Max Payne cover art
Games / Shooter / Max Payne

Max Payne

"Max Payne is a man with nothing to lose in the violent, cold urban night."

Remedy Entertainment·Gathering of Developers·MacSoft Games·3D Realms·Rockstar Games·Feral Interactive·Take-Two Interactive· July 23, 2001· Main Game
73
Critic Score
2 reviews
79
User Score
1.8k ratings

Max Payne is a man with nothing to lose in the violent, cold urban night. A fugitive undercover cop framed for murder, hunted by cops and the mob, Max is a man with his back against the wall, fighting a battle he cannot hope to win. Max Payne is a relentless story-driven game about a man on the edge, fighting to clear his name while struggling to uncover the truth about his slain family amongst a myriad of plot-twists and twisted thugs in the gritty bowels of New York during the century's worst blizzard. The groundbreaking original cinematic action-shooter, Max Payne introduced the concept of Bullet Time in videogames. Through its stylish slow-motion gunplay combined with a dark and twisted story, Max Payne redefined the action-shooter genre.

Released 23 July 2001 for PlayStation 4, Xbox, Android and PlayStation 2 by Remedy Entertainment, published by Gathering of Developers and MacSoft Games. Rated 18 by PEGI, 15+ by GRAC. About 11 hours to beat.

Story

In December 2001, as New York City is enduring the tail end of the worst snow blizzard in the history of the city, Max Payne, a renegade DEA agent and former NYPD detective, is standing at the top of a skyscraper with a sniper rifle in his hands, smiling, as police units arrive on the scene to arrest him. He then experiences flashbacks from three years ago and the last two days he experienced. Three years earlier, on August 22nd 1998, Max was working as a regular NYPD detective, having just finished his day's work. His longtime friend and DEA agent, Alex Balder, invites him to transfer into the DEA, but Max declines the offer, wanting to focus on his full-time life with his wife, Michelle, and their newborn daughter, Rose. As he returns to his house in New Jersey, he finds that a trio of junkies had broken into his house, all addicted on a brand new designer drug, Valkyr. Max receives a call from a mysterious woman who seems pleased at the trouble in the house and refuses to call for help. Max rushes to aid his family and kill the junkies, but is too late as he finds his wife shot dead, and his daughter slaughtered. After his family's funeral, Payne accepts Alex's offer, and transfers to the DEA at his own request to stop the spreading of the drugs.

Max Payne screenshots

Max Payne screenshot 1
Max Payne screenshot 2
Max Payne screenshot 3
Max Payne screenshot 4
Max Payne screenshot 5

Other versions of Max Payne

Games like Max Payne

Max Payne trailer and videos

E3 Trailer
E3 Trailer
Gameplay Video
Gameplay Video

Max Payne screenshots

Max Payne screenshot 1
Max Payne screenshot 2
Max Payne screenshot 3
Max Payne screenshot 4
Max Payne screenshot 5

Artwork & Box Art

Max Payne artwork 1
Max Payne artwork 2
PlayStation 4
Standard
NA
Apr 22, 2016
Xbox
Standard
EU
Mar 14, 2002
Xbox
Standard
NA
Dec 17, 2001
Android
Standard
WW
Jun 14, 2012
PlayStation 2
Standard
EU
Jan 11, 2002
iOS
Standard
WW
Apr 12, 2012
Mac
Standard
WW
Jul 16, 2002
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Standard
NA
Jul 23, 2001
PlayStation 2
Standard
JP
May 22, 2003
PlayStation 3
Standard
EU
May 2, 2013
Digital Compatibility Release
PlayStation 2
Standard
NA
Dec 6, 2001
Xbox 360
Standard
EU
Apr 27, 2009
Digital Compatibility Release
Xbox One
Standard
WW
Nov 15, 2021
Digital Compatibility Release
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Standard
EU
Jul 27, 2001
PlayStation 3
Standard
NA
May 1, 2013
Digital Compatibility Release
Xbox 360
Standard
NA
Apr 27, 2009
Digital Compatibility Release
PlayStation 4
Standard
EU
Apr 22, 2016
Critic Score
73 /100
Mixed or Average
Based on 2 professional reviews
Aggregated from professional game critics and publications.
User Score
79 /100
Generally Favorable
Based on 1.8k ratings
Aggregated from player ratings across platforms worldwide.
Score Comparison
Critics
73
Users
79
Score Guide
90–100
Universal Acclaim
75–89
Generally Favorable
Users
50–74
Mixed or Average
Critics
20–49
Generally Unfavorable
0–19
Overwhelming Dislike