S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky

Introduction

In 1986 on April 26th around 1:23 in the morning reactor four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes. This was actually caused by secret experiments drawing too much power from the reactor. The subsequent evacuation and creation of the Alienation Zone is the perfect cover up for more secret experiments. In 1991 the Soviet Union collapses but the experiments continue. In 2001 a bus filled with tourists goes missing and The Zone is sealed off “completely”. In 2006 the military quarantine around The Zone is utterly destroyed, the sky blazes with bright light and the earth quakes as a wave of energy explodes through the Zone, this is known as an Emission or a Blowout. The Zone expands in size by 5 kilometers. In 2007 enterprising mercenaries and hunters enter this Alienation Zone in order to find objects of worth. In 2011 you play as Scar, a mercenary stalker (Scavenger, Trespasser, Adventurer, Loner, Killer, Explorer, and/or Robber), escorting some scientists into The Zone. The sky brightens and the earth begins to tremble, The Zone suffers another Blowout. Scar survives the Blowout, despite being completely unprotected. The Zone expands another 5 kilometers.

Then this old man starts asking you a lot of questions like, “Why aren’t you incredibly dead?”

History

The Stalker games were developed by GSC Game World, a critically undermanned and underfunded game studio. It took them seven years to finish Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl but it only took them a year to make Stalker: Clear Sky– I guess making a game engine really takes a lot out of you. GSC is no more, unfortunately. After trying to port Stalker to the Xbox and PS3 they scrapped that and tried to make Stalker 2 but that project was also scrapped.

The Stalker series of games are based on a Movie from 1979 simply called Stalker. Which in turn is based on a short story called Roadside Picnic, which was published in 1972. They all share certain traits in common, the existence of a Zone, with peculiar things in it, men who will do what they need to get these things, and something that grants wishes. I haven’t seen the movie or read the story but Stalker seems like a very loose adaptation but taken in a very interesting direction.

GSC created and used the X Ray 1.5 engine and as a result it has really dynamic lighting which is great for a survival horror shooter. It also provides weather, water effects, and a day and night cycle. All of this was employed by the developers to really bring the Zone to life– and make things more creepy..

Nothing like good lighting to point out how terrifying… this… thing is.

Stalker: Clear Sky was released in the United states on September 5th, 2008. It’s competition included Spore (PC), Silent Hill: Homecoming (PS3, Xbox 360, and PC), Dead Space (PS3, Xbox 360), and Bioshock (Ps3, Xbox 360, and PC). (Geez, tough crowd).

Nostalgia

When I was in college I was part of the computer club and every once and awhile someone would start playing Stalker. After one person would start someone would say, “I never did beat that, lemme give it a shot.” Soon the whole room was filled with cursing college students getting their faces rocked by mutants and shotgun blasts. We started coming up with stupid stories about The Zone and acting out little scenarios between characters from the games. And even though that has all passed there is still some remnant that all Stalker fans can enjoy, the “Get out of here Stalker meme.” If you’re not sure that someone you know is a Stalker fan–I mean should this bizarre niche need ever arise– just tell them to “Get out of here Stalker,” in a bad Russian accent and if they’re response is to hang their head or grimace you’ll know they are.

Seriously, can’t a dude who’s glitched himself into a locker while creepily staring at you get a moment’s peace?

Gameplay

Stalker: Clear Sky is a survival shooter so… let that just sink in for a second. Most shooters that I’ve played do not involve the consequence of injury, or the expenditure of bullets as seriously as Stalker does. This, combined with the crack enemy AI and the brutal numbers associated with damage makes this game hard as hell. Everything is trying to hurt poor old Scar, other Stalkers, mutants, space-time anomalies, and even the air– if radiation counts as the air trying to kill you (It’s usually in the water, but it’s all over the place). The game’s scenarios put the player in a situation where they’ll pick up fallen weapons and unload them just for a few extra bullets but throw the weapon behind because it’s too heavy and every Kilogram of weight works against the player. Weapons also jam with infuriating frequency, an unreliable weapon jamming can get you shot up quick.

