Max Payne 3 - PC. Here's hoping!

N

Neo

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I got my copy of Max Payne 3 for the PC today. This is the first game I've bought myself in a long time and I hope that it plays well on my rig. I've been contemplating to play exclusively on my consoles from now on (except for Dota2. I love that game). If this game performs poorly then I think it's the final nail in the coffin for my PC gaming life.

Over the past year or so I've been really impressed with what "old" console hardware is capable to deliver in terms of sound and graphics, and it really doesn't make sense to spend R50,000 per year on a "top of the line" PC that can't handle a game which consoles seem to handle pretty well. It's becoming more obvious to me that gaming is an "afterthought" when it comes to the PC platform and PC's are much better suited at stuff like video and photo editing than what they are at gaming platforms.

I've already read somewhere that Max Payne 3 for PC won't support SLi profiles on day one, so it already seems like this might very well be my last PC game. If that's the case, all of the money I would have spent on PC games and upgrades will go into a fund for a brand new iMac instead.
 
Maybe you should think twice....

In June this year, Max Payne's slow-motion, shoot-diving, beard-sporting self is making a return to our screens in Max Payne 3. And mighty fine it's looking too, if our previous looks at the game are anything to go by. But there's one version that's looking especially sweet, and it's not on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. If you really want to experience Max Payne 3 at its ass-kicking finest, it's all about the PC version--if you've got some suitably beefy hardware to support it.

The sceptical among you might be thinking the PC version is simply a console port. After all, that's a practice that has become commonplace in modern game development. But Max Payne 3 on the PC is no mere port, according to Rockstar. It has been developed alongside the console version and sports a number of PC-specific enhancements that make use of everyone's favourite collection of application programming interfaces, DirectX 11.

That's a boon for anyone with a relatively new graphics card, so you can expect lots of tasty tessellation for smoother, more detailed visuals, as well as support for higher resolutions and frame rates than on console. Also promised are full mouse and keyboard support, customisable controls and visual settings, an absence of any load times, and support for Nvidia's 3D Vision technology.

The proof is in the pudding, though, and thanks to an extended look at the game running on a GTX 680, we found there's plenty to be excited about. In a level set in a huge stadium, Max and his buddy were on the run from a group of rebel soldiers, each of them pretty pissed off at our hero. As the pair made their way around the stadium, we got a great look at some of the visual enhancements made to the PC version.

The most obvious was the higher resolution of the game. While the console versions look great, on PC the visuals look crisper, rendering the brisk action with a level of detail that made Max's bullet-time shenanigans all the more impressive. The enhanced detail was readily apparent in facial animations too, with Max's monologues being full of furrowed brows and menacing grimaces. Those moments were further enhanced with bokeh-heavy text that floated and flashed around the screen, forming part of the game's attempt to blend graphic novel elements with in-game action.

But the most impressive visuals came during heated firefights. Transitions to Max's bullet-time ability were incredibly smooth, making use of all kinds of neat visual effects like motion blur. The flare from Max's guns was suitably bright and flashy as he laid waste to the many soldiers in his path, picking them off with carefully placed headshots. Stray bullets left puffy trails of smoke behind them, shattering nearby panes of glass and sending stray shards flying around the screen. Also neat were the many empty bullet shells that fell from Max's gun, creating that always satisfying "clink" sound as they hit the ground.

All that visual loveliness comes at a price, so you'll need a relatively modern graphics card to get in on the action--anything from Nvidia's GTX 400 series or ATI's 5000 series, through to the latest Kepler-powered GTX 680 or ATI's HD7970. Rockstar has promised to support users with less sporty hardware too, though you will miss out on some of the DirectX 11-specific enhancements.

Max Payne 3 is due for release on June 1 in the EU and May 29 in North America, which should give you just enough time to save for that upgrade.
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Source
 
That's a fair comment and I'm pretty sure that if you have a limitless budget then you can enjoy the marginal benefits that PC gaming has to offer. Look at it like this (from my point of view); My PC looks like this:

Intel 980X CPU @ 4.1GHz.
6GB DDR3 2000MHz RAM (agreed, 6GB seems puny these days)
Two GTX580's in SLi + a single 9800GT for PhysX
Dell U2711 @ 2560x1440 res

From my point of view, if this game does not run well (even with a substantial hardware investment) then I'm going the console route from now on. I'm not bashing PC gaming. I've always gamed on all platforms. But financially PC gaming seems to make less and less sense to me.
 
