Max Payne 3: Remedy was consulted

By Robert Purchese Published 23 September, 2011

"They've been extremely supportive."

Rockstar "discussed" Max Payne 3 with estranged series creator and Alan Wake maker Remedy Entertainment.

"They've been extremely supportive of our work," Rockstar's elusive Jeronimo Barrera, VP of product development, told GameSpot.

"Staying true to each core element of Max was always a major focus, and that's actually something that we discussed with Remedy during development."

News of Remedy's albeit sideline involvement will allay fears that Max Payne 3 will lose what made the original games so special.

"The game is very true to the original games in terms of gameplay, aesthetics, and visual and narrative themes, although [it's] updated to take advantage of the past nine years of game development," said Barrera.

"Yes, it has moved from a wet or snowy corrupt vision of New York to a sometimes wet and equally corrupt vision of a booming modern-day Brazil, but I don't think they are otherwise that different."

"In his own way, Max is probably the most tortured and put upon of all game heroes."

Jeronimo Barrera, VP product development, Rockstar

"Throughout development, we have always worked to maintain and evolve the elements that have made the Max Payne series so beloved and so groundbreaking," Barrera added, name-checking bullet-time slow motion, Max's internal monologues and the graphic novel-style cut-scenes.

"All these things are present in some way or other in Max Payne 3, along with several other elements from the original games," Barrera said. "Although all have evolved significantly since the last game, as it would be odd if they hadn't!"

The story of Max Payne 3 picks up "quite a few years" after the events of Max Payne 2. Max is working as a private security guard in Sao Paolo, Brazil, having left the New York Police Department. Max drunk many of the intervening years away.

One of the most striking images associated with Max Payne 3 has been Max with a bald head. But he's not balding; he has shaved his hair off.

"Max is not too much older than he was in Max Payne 2, and the scene of Max shaving his head comes at a pivotal point in the story that in many ways echoes similar moments in the earlier games," Barrera explained. At that point, Max is very much out of his depth.

"Max has always been described as a man on the edge, and he's often confronted by lose-lose situations that are beyond his control. In a moment of desperation, he decides that the best way to confront his enemies is to change his appearance.

"In his own way, Max is probably the most tortured and put upon of all game heroes, and we really wanted to show the impact of all that suffering and angst on his hard-bitten but lonely personality and how that suffering has impacted his behavior."

Max Payne 3 was announced in 2009 but was subsequently buried within Rockstar's schedule. The game has now firmly resurfaced.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (21) Latest comment 8 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • raduciu #1 8 months ago

    Why does the statement that the trailer was made exclusively from ingame footage bother me so much?

    This game is nothing like what i expected/wanted it to be.

  • Ultrasoundwave #2 8 months ago

    I personally cant wait for this - i think its going to be absolutely cracking.

  • LetsGoFlames #3 8 months ago

    @raduciu

    Things don't stay the say. Adapt or get left behind. Id suggest you go into the game with an open mind and not with a preconceived belief on how the game is supposed to be and you will probably enjoy the new Max Payne.

  • gribb #4 8 months ago

    @1. Let's just wait until we see more of the game before we judge. Rockstar made the second Max Payne and that was great!

  • spongebob #5 8 months ago

    It does look very generic, but I'd say at this point it's better to blame a bad trailer than the game itself.

  • Khosrau #6 8 months ago

    @gribb

    You're right and wrong.

    Right about that we should wait before we judge this game and wrong about Rockstar developing Max Payne 2.

    MP 2 was made by Remedy. It was a great game, that much is true enough.

  • arcam #7 8 months ago

    News of Remedy's albeit sideline involvement will allay fears that Max Payne 3 will lose what made the original games so special.

    I wouldn't bet on it ;)

    Personally I don't really care if the gameplay, characters, weapons have changed - but don't mess with the atmosphere of Max Payne, that's what makes it special.

  • bodypopper #8 8 months ago

    I like Remedy but at least there won't be variably-amusing bouts of Nordic/heavy metal influenced humour as seen in Alan Wake and the first two games ;-)

  • scuffpuppies #9 8 months ago

    It feels like I've been waiting for Max Payne 3 for far too long. As excited as I am, I just hope Brazil can still feed the classic 'Noir' aspects of the series. It just doesn't seem like the most obvious choice to me, and Brazil is becoming like the new New York for film makers and developers. It's as though they just look at the statistics for the highest crime rates, and stick a pin in it.
    "...our next game will be set in....Manchester?"

    Still, I've always had faith in Rockstar in-house development, if not their publishing.

  • el_pollo_diablo #10 8 months ago

    I thought Max Payne 2 was shite although that's almost certainly because I played it on a PS2. I loved the first one on PC.

  • X #11 8 months ago

    Like someone else has said I will wait before judging but the setting and atmosphere of the first two is what made them for me.

    This setting so far doesn't interest me at all.

  • raduciu #12 8 months ago

    @LetsGoFlames I don't want to adapt to mediocrity and that is what this trailer promotes. Cut the sound and give any Max Payne fan this video to watch and see if they can guess what game it represents. I wished for a fun action based noire game of at least Max Payne 2 quality. This ain't it. Hope i'm wrong, and the trailer fails to do the game justice.

  • cybertenchi #13 8 months ago

    @el_pollo_diablo - Try the PC version, so much better. I've begun playing it again recently.

  • Nova1977 #14 8 months ago

    It takes a little getting used to not seeing the comic book panels of the previous two games. I just hope they stick to classic film noir instead of the Michael Mann equivalent of it.

  • CamberGreber #15 8 months ago

    At least Remedy was involved in some manner.

    Hopefully sunny Brazil doesnt contrast with the games atmoshpere as much as fans fear.

    Still dont like the fact that he looks like Sam Fisherfrom Double agent.

  • pinchofsalt #16 8 months ago

    I think this one is a Chad for me.

  • jambii267 #17 8 months ago

    The shooting better be good, it's the only thing i'm worried that rockatar will fuck up.

  • Liquidoodle #18 8 months ago

    The single frame from the video is making me think Max Payne on Dead Island would be fun :p

  • kongzi #19 8 months ago

    i'm probably one of the few people that likes the changes. Rio is a great location, a lot more varied than NY and if there's one thing Rockstar is good at, it's exploiting a location. So I have no fears there. But there's a risk of it being a rather generic third person shooter based on RAGE. It needs environmental destruction and controls that are A LOT tighter than anything Rockstar has ever done. If Max moves around like Niko Bellic or John Marston in game.... auch...

  • Acrid #20 8 months ago

    Loved Max Payne but never got round to playing Max Payne 2 for some reason

  • danidrums #21 8 months ago

    @raducio I'm with you! Its like watching a COD's trailer, I watched it muted while listening to Fantomas. :D
    Edited by danidrums at 25/09/11 @ 01:29