When Finnish developer Remedy Entertainment decided to sell the rights to their popular Max Payne franchise back in 2002, diehard fans were worried it meant the death of the series. Without Remedy at the helm, any future games would lose that special blend of noir-tinted storytelling and elegant gunplay that made the first two games a success. Things would have to change, and that's always a terrifying prospect.
In a way, those fears were well founded. Max Payne 3, currently in development from Rockstar Vancouver, has eschewed many of the franchise's more recognizeable aspects, including the gritty New York City setting that was so crucial to the first two games.
While those changes may have proven decisive for fans, Rockstar has done their best to stay true to the heart of the franchise, even bringing in people from Remedy to help give feedback on the game's early builds. As Remedy's Head of Franchise Development Oskari Hakkinen told NowGamer in a recent interview, those previews have given them plenty of reason to be excited.
"We’ve been blessed with being able to actually see the game and give some feedback. We’ve been meeting with Rockstar and looking at Max 3 – it looks absolutely phenomenal – the nice thing is we’ve been giving our feeling on the game but at the end of the day we don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting, which is nice. Rockstar don’t make bad games, so you already know it’s going to be good. Just like we hope the Remedy brand is a seal of quality, you know that Rockstar’s brand is a seal of quality. It’s been nice to be part of the process, but we don’t want to take any of the limelight. From what we’ve seen it’s going to be absolutely fantastic."
Hey, if a bald, slighty tubby Max Payne is good enough for Remedy, it's good enough for me.
Max Payne 3 releases in March for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
