it's the default ending and her being alive is only unlocked by beating it for the third time on the hardest difficulty. Also, I'm guessing you don't know about the comics? They explain a bunch of what you say is never explained.

[@robbyraystewart6978]

Great set of videos, by the way man

[@MrHammers]

I swear I found an interview with Lake talking about Mona and which ending is canon, but I can't find it now. Maybe I am mistaken though. Even in the ending where she dies Max comes to peace with his family's death, and he feels at peace and in Max Payne 3 he is distraught and still haunted by it. No proper follow up either way, I do feel silly though about saying it's canon- I'll keep looking for where I found that. And no I haven't seen the comics, I'll have to search for those as well and check em out. Thanks dude!

[@robbyraystewart6978]

@@MrHammers I've seen that critisism alot about how he's finally at peace at the end of the second game and how it's thrown out the window for the third game, and I agree to a certain extent, but the same thing happens between the first and second game. At the end of the first game Max says that "his demons released him from his haunting" and that "the ragged clouds gave way to the stars above" after he gets his revenge. This seems to suggest that he's now at peace with himself, however, in the comic strip Max Payne's Past in the menu of Max Payne 2 he says that he was lying to himself and that it wasn't over yet. So to me it's not out of character or even that strange that, even after MP2s ending, Max still can't get over all the tragedies in his life and falls back into his depression. Anyway, your content is pretty good and I'm sure you will blow up one day, good luck!!

[@sublime90]

@@robbyraystewart6978 i agree. its not a stretch to see why max might not ever be over his wife and kid being murdered. but it would be interesting to see why and who he'd be fighting in a 4th game.

[@hatman3636]

@@sublime90 Max Payne must have enough PTSD to fill up 100 psychiatrist's offices.