It's a testament to how good Max Payne is that the developers even considered creating a mobile version. Max has gracefully aged and all of the components of the original have remained intact. The levels are exactly the same, the cut-scenes remain, even the main screen complete with the theme tune remain in this version. Max Payne reminds us that there are quality games made ten years ago that still hold up today.
At the heart of Max Payne lies a psuedo revenge story featuring drugs, killers and the death of Max Payne's wife. The game starts by putting you in the thick of the story and after years of not playing, within 5 minutes of watching the film noir comic cut-scenes slowly materialize from an devoid background it was easy to get hooked yet again. As the story unravels, there are plenty of plot twists to keep the story entertaining. It all still feels original and the gritty voice work of Max Payne really sells the character along with the plot.
The gameplay is smooth and has a unique rhythm to it. When walking into a room you can activate bullet time then watch as time decelerates until bullet time runs out (about 8 seconds from full to empty) or you can use the shoot dodge move, a handy manoeuvre that takes away part of your bullet time and ends when Max Payne lands on the floor. It's great watching Max drop a couple of enemies whilst in slowmo and it remains very satisfying to empty a room this way.
Max Payne is still a quality title and looks great on a small screen. You can make out the bullets as they hiss past and the scenery, whilst looking a little blocky is detailed. The title ran smoothly from start to finish and the frame rate only dropped a few times in busy parts of the game. It's an impressive feat and has me wondering what Rockstar will port over to the mobile operating systems next. GTA: San Andreas please?
The only hitch, and it's a big one, are the controls. Yes, it's a mobile game and so yes, the controls are not as good as any console or PC counterpart could be. Its hard to enter bullet time and have enough time to aim and drop all your foes. The analogue stick does well enough. Most impressively, the game gives you a truck load of options to mess around with in this department. You can hard lock on enemies (I found this to be annoying as the camera focussed on enemies when they couldn't be seen on the screen), soft lock, change sensitivity of looking and alter the position of the buttons. It really feels as though Rockstar knows the limits of the platform they are working with and so created options allowing the player to tailor the game to their own requirements.
Nostalgia or no nostalgia, this is a outstanding game to own on any platform. Other developers should take note of what Rockstar managed to achieve on the iPhone. Perhaps it might help others take the plunge and create new games with as strong a narrative as this. Max Payne is the perfect pain killer to take whilst waiting for number three to appear on store shelves.