In a surprise announcement earlier this week, Remedy and Rockstar have revealed a plan to remake the first two Max Payne games for modern platforms. Both titles which were landmark achievements in action games for the time, will now be brought up to speed with enhancements to graphics and gameplay alike. While this is fantastic news, Max Payne 3 was strangely missing from the announcement of the remakes.
From one perspective, it could be argued that Max Payne 3 was left out because it's not as old as the first two installments and has aged better in this regard, not needing any kind of technical overhauls. All the same, however, the third entry in the action thriller franchise is every bit as excellent as its predecessors, and it feels strange to omit it from a similar treatment. There was even potential to bundle Max's entire story into one package.
Building Upon Max Payne 3's Already Fantastic Presentation
Although Max Payne 3 is already almost ten years old, it still holds up extremely well from a presentation standpoint. Everything from the graphics, sound design, and more all look great even in the wake of powerful new hardware like the PS5 and Xbox Series X. That being said, there's always room for improvement and with the advancements made in gaming tech since Max Payne 3's release. A few little tweaks and additions couldn't hurt to heighten the overall presentation of the game. Grand Theft Auto 5 made significant improvements from its PS3 to PS4 version, so a similar leap here could be warranted.
Remedy's own Alan Wake recently had a remaster of its own, and while the original doesn't look bad by any means, the new update clearly brought some nice upgrades. Max Payne 3 could implement better lighting techniques, sharper character models, and even more detailed textures. Furthermore, the amount of carnage onscreen during the more intense set pieces of the game could occasionally result in the frame rate taking a hit. In order to keep the game as smooth as possible for the exhilarating action gunplay, modern consoles could handle the chaos in Max Payne 3 better than ever before.
The Complete Max Payne Story
For the sake of consistency and accessibility as well, it would be worthwhile to bring Max Payne 3 back to the forefront alongside the other installments. The first game itself is already two decades old, so odds are that there are a lot of gamers out there who have never experienced this franchise before. If players who pick up the remakes for Max Payne and Max Payne 2 really enjoy the experience, they will naturally be curious to see how the story continues in the third chapter.
While it wouldn't be impossible to track down a PS3 or Xbox 360 copy of the game (or a digital version), it would simply be easier to give the game a modern release on hardware that is more readily available. This would also pave the way for the opportunity to bundle all three games together in one package, giving players the option to acquire the entire trilogy all in one purchase. Each entry in the Max Payne series is more or less a standalone story, and it's not absolutely required to play all three. Despite this, the option to witness Max's journey and struggle in its entirety would be welcome.
Multiplayer gaming has also exploded in the past decade since Max Payne 3's release, with the rise of battle royale titles and more. Max Payne 3 also featured a multiplayer deathmatch mode when it first hit the scene, and bringing that back as an added bonus certainly wouldn't hurt the overall deal. All in all, it seems to be in Remedy and Rockstar's best interests to include the final entry of the Max Payne trilogy into this new remake treatment.
Max Payne 3 is available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.