Max Payne 3 - Death to Loading Screens

I have never been a fan of Rockstar, the creators of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series. The open world game premise is just too much for me. Too many things to experience, I need a bit more direction in order to fully enjoy something.

But then they turn around and deliver Max Payne 3.

I had heard tremendous things and was able to pick it up cheap on Steam, during their summer sale. Thanks Valve. And oh my gosh, Max Payne is one of the best games I have played in a long time.

So many things work together perfectly that you get sucked into the experience. I finished the game about a week or two ago and now with that buffer I can finally turn around and try to analyze what makes it so good and what is mares the experience.

Cinematic design - the freaking great.

Wow, these guys, whoever they are, deserve a raise. The transition between cinematic and gameplay is seamless. The cuts scenes feel fluid and natural between the heart pounding insanity of the gunplay, which compromises the meat of the game. Animations are excellently choreographed, the voice acting is top notch. Camera work is active and engaging and the text that slides into the drug hazed world that Max lives in adds a slick presentation to the works.

The best part is, not once did I ever see a loading screen.

Loading screens have always been a necessary evil, but it’s a price we pay in order to play these games. But as soon as it happens it’s basically a giant sign that says, “Guess what, this is all still a game and your sitting in your chair. This is going to take a while, so why not go get a snack.”

I play games because it’s another medium to explore, another way to dive into a world. Literature and film don’t have these problems of loading screens; no-one comes over to you while reading a book and tells you, “Oh by the way, what you’re reading is just ink on a page.” Ask anyone who has read a really good book; to them it’s a living breathing thing that they became lost in.

Ok rant over. To wrap it up, loading screens are bad.

So instead of loading screens, Max Payne does something brilliant. RockStar masks it by having the player watch an expertly directed video setting up the new chapter, while the content somehow, by magic, streams and loads in the background.

 

So the blog post ran a bit long. Need to get to work. More Max Payne commentary tomorrow.