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Max Payne (video game)
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- For the movie, see Max Payne (2008)
The first entry in the best-selling Max Payne series of video games, this game revolves around the story of the eponymous NYPD cop whose wife and daughter are murdered by junkies high on a then-unknown drug called Valkyr or V, a hallucinogenic substance that also makes its users prone to extreme violence. Vowing revenge on the one who sent the junkies, Max Payne joins the DEA and goes undercover in the New York criminal underground. Three years later, Valkyr is more prevalent than ever, but Max finally gets a break in the case, only to be framed for the murder of his partner Alex Balder. Now a fugitive wanted dead by all sides, Max must carve a shell-casing-strewn and blood-soaked path through the unrelentingly violent night in order to clear his name, uncover the purveyor of the drug, and find some measure of absolution for his tormented soul.
The following weapons appear in the video game Max Payne:
WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Overview
The game unashamedly borrows many cinematic and action elements from the films of John Woo, notably Hard Boiled (an ingame difficulty setting is even named after the film), in the way it uses slow-motion "bullet time" gameplay, the widespread use of dual-wielded guns, and the slow-motion "shoot-dodge" moves Max can use to simultaneously dodge and return fire. These elements would later turn up in the sequels and other unrelated video games, such as the F.E.A.R. series, the Red Dead Revolver series, the John Woo-directed Stranglehold, etc. Incidentally, it does NOT borrow from The Matrix, a film that would reignite interest in slow-motion action sequences, despite being released after the first movie in that series, as the first game was in development since 1996 and was supposed to be released in 1999, before being pulled back for a revamp and release in 2001.
In order to give the bullet-time mechanic more use and to make gameplay more cinematic, many of the fully-automatic weapons in this game have unrealistically low rates of fire. One major gimmick in Max Payne is that rather than the weapons using instantaneous "hitscan" traces where the impact is calculated in the same instant the shot is fired, all weapons fire modelled projectiles with defined muzzle velocities. However, all ingame muzzle velocities are unrealistically slow, to the point that Max can dodge most gunfire just by moving slightly to the left or right in bullet-time mode despite not gaining any movement speed in that mode. It is likely that this was a conscious choice on the part of the developers for gameplay purposes, since realistic muzzle velocities would leave no room for dodging, even with the bullet-time mechanic; it is rather like the unrealistically slow gunfire in "bullet hell" shooters in this regard.
With no budget to hire actors, the character textures in the first game are digitised from photographs of the dev team, their families, and even random people who walked past Remedy's offices during development. Most famously, Max Payne is Sam Lake, the lead writer, while Nicole Horne is Lake's mother.
Handguns
Beretta 92FS
The Beretta 92FS is Max Payne's signature weapon (they are used in any cutscenes he shoots in), and is used by all NPC factions in the game. It is one of the two weapons in this game that can be dual wielded. The textures used in the game reveal that the actual model of Beretta 92FS was a West German "Miami" model from Reck International (A blank-firing only type, which is indicated by the PtB, or Physikalisch technische Bundesanstalt sign, that is required in Germany for legal sale). The in-game Beretta 92FS has an 18-round magazine capacity instead of the correct 15. It is worth noting that the Beretta 92FS isn't an authorized service weapon of the real-life NYPD or DEA: mostly likely it comes from the influence of John Woo movies on the game, as the 92FS is well-known to be Woo's favourite handgun.
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Max fires at a fleeing Vinnie Gognitti with his Beretta 92FS'. Incidentally John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat are mentioned by name in this game.
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Desert Eagle Mark VII
Another major weapon in the game is a chrome or nickel plated Desert Eagle Mark VII. The gun first shows up in the hands of the very first gangsters that Max faces at the Roscoe Street Station, and is the weapon that B.B. uses to murder Alex Balder, Max's only contact while undercover. In addition to many bad guys, several named characters also use the gun, among them Vinnie Gognitti and Mona Sax, who plays a more prominent role in the next game. Unlike the next game, this weapon cannot be dual-wielded, though several game mods exist that allow Max to do so. Nicole Horne uses one to try to shoot Max when he comes halfway up the stairs in the last level. The Desert Eagle in the game is noted as .44 Magnum caliber and unrealistically holds 12 rounds in its 8-round magazines.
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Submachine Guns
Cobray M11/9
Incorrectly referred to as an 'Ingram' in-game, this machine pistol is not a Gordon Ingram-designed MAC-10 but its well known stand-in, the Cobray M11/9. This can be seen by the elongated back receiver and disk-shaped cocking handle. Max first obtains the Cobray M11/9 in the shootout with Rico Muerte the assassin in Jack Lupino's hotel early on in the game. It's the only weapon other than the Beretta that can be dual-wielded, and often shows up being wielded this way by enemies, including Frankie "the Bat" Niagara during the second major bar shootout at Lupino's hotel. The Cobray M11/9 in-game has a 50-round magazine capacity and is restricted to fully-automatic fire--even the lightest presses of the "fire" button will spray no less than 4 rounds per press if the ammunition is available.