Encumbrance is no joke in this game. It measures the weight of every single bullet in your inventory and if you go over your 50 kg load you’re gonna have a bad time.

The controls in this game seem normal at first WASD to move, mouse to shoot. But X makes you sprint and [ uses a medkit and ] uses bandages. It took me 5 minutes of hitting every key on my keyboard to figure out that Y changes the ammo type you’re using and = changes the firing type of you weapon. Reader be warned, you might want to map your controls to something that fits your playstyle.

The game’s big hook mechanic is territory control. Each chapter of the game includes a situation where 2 factions are at war and the player may choose a side. It’s extremely beneficial between the money, favors, items, and reputation you’ll garner to participate. The first faction war is sort of a tutorial and you can’t choose a side but you may in the other two. Be careful which faction you choose because the benefits are exclusionary and there’s no going back once you’ve chosen.

Anomalies present an interesting dilemma to the player. There are objects in anomalous areas called artifacts and these artifacts have a myriad of extremely beneficial effects like healing the player or eliminating radiation. Going into the fields is incredibly dangerous but the prices that these artifacts garner can be extremely useful disregarding their other benefits. Speaking of anomalies, they’re everywhere and extremely dangerous. The Whirligig and Vortex anomalies are very common, they catch the player, mess with they’re controls, then explode. Even veteran players still gets caught in their grip, unable to escape before they die, from time to time. But, just like the Stalker movie, Scar is equipped with a bag full of bolts which he can throw to trigger or detect anomalies.

Who’da thought these little guys would be so useful?

The Kvush

The glitches, dear goodness, they’re everywhere. One time the game crashed because I had the sheer audacity to have a guide take me somewhere. Not somewhere I wasn’t supposed to go, just to the next town. That being said, sometimes the glitches can be hilariously funny. These rampant occurrences have given rise to the phrase, “Such is life in the Zone.” No matter what’s going on it’s just the Zone’s weirdness, certainly not a problem with the game.

Blurry people phasing through floors. Such is life in the Zone.

People phasing into other people. Such is life in the Zone.

The voice acting in this game is shockingly good for such a low key title. Unfortunately, like The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, it’s got like… 5 guys doing it all. They’re chops include trying to sound tough when they’re voicing bandits, or trying to sound stoned when they’re voicing guys from the Freedom faction. Then again Steve Blum did two of the voices for this game and he does a very good job.

The Gush

The territory mechanics are usually spot on and really fun. The organizations are really dynamic, choosing one can be an uphill challenge or have interests that the player has stake in. Taking objective after objective while keeping your team alive sounds like a dumb escort mission but these guys aren’t chumps. Sometimes they’re better equipped than you are. It’s an odd feeling being in an FPS traveling with someone else for protection instead of the other way around.

The Zone has a beautiful atmosphere. Stalkers in camps and settlements talk with each other, in Russian. They banter, they argue, and they laugh. To see men in a place like this fighting untold monsters and then to hear them laugh because Smitty over there risked his life to pick up a useless rock he thought was an artifact is really cool. Mutants attack camps and are beaten back by independent squads. There are a lot of events that go on without intervention by the player. Bandits attack or are repelled. There’s a whole world of things going on that the player can choose to involve themselves in or ignore.

There are 8 minutes of guitar tracks the game plays when a Stalker at a campsite breaks out his dusty guitar. Sometimes I even sit and listen.

The music is really atmospheric and perfectly puts the player on edge. The moody synth sounds put the player in a mood to face the strange and unusual. The game itself is visually stunning. It’s a little dated and a little brown but I think it presents a ruined wilderness very well.

Take in this scene. A tree, nearly dead, hanging over the entry path to a dilapidated church filled with bandits that have take up residence.

