10 Video Games You Hated Before You Even Played Them

It might seem like a mere distant memory nowadays, but when the long-awaited third entry into the Max Payne franchise was finally unveiled in 2011, the fan response was pretty damn ugly.

Rockstar made the bold decision to shift the action away from New York City to São Paulo, Brazil, in turn switching out the series' established film noir-esque art style for more colourful environments.

Oh, and Max was now bald, had a giant grizzly beard, and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt. In purely superficial terms, it felt like Rockstar made a decision to "lighten up" the franchise in the pursuit of greater commercial success after Max Payne 2's inexplicably mediocre sales.

But then Max Payne 3 came out, and in the eyes of many was quickly confirmed to be the best game in the series, or in the very least an extremely worthy follow-up.

Any worries about a sanitised sequel were quickly shot to bits in slow-mo: Max continued to be a trauma-riddled substance abuser and went through near-literal hell before game's end.

Better yet, the gunplay was arguably even better than in the first two games, courtesy of the refined physics engine.