We were cautious, we told ourselves we’d be open to new ideas, and would withhold judgment ’til the real evidence came along inevitably confirming our deepest dread. A beloved franchise no longer in the hands of its creator has an upwards climb to prove its worth to the core fanbase, and it looks like Max Payne 3 is struggling to make that ascent with the first batch of screenshots released by Rockstar.
Resembling nothing of the established series, the images feature an unrecognisable Payne facing off against thugs in the latest incarnation of Rockstar’s RAGE engine. The game is set twelve years later in Brazil, where Payne serves as a bodyguard for a wealthy Sao Paulo family. Rockstar promises a return of the bullet-time feature and the protagonist’s voice-over monologues, but it looks like they’re taking the series from its noir roots well into feared GTA territory.
