Remedy’s Max Payne Remake can’t be just a new lick of paint

The Max Payne series ranks as one of my favourite of all time, alongside the now-returning Metal Gear Solid. As a kid who grew up religiously watching John Woo movies, I will never forget the thrill of being able to ‘direct’ my own action movie using Remedy’s then-revolutionary ‘Bullet Time’.

With a click of a button, gunplay would transform into a glorious ballet of violence, with shell cases and bodies contorting and twisting in the air in slow motion. Every battle was a scene with incredible detail: facial expressions would change when enemies, or Max, fired their guns, materials would shatter and smash as they were ripped apart, the room would be destroyed in a hail of fantastical destruction.

However, Max Payne wasn’t a complex game. Although the story was told with some ingenious, dream-like elements, it’s latter half did fall apart, but thanks to Bullet Time and its clear appreciation for Woo, it was a one-trick pony that executed its craft to perfection.

Once the second game rolled around, we saw an evolution of these key gameplay mechanics. Shooting felt heavier and more realistic, physics were improved, and even Bullet Time was tweaked and layered to make it more engaging.

When Rockstar took over development for Max Payne 3, which remains my favourite of the series, realism and gunplay was dialled up another notch. The Grand Theft Auto 4 RAGE engine with its Euphoria Physics Engine was put to good use, allowing for sophisticated enemy AI, graphic violence and a character completely grounded in the physics around him.

Marketing materials and videos went into vivid detail about how enemies would react depending on what they were wearing and where they were shot. Bodies could be peppered with bullets, cinematic cut-away shots could be controlled by the player, and set-pieces from hanging upside down on helicopters to ‘leap frogging’ over an on-coming jeep helped make it feel the most cinematic yet. And this is where the problem could lie…

Max Payne 3 took the elements of what made the original games such a hit and built on them. In fact, when going back into the earlier games, you’ll feel just how much more stilted Max’s movement feels. Now, a lot of this is down to age, of course, but Remedy shouldn’t be looking to just add a new lick of paint when it comes to remastering those titles. Both, although fun, are slightly repetitive, and the current gameplay design could be considered potentially constraining for a group as talented as Remedy.

Unlike Konami, who by their own admission, is playing catch up with fans after fluffing the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol 1 launch, Remedy is not on the back foot

You need only look at Alan Wake 2, and its post launch support, to see just how creative this team can be. They face a difficult balancing act. As Konami is doing with the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, do they risk angering, or upsetting core fans of the series should they deviate too far from the revered original? Or do they go down the Resident Evil or Dead Space route and use this opportunity to express themselves more and back themselves to keep the core element of the game intact?

As someone who loves this series more than anything, I would implore Remedy to do the latter. They have the opportunity to create the action game of the generation, just like the original was – but adding new graphics to dated gameplay structure would be a huge missed opportunity. They should take risks, and the Max Payne community should back them.

After all, Max Payne and is sequel are still playable on modern systems, and their core, clunky gameplay may be outdated for some modern audiences. If Remedy takes a page out of Resident Evil’s book and reimagines level design, gunplay and more, Max Payne would not only feel fresh again for newcomers, but also live up to its legacy as a series that pushes modern technology to its peak.

Unlike Konami, who by their own admission, is playing catch up with fans after fluffing the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol 1 launch, Remedy is not on the back foot. Alan Wake 2 was a fantastic sequel, and the Control franchise is also amazing. But with Max Payne coming back, the studio needs to firmly bring Max into the current generation, and we’re pretty sure they will.