The game may be difficult but it’s all downhill from here, sort of. The game has this peculiar way of getting easier the further you go on instead of more difficult. The more powerful armor and artifacts can make the player incredibly durable and the more powerful weapons can deal heavy damage to even the most armored stalker.

The Kvetch

The finale and ending to this game might make you feel like you’ve wasted your time reaching it. It’s so bizarre that a game that I love so much has such a terrible ending. The game is about exploration, solving a mystery, seeing the unknown, getting some mad loot and the finale is about shooting dudes. Shooting dudes in increasingly one-sided scenarios. I had to deal with not one, but four machine gun nests. Did you run out of ideas, developers? The ending itself is a great lead up to Shadow of Chernobyl but it doesn’t give any closure to Scar, the guy we’ve been invested in and playing for the past 20 hours.

The Verdict

I think Stalker: Clear Sky is a great game. Through the glitches– funny or game breaking, the adequate voice acting, and the incredibly disappointing ending I think this game is a really good survival shooter and a step forward for the Stalker series. It made numerous improvements over the previous title and presented a larger more playgroundy world to explore and have fun in. I’m not blinded by nostalgia for this one, I only played it recently, so this review is free of rose tintedness. I highly suggest picking it up if this interests you.

Next Week: Megaman Legends

Brave Fencer Musashi (PS1)

 

Introduction

(This post contains many food puns. Reader groans are inevitable.) That Allucaneet Kingdom is under attack by the vicious Thirst Quencher Empire– and remember, even food based empires are evil and food based kingdoms are good. In a moment of desperation Princess Filet uses a spell that’s been passed down her family for generations. A spell that’s meant to summon a hero, THE hero of legend. She speaks the incantation and calls forth a small blue haired boy who claims to be the master swordsman Musashi. The hero of legend had gotten shorter and younger than he had once been but his task is no less great– it’s actually strangely similar to the legend itself…

As you can see, they’re off to a lovely start.

 

History

It’s strange where an idea begins. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the games director, envisioned the game to be about Miyamoto Musashi, the famous sword fighter, fighting and living in a world he didn’t belong. Then I guess, somewhere along they way, they decided to market the game to children. Sakaguchi didn’t have high hopes for the project but after seeing a few technical demonstrations his hope returned. It was difficult to identify Musashi as a wanderer so they made his character more samaritanish. The technical challenge of the game was to get polygons to move in real time and still look good, something I think they succeeded at.

Fun Fact: In the Japanese release all of the villains are named after alcohol, but very much like Vodka Drunkinski, they changed all of them to be about soda.

I’m sorry, I meant Soda Popinski. It’s totally different. And he can’t drive because he’s got a big caffeine buzz.

Brave Fencer Musashi came out on October 31st in 1998. It went up against Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus (PS1), Half-Life (PC), and Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (PS1).

 

Nostalgia

This game and Final Fantasy VIII fed each other in this weird way for me. Each of them had a demo disk that had the other’s game on it. I played the Brave Fencer demo until I was red in the face for wanting to play it. Then I stopped playing FF VIII because I didn’t get the Junction system. When I played its demo that came with Brave Fence it renewed my interest in the game and when I came back to it I suddenly could wrap my head around this byzantine silliness. And that’s the power of a good demo, game industry. If you want people to play your game show us what it’s like and if we like it then we’ll buy it. None of this Colonial Marines stupidity, just show us the game and we’ll buy it.

Gameplay

Brave Fencer Musashi is an action hack ‘n’ slash with platforming and RPG elements. Musashi has got to maneuver between attacks and strike while the iron is hot with his blades, Fusion and Lumina. Fusion attacks quickly, doesn’t do a lot of damage, but can combo nicely. Lumina swings slow but hits like a runaway truck. Fusion can also be used to absorb an enemy to give Musashi a useful ability. Some of these abilities have utility purposes, some allow passage through areas, and others give Musashi combat edges over his enemies. Musashi can also charge for a little while to execute a spinning attack and, if you’re really good, unleash a devastating counter attack after blocking an incoming move. In RPG style, Musashi can gain levels by using his weapons, defeating enemies, and just walking around. Musashi can also spend his hard earned loot on healing items or food at the local shops. As a being from another world Musashi has to eat a lot.