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Uzi
Jack Lupino, Nicole Horne, and Horne's bodyguards carry full-size Uzis in the graphic novel cutscenes. Neither they or Max Payne actually use them in the game.
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Shotguns
Winchester 1300 Defender
Max's primary shotgun is the Winchester 1300 Defender. It is first seen ingame in a first-floor closet in his New Jersey home in the Prologue level. It is a powerful but slow-firing weapon used by all NPC factions, but loses effectiveness in the third act where Max faces many enemies wearing body armor and packing assault rifles. Boris Dime, the captain of the gunrunning cargo ship Charon, also uses one when you fight him. It has a correct 7-round tube magazine capacity, but no front sight due to the limitations of the game engine.
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Sawed-Off Double-Barreled Shotgun
The Sawed-Off Side-by-Side Double Barrel Shotgun first makes its appearance during the "Live at the Crime Scene" stage, in the hands of a punk who guns down his buddy during an argument over who was supposed to bring a detonator to clear their escape route. Unlike most sawn-off double-barreled shotguns in movies and games, this weapon can only be fired one barrel at a time, but like its movie depictions is always used in a one-handed grip in this game. Jack Lupino uses one during the showdown with him in his inner sanctum at the Ragna Rock nightclub. It fires more quickly than the pump-action shotgun, but is obviously limited to two shots.
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Max muses to himself while he looks at some cylinders of Valkyr, a suitcase full of dirty money, and a sawed-off shotgun on the table. For some reason, break-action guns like the sawed-off shotgun are always depicted as open when not held by an in-game character in this video game.
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Pancor Jackhammer
The last shotgun available in the game is the Pancor Jackhammer. Max doesn't get the Jackhammer until the "Backstabbing Bastard" chapter where he faces off with B.B., his corrupt former partner in law enforcement, who also wields one of these. It primarily shows up in the hands of Nicole Horne's Killer Suits in the final stages of the game, and is extremely deadly at close range. Unlike the other two shotguns in the game it is capable of fully-automatic fire, and has a detachable drum magazine that incorrectly holds 12 rounds instead of 10 like the real Pancor Jackhammer. For some reason, ammunition for this weapon is not interchangeable with the other shotguns in the game.
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Rifles / Carbines
Colt Model 733
Max first gets ahold of the Colt Model 733 "Commando" when he raids the arsenal of Boris Dime in the aftermath of a shootout with him onboard the gunrunning cargo ship Charon. It's a powerful weapon that is used by many NPCs in the third act "A Bit Closer to Heaven," and often shows up in the hands of Nicole Horne's mercenaries and Killer Suits. The muzzle flash is rather inaccurate -- it looks as if it came from an old-style M16 three-prong flash hider, rather than the more modern 6-slotted "birdcage" flash hider. This ultracompact carbine has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds and is restricted to fully-automatic fire. One brief sequence in the Asgard building level shows a mercenary with a laser-sight-equipped Model 733 emitting a visible beam, but when this particular NPC is seen later no laser sight is visibly mounted on his weapon, nor is there any graphical effect to represent the laser.
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Steyr SSG 69 PII
Max and various hostile NPCs use the Steyr SSG 69 PII rifle. The rifle is modeled with a ten-shot detachable magazine which only holds 5 rounds ingame. For some reason, no ingame characters actually work the bolt-action despite it being heard after every shot, and indeed the weapon is treated as semi-automatic ingame (the most likely reason behind this unrealistic aspect is because working a bolt-action would take too long in bullet-time mode, since the player can only slow time with that ability, not speed up Max's actions when that mode is active). This sniper rifle is first seen in the second act, "A Cold Day in Hell."
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Norinco Type 56
Boris Dime is seen holding what appears to be a full-stocked Norinco Type 56 AK variant in a graphic novel cutscene. It's not usable in the game.
Launchers
M79 Grenade Launcher
Max first encounters the M79 Grenade Launcher while storming mafia boss Angelo Punchinello's manor, in the hands of a bad guy who blows open a door trying to take him down. This single-shot weapon will kill any non-boss enemy in its blast radius, and will also kill you if you're too close to what you're shooting at, which is made more difficult since the weapon has a steep trajectory for its projectiles. NPCs using this weapon show up a lot in the third act, making Max's life extremely rough.
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Hand Grenades
M26/M61 Hand Grenade
Max can also find and use M26/M61 Hand Grenades throughout the game. Though the ingame model's shape is that of M26/M61, it appears to use the texture of a Mk 2 "Pineapple" Grenade. They are used by all factions in the game.
Cut Weapons
Heckler & Koch MP5SD
Originally, the Heckler & Koch MP5SD was meant to be featured in the game, but it was cut before release. The gun can still be found in the game's files. The player also can still use the console command "GetMP5", but it will give him the Colt Commando.
See Also
Video Games:
Movie: