Everything ripped apart in a New York Minute...

Now a days it seems almost impossible to release a realistic shooting game without blowing someone's hair back. If that follows true with Max Payne, anti-violence groups and Joe Lieberman are gonna have a field day with this game. Max Payne is the story about an NYPD cop whose life is turned to trash on one terrible night. Max was just recently married and fathered his first child, a baby girl. One day after coming home from the office he discovers that men who look like escaped insane asylum patients have broken into his house. Shortly after Max discovers the three men, and a scene that is not only scary but gutrenchingly sad as well, he finds that his baby daughter and wife have been brutally slain by these strange men. Max soon finds out that a strange symbol made in the form of a V and a medical syringe represents a new designer drug called Valkyr. After the death of his family, Max decides to join the DEA. But just as Max is about to make an incredible discovery, the only man who knew he was undercover is killed and suddenly Max is pulled into a war between himself, the mafia, and the NYPD. Talk about a story.

Graphics: 9 - After the initial scene of the game you soon figure out that this game is not for the lighthearted. The dark and damp graphics make you feel as if you are in the deepest and ugliest parts of the Big Apple. Even though almost all of the graphics are crisp an clean, some of the movements and facial features of the enemies in the game is strange and seems weird after you see it so many times. Another thing I noticed was how weird the sky looks. I realize that you ARE in the middle of the biggest snow storm in NY history but why does it constantly look like something out of the depths of hell with that strange red color? But all of this is nothing compared to how great the graphics look in Bullet Time, a mode where Max goes into this slow motion trance much like The Matrix.

Sound: 10 - The music from the title is freaky the first time you hear it, as is the music from the comic book scenes. It all fits in with the mood of the game though and that's why I thought the music was nothing but perfect. What adds to the greatness of the music is the realistic sounds of the guns and other random noises. Shoot a wall made of tile and it sounds just like tile shattering. Shoot a metalic wall and it sounds just like scraping metal. Shoot a wooden box and...well you get the idea. One thing that I was impressed very much by was the voice acting. Yeah Max does sound like any badguy hero you might hear but he DOES a very convincing job, as do the other characters in the game.

Control: 9 - The control scheme uses every single button the Xbox but does a good job at it. No button is used carelessly. As with most shooters on consoles now, R is used as the trigger, but what's really strange is the fact that the controler actually FEELS like a gun trigger. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this but I sure have. The thing that's bad about the scheme is that it's designed for a FPS when you're playing a TPS. Nonetheless, the scheme is designed very nicely.

Gameplay: 10 - If you're an action fan this is the game to get. No game that I have ever played based on this type of storyline, and yes I have played a few, has ever done it as good. When you use the Bullet Time for the first time and watch the bullets fly all over the place you'll be simply amazed. The only thing that's bad is that the game is WAY too short. I beat the game in less then a day but that was because I purposely rushed through it. I tried it on a harder difficulty and I got my tail kicked. There's no Multiplayer either which disapointed me. Still, it's always fun to come back and kill some mafia grunts whenever you're in the mood, and believe me you'll be doing ALOT of grunt killing.

Overall: 10 - It's too short, it gets really repeditive, and it's really dark. Then again, those are GOOD things as well as bad things. The too short factor makes sense as it did with Metal Gear Solid. You WANT the repeditiveness because killing the mafia bastards is pure fun. The dark mood is amazing in how they make you feel like you're actually in the game. The bad things translate into good things in the end. Add the amazing Bullet Time technology, stunning graphics, and music that will make you have nightmares all form into one great game. I'm not saying it's perfect...but it's about as close as you could get in a TPS. I want more PAYNE!