Musashi can learn new techniques from Knights of the castle and the most unlikely of characters.

Musashi’s quest requires him to find the 5 scrolls, those of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Sky. And to find Musashi’s old legendary armor. All of these things allow him to platform or otherwise reach places he hadn’t been able to before. This creates a cool gating mechanism where Musashi can go new places, find new stuff, meet new people, learn new moves, and then kick more Thirstquencher butt then ever before.

Musashi can’t swim and basically melts in water so the Water Scroll is really important.

There’s a lot to see and do in the Kingdom of Allucaneet. Beyond going to the next objective there are a bunch of hidden palace members which extend Musashi’s BP (Like his mana), and Minku creatures who hold Longevity Berries which must be stolen to increase Musashi’s HP– animal cruelty HO!

 

The Gush

The music in this game is incredible. Every single area has its own theme and each theme promotes adventure! It’s all high octane and fast paced to match our swift fencing protagonist. You can rescue musicians for the palace just to spice up the music there. Musical stylings range from classical to more rock tunes. It’s emphasis on movement can make hurrying up and waiting annoying at times. But it’s all so wonderfully frantic.

The game over screens are fantastic. Musashi is mortally wounded and makes a quick one-liner before fading away such as, “If I die, I hope I’m reincarnated as Musashi again.”

The characters in this game are great. Most of their dialogue is voiced and it really shows their emotions. They’ve got witty dialogue that matches them wonderfully.

Come on, it’s gotta be good. Steve Blum voice acts this mysterious treasure hunter.

There are a lot of really cool dungeons. From mines, to lofty peaks every nook and cranny of this world longs to be explored. There are just so many well designed places. Most of their purposes are obvious but sometimes I wonder, what was the ice palace a palace for?

Weird ruins? Flying vampire zombies (Vambie for short)? Strange glyphs? Sign me up.

The art is really pretty for a PS1 game. Sometimes I just look at the backgrounds. The sprite work is also really good for the time. Their animation is really smooth.

I really like that there are 35 people to rescue from the castle and some of them aren’t useful. The janitor just keeps saying that he’s the honor of toilets everywhere or something. It just goes to show that the attendants of the castle are not all important in this conflict, as they shouldn’t be. But they’re still all funny.

The bosses in this game are bananas. They’re all huge and require interesting tricks in order to defeat. It’s not about unloading punishment it’s about finding and exploiting weaknesses. The only slug fight is with Kojiro, a rival fencer, so it makes perfect sense for the fight to be about actual fighting.

“I heard it was someone’s birthday! I brought my favorite gift! Death.”

The combat is good overall. Fighting with Fusion and Lumina is satisfying before Musashi starts learning combos. Fusion’s quickness and Lumina’s range give them an interesting interplay between each other. The charge up techniques also create a risk vs reward system of dodging attacks to unleash more damage than ever. And then the blocking counterattack move is a nice little hidden trick that’ll surprise a player for taking advantage of an enemy’s opening.

THIS GAME HAS IN-GAME ACTION FIGURES! That is all. The 12 year old in me and the 12 year old me that played this game loved those little pieces of digital plastic. With their crappy playing animations. I still remember Capricola’s action figure had dumb poses with his gun accompanied by grunts.

 

 The Kvetch

The villains are a little flat– SODA PUNS! The big bad is evil for the sake of being evil and his lieutenants twirl their non-existent mustaches all the time. Evil isn’t a stand in for anything here, it’s just a romp to save the princess and beat up some bad guys.

 

What happened to Rootrick? That art looks great but this model looks… like a mashed potato man with a gargoyle face.

