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New Max Payne
Rockstar Games has confirmed the existence of a new Max Payne title.
Max Payne 3 is currently in development and scheduled for a winter 2009 release. Developed by Rockstar Vancouver, the game will arrive on PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC.
According to Rockstar Games, the game will revolve around its central character for a third time; the series’ titular retired police detective “embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence”, who apparently still needs to avenge the death of his wife and daughter from the first scene of the original game.
“We're starting a new chapter of Max's life with this game,” says Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser. “This is Max as we've never seen him before; a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation.”
Though the game moves the story of Max Payne forwards, Rockstar has implied that the game will stick to its previous play templates. “The latest instalment delivers more of the classic elements and hyper-intense action that fans have come to love,” read a company statement.
The suggested similarity of old may eventually label the game as one of the first titles in an expected bloom of familiar, core franchises that publishers will increasingly rely on during the global financial downturn.
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You want to know what the problem is SaintJude? You supported the systems that invented mediocre and "tacked on" plots and gameplay. Before 360 and PS3 first person shooters were thought to not work on a console. But after a few became successful in sales everyone jumped on the band wagon and made any kind of shooter that popped into their mind while taking a dump.
How many games right now are FPS that use the Unreal engine 3? Even the 3rd person games like Gears of War are just FPS's without the first person aspect. You control and shoot the same way. So even 3rd person shooters, unless done right, can't differentiate from the stale FPS's coming out every minute.
Now PC's and any other gaming systems are not immune from this kind of mediocrity but the "next gen" consoles have been the biggest factor in embracing and mass producing of sub par quality games. Why? Because they sell. Why do they sell? Because even as we grow older and are tastes mature, there will always be more juvenile gamers who are blown away by the kind of games that do nothing new but bring tacked on plots and over used game play.
Until more companies up their quality standards, they will continue to sell only what sells and not what makes the industry grow as a whole.
Well it's either support them or not play anything. Bar a few exceptions there isn't much else out there.
There are a few rumblings though, Heavy Rain being the most prominent. If I didn't already own a PS3 I'd buy one just to play Heavy Rain. If that game does well financially it may well start off a new trend. There is no reason why we can't have both the Ninja-Nazi-from-Outer-Space-Now-With-Coop kind of games as well as games like Heavy Rain. Variety the spice of life and all that.
“embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence”
I wonder how many games you could tack that onto without anyone blinking? Most? Yeah probably. As I’m getting older I’m starting to tire of the same-shit-in-a-different-toilet trend of current games. I mean there are innovations, evolutions, but they are invariably within set genres. Sure, there are a few who pretend to break the mould, but they are too few and far between.
The industry needs to grow the f*ck up already. Gamers are growing older and juvenile themes of 99.9% of the games out there are starting to grate. If I see one more ‘clandestine-agent-sent-in-to-triumph-against-the-odds’ OR ‘defend-earth-against-evil-Nazi-ninjas’ setup I may just discreetly melt my PS3 and 360 into one turdy lump and never look back…
You make a valid point, particularly....
'If I see one more ‘clandestine-agent-sent-in-to-triumph-against-the-odds’ OR ‘defend-earth-against-evil-Nazi-ninjas’'
I know what you mean about how this can grate on old hands such as ourselves. Personally, I think the main reason the pitches you describe annoy me is because the publishers generally try to market them as new concepts. What is wrong with simply putting together a game that plays well and putting it out there for people to enjoy? Why not have a game sequel that simply expands on it's predecessor rather than attempt to improve (and inevitably cock it up/alienate a portion of the fan base by removing or adding something unwanted)?
Not everything has to be a new brand of nappy that soaks up more moisture than a peanut butter and jacobs cracker combo or a deodorant that, once applied, will convert the entire opposite sex to slavering loved up crazies whilst simultaneously blowing your armpits off with incredible artic blast!!!!!(tm). So I like that Rockstar seem to be standing proud and saying, 'Here comes another cracking Max Payne game, you're gonna love it.'. Simple as that. I don't need to hear how it will revolutionise my life/make me play games in different way/take it to the max or the extreme and I respect any publisher that will steer clear of all that palava.
I can see where you're coming from, but Max Payne was, at the time, innovative for its use of bullet time, comic book-style storytelling and film noir direction. It was, actually, a fairly dark and mature story about loss, betrayal, regret and revenge. I agree that there are a lot of games where the tag line “embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence” could apply, but Max Payne did it right, and it did it with class.
On the whole, though, I agree. I hope we do see some games of a more 'mature' nature in the future - and I have no doubt that we will. The video games industry is still in its infancy; I think we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible in terms of delivering a powerful, dramatic experience.
Max Payne WANTED to be mature but in the end fell firmly into the 'puerile' pile. No matter how many trippy, baby-screaming, wife-killing sequences you played through, the bulk of that game was still running around with a gun, popping people in the face. In slo-mo. Don't get me wrong I loved it but there's more interesting things to tell about life than just shooting people.
> defend-earth-against-evil-Nazi-ninjas
"Nazi Ninjas from Outer Space" sounds quite good for my taste.
You are getting old. man... err... how about some fishing, then?
This is the Max Payne article, FFS, man. get the feck out of here.
He has point. The mere fact we're losing genres says a lot about the state of game industry.
But you're probably like 4 years old so it's all new to you.
4 years old? You might be mistaken.
Anyway, the reason videogame genres have been rehashed to death is money. Tried and tested genres are PROFITABLE and developers are always looking for substantial returns from their projects in order to survive and keep operating. Courageous developers who devote time and financial resources to risky, "out of the box" game concepts like PS3's Flower, Little Big Planet, or Heavy Rain and XBox 360's Braid or even PSP's Echochrome, have to be applauded in their efforts to keep the genres from stagnating.
You are absiolutely right. They are profitable but is that because there is simply nothing else on offer?
I may moan but I'd still rather play FEAR/Killzone or whatever the fuck than NOT play any games at all. It's lack of choice dressed up as popularity.
It will be interesting to see how well Heavy Rain does financially. Could be a true indicator of whether the industry is ready or indeed willing to grow up. As for the other games you mentioned, they're just 'different' they're not in any way a step forward for the industry in terms of delivering a more serious, relevant, mature experience.
As well as lack of choice I would also add that the price factor is largely to blame.
The industry can say what it likes and it can even go and get it's 'kicked puppy eyes mask' to wear while it cries poverty, but the fact is that games are too expensive for most consumers to make risky purchases.
If we're being asked to part with £40-50 for a game the chances are we're going to opt for what we know rather than what we don't. We may read glowing reviews until our eyes bleed but, for some, the lack of personal experience makes genuinely original content a gamble while there is a guarentee (from previous incarnations) that 'Testosterone Fuelled Men With Guns 5000' or 'Fifa: Return of the Cash Cow' will provide.
So I'd put price down to killing originality over other reasons. If games were priced lower then the burn from buying a game you don't particularly love won't be as severe and would make us less wary the next time an original game comes along that the reviewers love but makes us think, "hmmm."
You make a valid point and I would have agreed with you two months ago. But since then I've signed up to LoveFilm.com. I am assuming you live in the UK, so a price tag of £8 per month get you access to games for rental. As a result I have gone through a whole detritus of games, at no risk to my wallet. Now if I buy a game, I know I want to buy it.
I just wish I had done this before I went and got Fallout 3, that bloated shite of a game.