Max Payne (film)

Max Payne is a 2008 American neo-noir action-thriller film loosely based on the video game series of the same name developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Rockstar Games. It was written by Beau Thorne and directed by John Moore. The film stars Mark Wahlberg in the title role as Max Payne, Mila Kunis as Mona Sax, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as Jim Bravura, and Beau Bridges as BB Hensley. The film revolves around revenge, centering on a policeman's journey through New York City's criminal underworld, as he investigates the deaths of his wife and child.

Filming took place between March and May 2008. Extensive visual effects were used in many scenes throughout the film. Max Payne was released on October 16, 2008 in Australia, one day prior to the United States release date. Reviews in the U.S. were mostly negative for the lack of character development and originality among numerous differences from the video game on which it is based. Despite the negative reviews, the film was able to take the top spot in the box office in its opening weekend and gross more than $85 million worldwide. Max Payne was released for home video on January 20, 2009.

Max Payne

Max Payne is a third-person shooter action thriller video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Gathering of Developers in July 2001 for Microsoft Windows. Ports created later in the year for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and the Game Boy Advance were published by Rockstar Games. A Mac OS port was published on July 16, 2002 by MacSoft in North America and Feral Interactive in the rest of the world. There were plans for a Dreamcast version of Max Payne, but they were canceled due to the discontinuation of the console. The game was re-released on April 27, 2009 as a downloadable game in the Xbox Originals program for the Xbox 360. The game was also re-released in the spring of 2012 as a downloadable game in the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 under the PS2 classics banner, iOS and on Android.

The game centers on NYPD Detective Max Payne, who attempts to avenge the murder of his family. It features a gritty neo-noir style and uses graphic novel panels (with voice-overs) in place of animated cutscenes to narrate the game, as it draws inspiration from hard-boiled detective novels by authors like Mickey Spillane. The game contains many allusions to Norse mythology, particularly the myth of Ragnarök, and several of the names used in the game are those of the Norse gods and mythos. The gameplay is heavily influenced by the Hong Kong action cinema genre, particularly the work of director John Woo, and it was one of the first games to feature the bullet time effect popularized by The Matrix.

Max Payne 3

Max Payne 3 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Rockstar Studios and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on May 15, 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; a Microsoft Windows port was released on May 29, 2012, followed by an OS X port on June 20, 2013. The game is the first entry in the Max Payne series since 2003's Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, developed by Remedy Entertainment.

The game is played from a third-person perspective. Throughout the single-player mode, players control Max Payne, a former detective who has become a vigilante after the murder of his wife and daughter. Nine years after the events of the second game, Max becomes employed as a private security contractor in Brazil, but quickly becomes entangled in a quest filled with death and betrayal. An online multiplayer mode is included with the game, allowing up to 16 players to engage in both cooperative and competitive gameplay in re-creations of multiple single-player settings.

As part of their research for the game's setting, the developers conducted field research around São Paulo throughout development and captured footage for the design team. Development duties were shared between many of Rockstar's studios worldwide. At release, it was acclaimed by many reviewers, with praise particularly directed at the story and action, though some criticism was aimed at the change in style from its predecessors. Max Payne 3 received high sales, shipping approximately three million units in the first week of release. It was nominated for multiple year-end accolades from several gaming publications, winning a variety of them.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Rockstar Games. The game is a sequel to Max Payne and is followed by the game Max Payne 3.

In Max Payne 2, the player controls Max Payne, a former DEA agent for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and a fugitive framed for murder of his best friend and fellow cop Alex, by the corrupted agent, B.B., in New York City during the events of Max Payne. Two years after the events of the first game, Max has cleared his name and is now an NYPD detective. He reunites with Mona Sax, whom he met in the previous game, as they set out to resolve a conspiracy of death and betrayal, finding the Inner Circle in the center of it all.

Video game critics gave Max Payne 2 highly positive reviews. Praise focused on its action and story, while criticism targeted its short length. Despite the positive reception, the game sold poorly, leading Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive to cite Max Payne 2's sales as a cause for the company's reforecast finances of 2004. Max Payne 2 received several industry awards, including Outstanding Art Direction at the Golden Satellite Awards 2004, and Editors' Choice Awards from GamePro, IGN, and GameSpy.