 

All of the puzzle situations, or places where Musashi isn’t fighting are super difficult. I couldn’t figure out the Shogi Puzzle in the Meandering Forest without a guide, nor could I solve Soda Fountain’s Calendar Puzzle. And I can’t tell you how many times I was stumped by Steamwood part two (Binchotite Boogaloo). Maybe I’m just bad, but these were all unfun levels of hard for me.

 

The Verdict

I really like this game. I would get to the final parts of the game and play for hours. With so many things to find I bet you get something really cool for it all.

Depends on your definition of the word, “cool.”

But it’s definitely worth playing all the way through.

Next Week: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Clear Sky

Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)

Introduction

Squall is an emotionally stunted teenage mercenary who has finished his final exams. He is now eligible to get sent out to do real wet-work and other dangerous missions (Wait… hold on. There are teenage mercenaries? Most of them are orphaned? Yeah because teenage mercenaries are killing soldiers and leaving their children parentless. And then the cycle propogates itself. Cid… you monster). His first mission gets messy and embroils his academy into a war. This war then gets messy and embroils the world in a conflict over relative time and space. Throw in a couple of romances, some kooky characters, some sweet settings, and a leveling up system that made my head spin and we’ve got a game.

Apparently this is what leveling up looks like… uh… umm…. I’ll get back to this later.

History

Another Final Fantasy game with the same old crew. It’s bizarre to think that most FF games begin with Yoshitaka Amano’s art and then those designs get extrapolated and integrated by writers and graphic designers into a cohesive product but that’s how it happens. Squall’s and Seifer’s trademark scars just started as something interesting Amano added to the designs and they turned into a symbol of bitter rivalry and parallel ability. Or how the card game came into being because they were popular in Japan at the time and so they made one, the simplest things provoke design and expansion (And then how those simple designs can get blown out of proportion).

Somehow that first image becomes the second. (And the Final Fantasy desire for more than the usual number of belts begins. Also, Jesus, Squall have you ever gone outside. He looks damn near translucent.)

Final Fantasy VIII was also the second game to get a release for PC. It had sharper but more jarring visuals, slightly worse background images, and more midi sounding music. It was also more difficult to control with a keyboard instead of a keyboard (X is the gunblade trigger, what were these guys thinking?). Steam’s PC port even includes a magic booster which provides Squall and his friends with a pool of simple spells to start the game with (Which would make sense considering they’re learning in a university that specializes in the application of magical warfare). When I was growing up it was also strangely difficult to find a computer that it ran well on.

Fun Fact: This is the first Final Fantasy with an ongoing internal monologue.

Funner Fact: This is the first Final Fantasy game with realistic models for characters.

Final Fantasy VIII was released on September 9th 1999. It’s competition was Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage (PS1), Heroes of Might and Magic III (PC), and Ape Escape (PS1).

Nostalgia

This is the first Final Fantasy game that I completed. There may have been a Gameshark involved and a lot of swearing but that doesn’t change the fact that I beat it. It was difficult even with a Squall with maxed out stats, one overpowered character does not an effective party make. And there are some fights that can’t be won with brute force alone. I didn’t do as much exploring as I would have otherwise and I didn’t figure out how to make the Junction system work. I’m so glad I revisited it and gave it an honest go though. Delving into it’s systems was one of the major points of playing and even if it meant a few saves that were basically unsalvageable and starting over… there was also a lot of cursing involved.

Also, navigating the debug menu was a giant nightmare.

Gameplay

It’s a Final Fantasy game so get ready for some angsty and over the top characters (Now don’t confuse those groups), turn based combat, a plot that’ll make your head spin a little, some minigames, and a brand new system that isn’t seen before or since.