Neo said:
That's a fair comment and I'm pretty sure that if you have a limitless budget then you can enjoy the marginal benefits that PC gaming has to offer. Look at it like this (from my point of view); My PC looks like this:

Intel 980X CPU @ 4.1GHz.
6GB DDR3 2000MHz RAM (agreed, 6GB seems puny these days)
Two GTX580's in SLi + a single 9800GT for PhysX
Dell U2711 @ 2560x1440 res

From my point of view, if this game does not run well (even with a substantial hardware investment) then I'm going the console route from now on. I'm not bashing PC gaming. I've always gamed on all platforms. But financially PC gaming seems to make less and less sense to me.
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Overkill mate. Pretty sure your pc will run it like a dream. I play every single game I have on the very highest settings and I do not spend 50k on a pc over 10 years!

Only thing you might invest in over time a a multicore CPU, if yours do not support it and you can always run future things at a lower res? That would help a lot!
 
LOL game won't even launch. At least they got a typical PC port release how one expects it. Lots of people are having this issue it seems.

/sigh
 
Well, good news! I installed it, it worked first time, and I'm absolutely MAXing out the settings (see what I did there?) :) The game is pretty fun - I need to get into the story a bit more but it seems pretty cool. PC gaming might still hold a place in my heart.
 
Well I got it working this morning eventually after doing some rather ridiculous things. Also running completely maxed and my 7850 is coasting along. :)

Good game so far and definitely not easy.
 
Isengard said:
Well I got it working this morning eventually after doing some rather ridiculous things. Also running completely maxed and my 7850 is coasting along. :)

Good game so far and definitely not easy.
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No geesh, not an easy game at all. I've died twice in the first 2 chapters - and I'm playing on easy! lol I'm such a noob.
 
Just got mine... eventually. I think Kalahari sends their pre-orders out too late. I never receive my pre-orders from them on the day of release.

Anyway, this is now officially the biggest game I own... 4 DVDs.
The only big downside to this game as far as I can tell is Rockstar Social club. I hate that just about as much as I hate GFWL. Perhaps its working better now since LA Noire?
 
ViperGTI said:
Just got mine... eventually. I think Kalahari sends their pre-orders out too late. I never receive my pre-orders from them on the day of release.

Anyway, this is now officially the biggest game I own... 4 DVDs.
The only big downside to this game as far as I can tell is Rockstar Social club. I hate that just about as much as I hate GFWL. Perhaps its working better now since LA Noire?
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No idea, but it works. I'm really having a blast with this game.
 
Finished the game this weekend without any hitches whatsoever. Even played some multiplayer!! What a game, damn!!

Busy with the story mode now again on Hardcore mode. This game is so epic. Same ol' drunken, cynical Max. This game is just so awesome. Definitely a good buy for any Max Payne fan.
 
I really want to pick this up as I am a serious Max Payne fan.. BUT, the trilogies are too thick this year and gaming time is limited.. Hopefully once D3 or BF3 hunger calms down a bit, will I have some time to jam MP3.
 
to0kenZA said:
Finished the game this weekend without any hitches whatsoever. Even played some multiplayer!! What a game, damn!!

Busy with the story mode now again on Hardcore mode. This game is so epic. Same ol' drunken, cynical Max. This game is just so awesome. Definitely a good buy for any Max Payne fan.
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This is rockstar for you. They create first class games.
 
I also finished the game this past weekend and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Something which seems a little odd to me is that nobody has stated how repeatative this game can be. It's basically the same thing over and over again; Cut-scene > thrown into a room > bunch of baddies show up > shoot everything that moves > repeat.

Again, I really enjoyed the game. The story was a bit "meh". The graphics and sound was awesome and it ran like a champ. I did experience one lock-up that was the game's fault and one bug during a boat-chase scene (was quite funny). Other than that it was a surprisingly easy PC gaming experience coming from Rockstar :)
 
DiceAir said:
This is rockstar for you. They create first class games.
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I wouldn't really say that... Yeah, the games are awesome, but in the past, the PC versions wasn't always as good as this. Take GTA 4 for examaple...oh man. Let's not get started.

Neo said:
I also finished the game this past weekend and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Something which seems a little odd to me is that nobody has stated how repeatative this game can be. It's basically the same thing over and over again; Cut-scene > thrown into a room > bunch of baddies show up > shoot everything that moves > repeat.

Again, I really enjoyed the game. The story was a bit "meh". The graphics and sound was awesome and it ran like a champ. I did experience one lock-up that was the game's fault and one bug during a boat-chase scene (was quite funny). Other than that it was a surprisingly easy PC gaming experience coming from Rockstar :)
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You did play the first 2 Max Payne games, right? :D

Just checking. That's what all the other Max games have been like. This one's no different, except that it's much better looking :p
 
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