Max Payne 3 will stay true to the 'core element of Max,' retain noir narrative style
A lot has changed since 2003, not only for Max but for the gaming industry. What may have worked back then doesn't necessarily cut the mustard-stained tanktop nowadays, Rockstar VP of product development Jeronimo Barrera explained to GameSpot. Thus the radical departure in setting and look for Max Payne 3.
Barrera said that while Max Payne 3 is very modern, most of the game's wrappings will be familiar to those who played the first game. The change of setting from snow-covered New York to the hot and muggy tropics of São Paulo, Brazil, doesn't mean that Max Payne 3 will lose the series' iconic noir narrative and Max's internal monologues. "While we've revealed the setting as São Paulo, the game stays true to all the fundamentals of the first two games, from the noir themes and visuals to James McCaffrey's iconic voice-over and even a version of the graphic-novel-style panels," Barrera said.
And if you doubt Rockstar's commitment to Sparkle Motion delivering an authentic Max Payne experience, original developer Remedy was consulted early on to ensure the game's direction was on course. "Staying true to each core element of Max was always a major focus, and that's actually something that we discussed with Remedy during development, and they've been extremely supportive of our work." Rockstar did change the story of Max Payne 3 to stretch over the course of a few weeks, as opposed to taking place over the course of a single evening like the previous two games.
Finally, Barrerra teased that we'd get to see Max in "some familiar locations," but we won't get to hear about that until later this year.