Our angsty protagonist is Squall, an emotionally damaged young man who finds himself unable to trust anyone or anything but himself. Someone who keeps his feelings bottled up inside because it’s impossible, and therefor foolish, to truly relate to anyone or anything… ugh. Sorry, but playing as this guy can get a little oppressive. I see his point of view and how he got there from being abandoned as a small and impressionable child and that he’s still young, young enough to snap out of it or change in any way. But it’s still difficult to hear him think and talk about it all the time like he doesn’t see the adoration and care that his companions have for him. But, having been this way myself (Oh past me, you’re always worse than present me), I can understand where he comes from. I didn’t want to see the way others cared about me because that would mean having to admit that I could or should do the same for them. And in the end Squall breaks these nasty habits at least a little bit.

I bet he thinks he’s so deep. If he brings an acoustic guitar to my party I’m gonna throw him out.

The over the top characters are basically the rest of the cast. They’re all uproarious and compelling in their own ways. With only six main party characters it’s easier to develop them. Unlike Final Fantasy VI and it’s cast of 14 characters, 5 out of 6 of these characters get development and closure (This is even a bigger fraction!).

Look at these bright faced young people. Time for their spirits to get crushed.

The plot can turn into a jumbled mess a little bit though. When time travel gets involved and The Doctor is around to explain it away things are bound to get messed up.

The Kvush

The Junction system. I want to be angry at it because it’s a byzantine and nearly incomprehensible mess but I can’t stay mad at it. It provides the ability when connected with other systems, like the card game, allows characters to become very powerful very quickly. A system that provides nearly full character customization with the navigation of a few menus and the application of the player’s mind. And I know that everyone hates on the draw system for being a dumb, tedious, waste of time and it is but it’s not meant to be the primary source of magical charges (The only spell I draw is a few scans at the beginning of the game). It’s clear that items and Guardian Force refinement abilities are meant to be the main source of magic and that draw is meant to snag a few precious spells or Guardian Forces from bosses. So I loved figuring it out and loved having mastered it but there was a long time where the Junction system just didn’t make sense and I think the game has a bad way of conveying how it works.

Wait… wait! I see it now. You “equip” the magic to the stats. Why didn’t the game just phrase it that way?

Time Compression, I don’t know if it’s brilliant or supremely fucked up. I’m going to say it’s both, call it a night, and then ask Cthulhu to turn the lights out for me before he comes to bed.

The gunblade. Just… its existence can make fans cream their jeans and haters froth at the mouth. I think it’s an interesting idea for a cutting weapon to pierce thick hide and then inject an explosive shell into the wound but… it’s super impractical. And that was just my head canon on it. I think the game tries to say that it just fires bullets out of it’s invisible sword barrel. I dunno, it looks cool but it sounds so dumb.

The Gush

I love the card game. Screw all the haters, this game can get really strategically satisfying. Between the spread or abolishment of rules, the manipulation of those rules, and how their simple natures can change the game in big ways next next rules region is always full of surprises. There are also web sites that support the Triple Triad game if anyone has a hankering to play online with an expanded card set.

The music in this game is great but it was made by Uematsu and Uematsu doesn’t make bad stuff. At least he doesn’t make bad stuff at this time anyway.

The summons in this game are awesome. Because they’re usable multiple times in fights and have to be equipped to characters it’s a viable strategy to rely on GF attacks to dominate the opposition.

Besides, if you could summon this guy in real life to throw needles at your enemies you would.

The environments and backgrounds of this game look really good. Sometimes I marvel at things for a little while. And sometimes this marvelling leads to the discovery of sweet hidden passages.

These two places are part of the same location! And that location tells an impressive tale.

I also can’t think of a Final Fantasy game before it that was able to produce as much spectacle as the Garden fight from Disc 2. This is just madness, and there are even more scenes of the bloodshed.

I really like the character of Seifer Almasy. He’s got all of Squall’s emotional trauma but none of his reservedness. He’s loud, belligerent, dangerous, and inspiring but in the end that’s what captures him in a cult of personality lead and staffed by himself. He’s young, idealistic, and confused about his life but is unwilling to share that with anyone. And to top this all off he’s extremely capable. It’s like if Tyler Durden had all of the skills but none of the direction. When I was younger I didn’t understand his motivations at all but being all growed up it’s plain for me to see his rampant confusion and unwillingness to bring it to light.

