Minggu, 08 Desember 2019

Mobygames (218)

Maupiti Island
Maupiti Island DOS Front Cover  Maupiti Island DOS Back Cover

Maupiti Island is a nonlinear police investigation with graphics in 2D and is the sequel to Mortville Manor.

Whilst famous detective Jerome Lange is at sea, a cyclone (Harry) approaches and obliges his ship to put in at Maupiti Island until the weather calms. Then, as if things were not bad enough already, a woman called Marie disappears from the island! Lange gives up on his holiday to investigate, and discovers many hidden secrets lurking beneath the surface of Maupiti Island.
 
Max Payne
Max Payne PlayStation 2 Front Cover  Max Payne PlayStation 2 Back Cover

 Max Payne was a police officer of the New York City police. On one terrible day, his wife and newborn daughter were killed by three junkies, who broke into his apartment after having ingested a new designer drug known as Valkyr. After the tragedy, Max quit the police force and joined the Drug Enforcement Administration. Three years later, during a raid on a mafia compound that was reportedly trafficking Valkyr, his best friend and fellow DEA agent Alex is killed, and he becomes the prime suspect in his murder. Now Max is all alone in the cold, snowy night of New York. The mob is out to get him. The police are out to get him. The only way out is with guns blazing, because he has nothing to lose.

Max Payne is a third person shooter stylistically influenced by film noir, "hardboiled" detective stories, and Hong-Kong action cinema. Max can perform rolls and leaps to try and dodge enemy fire. The weapons at his disposal range from baseball bats to Ingram sub-machine guns, grenades, Molotov cocktails, and others. A unique feature of the game is the usage of the so-called Bullet Time - a time-slowing ability that was popularized by the first Matrix movie. Activating the Bullet Time slows down everything that happens around Max (including his own movements), allowing for slow, but precise performance of moves to take care of his enemies. A special meter indicates how much time the effect will last, and how long Max needs to wait until it can be activated again.

Cutscenes in the game are presented as comic book-style graphical panels accompanied by voice-overs.

Max Payne 2
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne PlayStation 2 Front Cover  Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne PlayStation 2 Back Cover

Two years have passed since Max Payne first embarked on his desperate quest for revenge. Returning to his former position as a detective in the New York City Police Department, Max is assigned to investigate a series of murders carried out by group of contract killers known as the Cleaners. Unexpectedly, Max encounters the enigmatic Mona Sax, whom he assumed dead. People from his past begin to return one by one, and Max gradually realizes that he did not know everything about the mysterious Circle and those who were involved in the murder of his family. Somebody out there is trying to kill Max, and he must find the answers before they succeed.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a direct sequel to Max Payne. The game is very similar to its predecessor in gameplay concept and presentation, bringing back noir detective atmosphere, cinematic John Woo-style action, and cutscenes shaped like comic book panels.

The game is built on the same engine as the predecessor, with several additional special effects and enhancements, such as dynamic shadows and lighting, cubic mapped reflections, and high resolution textures. The Havok engine with ragdoll physics is used to enhance the interactivity with the game world: objects can be moved and destroyed, physically responding to the actions of the player character and opponents.

A new feature in the sequel is the possibility to use secondary weapons alongside regulars guns, namely melee strikes, grenades and Molotov cocktails. Certain characters will join Max and fight on his side from time to time. The player also controls Mona Sax during a few stages. The Bullet Time feature from the previous game has been upgraded to version 2.0, in which Max's speed in bullet time increases as he gets more kills consecutively.

During the first playthrough the game only offers one difficulty level. If the player struggles to succeed, the game will automatically lower the difficulty, reducing the effectiveness of enemy fire and increasing the amount of painkillers. Additional difficulty levels are unlocked when the player completes the game, as well as two new modes: New York Minute and Dead Man Walking. The first awards the player with a score for completing a level as quickly as possible, while the second has Max fighting endlessly respawning enemies.
 
Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3 PlayStation 3 Front Cover  Max Payne 3 PlayStation 3 Back Cover

 Max Payne 3 is the third main game in the series and takes place a good few years after the events of the previous entries. Following his work as a DEA agent and a New York City Police Department detective, protagonist Max Payne moves from Hoboken, New Jersey to São Paulo, Brazil. Looking for a new life and to leave his past behind, he works in a private security detail for Rodrigo Branco. When Branco's wife Fabiana is captured by a street gang during a rooftop party, Payne sets out to save her but the events quickly spiral out of control. He still drinks heavily and even though the drawn comic book panels are no longer present, the cut-scenes still incorporate the panel look and now further the story using the in-game engine with the characteristic inner dialogue voice-over and the film noir elements. Halfway through the game Payne also exchanges his typical suit or trench coat for a bearded, short-haired look wearing a shirt. Compared to the previous game and because of the location the visuals are also often much brighter.

The game is played as a third-person shooter where Payne is often outnumbered by enemies. To survive, the series' prime bullet time mechanic is essential. Activating it slows down time and it allows him to jump, dodge, shoot, and lock onto multiple enemies in succession to take them out. Its length is determined by a bar on the right that needs some time to fill up again. While in a grounded position after a jump Max stays in that position and can quickly shoot in any direction. Defeated opponents leave behind weapons that can be exchanged or be emptied for additional ammo. Multiple weapons can be collected and through a radial menu another one can be selected quickly. Payne is also able to dual-wield pistols and he uses shotguns and automatic weapons. The gameplay incorporates a cover mechanic where cover can be sought near virtually any object. From that safe position it is possible to aim and shoot, or jump out. To survive, cover needs to be used constantly and specific body parts such as head shots are often required to dispose of enemies quickly. Health is shown through an outlined figure on the right. As Max gets shot, it fills up red. To avoid dying he has to pick up and swallow painkillers that come in small supplies.

Certain objects in the environment can be examined for clues and flashing buttons can be shot to open doors and gates. For cinematic effect there is a bullet camera that follows the projectile until impact. The player can manually slow down the camera and rotate, and then continue shooting. Not all of the story is told in chronological order. Some parts are played from flashbacks and next to locations such as restaurants, clubs, rooftops, docks, hotels and the favelas, there are sequences where Max shoots from a helicopter or while on a boat racing on a river. Many times cut-scenes seamlessly turn into gameplay scenes. Next to the main objectives the shooting style is rewarded through grind achievements and optional golden gun parts can be collected to form sets. The main scenario is supplemented with an arcade mode, and the New York Minute mode unlocked after completing the game once.

Multiplayer is entirely new to the series. Next to regular deathmatch games it has a Gang Wars team mode based around gaining experience, using perks, defining custom loadouts, etc. The games include variants of capture-and-hold and capture-the-flag. It also incorporates the bullet time mechanic where activating it affects every opponent in the character's line-of-sight. Crews that are set up through Rockstar's Social Club environment can be carried over to different games.

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar