Max Payne 3 Trailer Breakdown: 10 Things That Caught Our Eye

As you’ve probably heard/seen, Rockstar Games has released the debut trailer for the long awaited Max Payne 3, bringing with it our first in-motion look at Max in all his down-and-out glory. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of juicy details packed into the all-too-brief trailer, so we thought we’d take a moment to identify some of the more telling elements and speculate as to what they might mean for the final game.

1. The trailer kicks off with the same iconic violin tune from the original Max Payne. For anyone who played the hell out of the original like we did, hearing these notes again after all these years to kick off our reintroduction to Max and his new story was pitch perfect.

2. Max does not look good. Is whiskey the new painkiller? Actually, it’s more like one of the original painkillers, but you know what I mean. Either way, Max certainly does seem to be enjoying the libations, as we can see by the numerous bottles on the table in the background. Who knows? We could see some sort of flask mechanic in place of pill bottles after all.

3. The credit animations seem very Michael Mann-ish for some reason. Not that they remind me of any specific credit sequence from one his movies, but when I think of slick, modern crime/thrillers, I can’t help but think of Mann’s flicks. And just in case there was any doubt about Mann’s influence on MP3…

4. As soon as I saw that suit, I knew it looked familiar. Fine by me though. There’s something inherently badass about a dude in a sharp getup dishing out some lead-based justice. Speaking of clothes, this is just one of seven different outfits that Max is seen wearing in the course of the trailer. That’s a lot of wardrobe changes. Given that previous Rockstar games let you alternate outfits at will, I’m guessing this will be the case again for MP3.

5. The above ransom note, when translated reads something to the effect of, “Bring $3 million dollars to the Galatians stadium today at midnight or Fabiana dies!” From a couple of the other shots, Galatians is established as a local soccer team (aka football club, or FC). A quick internet search didn’t turn up any real Brazilian team, so fake soccer clubs confirmed! Also, this gives us the name of the woman Max is, at least at first, tasked with tracking down, and the man holding the note, whining about being targets is obviously someone who would be none too pleased should she not be returned alive. The facial animations on the characters are also really well done. Not MotionScan caliber, but impressive nonetheless.

6. This sequence shows of a pistol whip melee attack that appears to blend into an execution move at the end of it. Hard to say if this will be some sort of special attack, or just Max being badass Max. The whizzing bullets, kids drawings on the back wall, and shattered glass effects are also nice touches.

7. Just a super quick look at some kind of automatic shotgun capable of blasting fools through windows. Max is shown using a variety of weapons in the trailer (uzi, pistol, machine guns, etc.), and as we saw with the uzi and then later with the shotgun, each weapon appears to have a specific melee/takedown move. Shotgun + execution move = ouch.

8. Bullet-time makes its triumphant return. It will be interesting to see how the newly updated Rage engine is used to bring Max’s iconic/fanciful acrobatic maneuver to life this time around. He already appears to have much more weight to him, and not just around his mid-section, which is a good start.

9. A literal on-rails sequence has Max firing on dudes from aboard a train, hinting at the kind of scope we can expect from the action sequences this time around. Great touch: how each individual bullet hits those back panes of glass and shatters them.

10. As in previous MP games, the bullet tracking shots are back, and based on what happens to the dude unfortunate enuogh to catch said bullet with his face, they will be even more brutal than ever.

So there you have it. Just a couple things that have us even more eager to see what Rockstar has in store for Max. Hey March, chop chop!

Any other details from the trailer that stuck out to you?