Golden dialogue right there.

The Kvetch

Quistis is a really interesting character, or she could be. She’s the oldest of the bunch and the only female in the party who isn’t romantically involved (Well, except her obvious desire to fuck Squall around the beginning of the game which gets destroyed in the cold emotional black hole Squall has instead of a libido). But we know almost nothing about her. We don’t know where she trained, what her aspirations are, or what she’s all about.

This game is chock full of pointless side quests. There are so many little side activities that are not worth the player’s time. Some of them give Guardian Forces and that’s super cool and rewarding but Mr. Monkey’s quest line offers simple healing items that can be purchased from up scale shops. And don’t get me started on the obfuscated BS they expect of the player when it comes to the PUPU alien quest line.

The monsters scale with the player. Oblivion should’ve learned their lesson from this game. The average level of the party is used to determine the level of monsters and their statistics react accordingly with stronger monsters getting stronger faster and weaker monsters not seeing that big of a boost. This leads to a problem where players who are confused by the Junction System try to grind enemies to make up for it and then get left even further into the dust by enemies that they’re even more ill matched for. It leads to some interesting abuse with party balance and Junction manipulation but it feels like mean trick on an unsuspecting player.

The Verdict

Find your walk through or a friend who can help you cheat the system because I think this game is damn good. It’s certainly not as good as its review scores might suggest (10/10 my ass Playstation Magazine. I’ll go as high as 8/10 and not one point higher. [I would go for 7.5/10 but I have to make dumb number jokes]) but it’s also not as bad as it’s harsh critics would say. I recommend it to those that enjoy the byzantine or complex if only for complexity’s sake. There are too many wonderful moments, characters, places, and secrets to pass this one up.

Next Week: Brave Fencer Musashi (PS1)

Max Payne (PC)

Introduction

Max Payne is a NYPD detective– though not a loose cannon cop who doesn’t play by the rules– who’s wife and daughter are brutally slain at the hands of men strung out on a hitherto unknown substance, codenamed Valkyr. With nothing left to lose Max takes a job at the DEA to take revenge against Valkyr and its distributors, which had been conveniently offered to him only hours earlier– citing the existence of his wife and daughter as reason not to join no less. Framed for a murder he didn’t commit and with his cover blown, he must cut a bloody swath through New York in order to crack the case and regain his innocence. (I like how the developers couldn’t choose just one cop cliche so they went with all of them)

He knows how to make an entrance.

History

Max Payne was developed by Remedy Entertainment, only the second game they had developed, and was published and distributed by Take-Two Interactive. Development started in 1996, almost just after Tomb Raider’s release. The game is born of “how could we do it better and cheaper” the developers wanted to make Tomb Raider with a better camera, use the 3-D but not let it eat the budget. These desires created a better and more responsive control scheme and the use of comic panels to relay the narrative instead of full cut-scenes.

Fun Fact: Remedy developers shadowed some undercover New York agents (with their permission of course) in order to see what it was really like and take hundreds of photos to help them map areas.

Additional Fun Facts: People think that this game was influenced by the Matrix but since this game was in development in 1996 and intended to use slow motion as a mechanic that is untrue. Although the popularity of The Matrix probably made acclimating to the idea of slowing down time smooth.

Even more Funnerer Facts: Max Payne is loosely modeled after script writer, Sam Lake.

I wouldn’t call the resemblance uncanny but I will say they both have similar interests in Hawaiian shirts.

Max Payne was released in July 21, 2001 for PC and later on Playstation 2 and Xbox. It’s competition was Baldur’s Gate II: The Throne of Baal (PC), Final Fantasy X (PS2), and Devil May Cry (PS2)– what a golden year for gaming.

