10 Divisive Video Games That Are Secretly The Best Entry

1. Max Payne 3

Possibly the most unfairly treated game of Rockstar's back catalogue, and certainly of the 2010s. I too was more than guilty of screaming "What have they done?!" when that first batch of screenshots showed a Hawaiian shirted, totally bald Max, as it couldn't be further from what Remedy began in the originals.

Divorce yourself from those expectations though, and this is one of Dan Houser's best scripts. Max is every bit the wise-cracking noir machine of yesteryear, but iced off with some supremely dark comedic tones, a sardonic sensibility, and even a nihilistic edge that lets you know HE thinks his whole life is a joke.

It's the gunplay that excels above all else. Rockstar would put every ounce of their budget into developing a physics-heavy system where every bullet matters. Even Max's hulking frame has real momentum, and needs to be piloted through the chaos. Leaping into the air with twin pistols is a considered choice, as is playing the angles game and progressing more methodically.

Add gorgeous slow-motion toggles to show everything off and an up-close cam filled with enemy bodies being perforated with each shell, and you have an outstanding third-person shooter with a career-best performance from James McCaffrey.