tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post6874806694841847769..comments2024-03-28T00:13:01.688-07:00Comments on Critical Damage: Notes on Max Payne 3 (or, Brendan Tries To Explain Why Max Payne 3 Is The Best Game He Has Played This Year)Brendan Keoghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01772283679871140397noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-22560795175647969102024-01-07T11:58:55.718-08:002024-01-07T11:58:55.718-08:00very informative article. very informative article. slotplayground.comhttps://www.slotplayground.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-64057407488101516952024-01-07T11:58:00.117-08:002024-01-07T11:58:00.117-08:00The budding tech community will be delighted to re...The budding tech community will be delighted to read this as well. casinosite.zonehttps://www.casinosite.zonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-68951257399761590172024-01-07T11:52:06.181-08:002024-01-07T11:52:06.181-08:00Your website is really cool and this is a great in...Your website is really cool and this is a great inspiring article.<br />19guide03.comhttps://www.19guide03.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-25844394320932216282024-01-07T10:59:21.350-08:002024-01-07T10:59:21.350-08:00.I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds al....I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds also. gostopsite.comhttps://www.gostopsite.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-80178518248980716412024-01-07T10:55:26.798-08:002024-01-07T10:55:26.798-08:00Please stay us up to date like this. 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Thanks for sharing.안전 토토사이트https://www.outlookindia.com/outlook-spotlight/2024년-안전-토토사이트-순위-사설-토토사이트-추천-top15-news-328577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-21036019410763550302018-10-05T02:12:47.494-07:002018-10-05T02:12:47.494-07:00minecraft pocket edition free download hay day mod...<a href="https://metaapk.com/minecraft-apk/" rel="nofollow">minecraft pocket edition free download</a> <a href="https://apkaero.com/hay-day-mod-apk/" rel="nofollow">hay day mod for android</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12430616203096440836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-45254348990834103352014-08-26T15:48:15.134-07:002014-08-26T15:48:15.134-07:00This one lost me really early on with the lack of ...This one lost me really early on with the lack of any real attention to continuity in the series: Max Payne 2 was already about Max dealing with his survivor's guilt and learning that to move on wasn't the same as to forget ("I had a dream that my wife was dead. But it was alright..."). 3 seemed to just rewind him back to where he was at the start of 2.<br /><br />It also had the issue of Dan Houser's writing, where every fourth line is just there to show how clever Dan Houser is. Watching Max smug like he's in a Joss Whedon script isn't exactly what I was looking for in a sequel.<br /><br />But what really threw me was a throwaway line at the very start, when Max first picks up a pill bottle. He smugs that he can "at least be thankful for big phama's grip on the world."<br /><br />Um, big pharma murdered his wife and daughter. That was when I realized I wasn't playing Max Payne 3, I was playing a GTA game with no cars.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-88245161091045906992013-06-25T14:46:48.726-07:002013-06-25T14:46:48.726-07:00I really enjoyed the piece, Brendan, thanks for sh...I really enjoyed the piece, Brendan, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the game. I really loved <i>Max Payne 3</i> as well and I think you touched on all of the relevant points of why.<br /><br />It is hard to deny the absolute mastery Rockstar puts into their games, especially when it comes to music and attention to detail (both as you mentioned). One of my most memorable moments in gaming was the transition between Act Two and Three in <i>Red Dead Redemption</i>, when Marsten is returning to his ranch as "Compass", by James Lidell, starts to play. And the attention to detail offered in <i>RDR</i>, or <i>LA Noire</i>, or even <i>GTA4</i>, is rivaled by very few games.<br /><br />Having just finished <i>The Last of Us</i>, I couldn't help comparing it to some of your points above. Naughty Dog certainly provides a huge attention to detail that rivals Rockstar, especially when it comes to how the characters move and react to the environment. Both games also create realistic depictions of emotional subject matter (at least as far as character development is concerned) and both strive to stay within the confines they established for themselves; as in <i>Max Payne 3</i>, where Max doesn't pretend to be someone he isn't and lives as a stoic action hero with substance abuse, <i>The Last of Us</i> showcases Joel fighting the urge to be someone "better" than he is in spite of the world he lives in. Both worlds create very interesting character studies, though most times the issue is buried under layers of subtext.<br /><br />Have you played <i>The Last of Us</i> yet? I would be intrigued to hear your thoughts on it, especially given the celebration it has received in critical circles.<br /><br />Getting back to the original point, thanks very much for such an interesting read. You've really inspired me to go back and play through the game a second time, if only to try focusing on the little things a bit more closely. Cheers!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14193671282073958347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-60632067597985837222013-06-18T17:01:59.356-07:002013-06-18T17:01:59.356-07:00Well, thank YOU for reminding me why I write this ...Well, thank YOU for reminding me why I write this blog :)Brendan Keoghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01772283679871140397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-33039601880987645292013-06-17T12:20:48.318-07:002013-06-17T12:20:48.318-07:00I adored Max Payne 3 as soon as I played it, but I...I adored Max Payne 3 as soon as I played it, but I couldn't pinpoint why, save for a vague, niggling "it just <i>works</i> right." Then I read this and found myself nodding every other line.<br /><br />Thanks for reminding me again why I follow this blog.<br /><br />For all the going about the narrative and how it entwines with the game/level design, what really sticks to me is how Rockstar seems to have identified a specific <i>feeling</i>. Instead of targeting the usual ethereal "you are Big and Powerful and Baddest of Ass" that just about every action-oriented game aims for, or just throwing in thoughtless design with the hope that having an upgrade system and parkour elements and other contextless slices from other games <i>at the same time!</i> magically results in a coherent sum, every bit -- the camera trickery, the hazy trance-like music, the twisting narrative, constantly chomping on painkillers, even the pressing linear design -- serves to create this atmosphere of...<br /><br />Well, you already described it:<br /><br />"...you are going to do some nasty shit and you going to be a not very good person. It doesn't make sense. Just take some pain killers and push through."<br /><br />It's rare that you see a devleoper wrangle all these disparate elements along such a focused purpose. Playing as Max isn't just absorbing in and of itself; it feels completely unique from any other game. What sticks in my memory isn't really any individual moment, but that overall mindset. <br /><br />Great game, great piece.Phil C.noreply@blogger.com