Nostalgia

This is one of the first games that had a level I was almost too scared to complete. Each chapter is separated by a dream sequence and these dream sequences are trippy and straight-up terrifying. Most of them are more puzzle than action but they’re all very thematic and make for great interludes to the, otherwise, non-stop action. The scariest part is really the music and sound. Slowed down and pitch altered clips from the game are audible including an infant’s scream that is nearly speaker breaking.

I’m walking on a trail of blood while it’s raining blood. This is… GREAT!

Gameplay

Max Payne is a third person over the shoulder shooter so it’s all about shooting mobsters, junkies, high grade mercenaries, and shadow government goons and the game does a lot to serve this. The biggest mechanic this game has to offer is Bullet Time. With a simple click of the right mouse button Max can slow down time a bit. This allows him to shoot faster and even dodge bullets. This might sound like it gets old but it doesn’t. The only thing that holds this mechanic back is that the only way to recharge bullet time is to kill enemies and if there aren’t any enemies around then you’ll have to do without until you wax some bad guys.

Bullet time can also be used to make Max perform slow motion dives, it’s a great way to start a fight or get out of the way of a shotgun blast.

Max moves quickly and responsively so it doesn’t have Tomb Raider’s tank controls. The over the shoulder vision also allows Max to look around corners– this might seem weird but I always assumed that even if Max couldn’t see them then he could still hear them.

When it comes to the killing Max’s arsenal is a little limited. He’s got two different pistols (one of which can be dual wielded and the other of which cannot), a shotgun, an automatic shotgun (But you won’t see those until the end of the game, an assault rifle, some uzis, a grenade launcher, and a sniper rifle, a bat, and some grenades. All of which fit conveniently in his trench coat. It might seem like there’s guns aplenty but they’re all similar.

Max’s nightmares serve to point these things out.

 

The Gush

The plot in this game is ridiculously good. Pardon me, I mean that it is both ridiculous and good. What starts with a tale of revenge ends with government conspiracies and mad science. It’s rife with betrayals and back stabbing. It’s built like an overblown John Woo movie. Where simple men take matters into their own hands and kill like… 500 guys before the end of the show.

The soundtrack for this game is really good, if scarce. The atmosphere of the brutal winter storm and decrepit buildings make most of the music.

The character’s are wonderfully fleshed out… except for Alex– he dies a little too early. Especially Max, the comic panels really get into his driven head. We hear his doubts, his fears, as well as his grim determination. All of the side characters ooze personality. From Vinnie’s desperate pleas and furious diatribes, to Vlad’s cool demeanor and brash plans. Every once and awhile some of the common thugs will even spout some humorous dialogue.

Those dream sequences. Now that I’m not scared of them any more they still send a chill down my spine. They’re an interesting look into the psyche of a man on the edge.

Nope, this didn’t get more okay between this one and the last.

The finale is a wonderful test of rudimentary puzzling and gunplay. It’s nice to see a final obstacle that is overcome with the player’s head as well as his weapons.

I love the Ingram weapons. They’re bullet hoses and reload quick. I used to call them the “boss killer” because those things spit out enough lead to keep a boss suspended in his getting hit animation until he’s dead.

 

The Kvetch

This game has a stealth mission. Max gets pummeled and has all of his weapons taken away so he’s got to sneak around until he can find some weapons. I’m all for taking away my arsenal but “sneaking” around when there’s no clear way to do so is confusing. I would get spotted by guys that were back to me because they were turning a corner.

There are a few “plot” holes. Certain characters survive events because the plot says so and that’s sort of weak.

The Verdict

This game is damn good and definitely deserves a purchase on the platform of your choice. It’s 3D shooting at it’s finest and it’s aged remarkably well. I’m not even nostalgia blind for this one, I just see it in my game drawer and think, “alright, let’s give it a go,” and I’m never disappointed.

Next Week: Final Fantasy 8