14 Most Polarising Video Games Of The Decade (So Far)

8. Max Payne 3

What Works?

He might've lost his hair and trenchcoat, but Max's Rockstar-developed one-off is hands-down one of the best third-person shooters you'll ever play.

Combining the studio's proficiency with third-person gameplay with a script that revels in Max's dark, sarcastic comedic tendencies, this is a completely different beast to that of MP1 and 2, but one that still works fantastically well.

Style and characterisation are what elevate this above the competition, with Max drinking himself into a stupor on a nightly basis, only to slowly rediscover his slightly more heroic side as the game gets going. By the time he's shaved his hair off and donned a Hawaiian shirt because he's past caring, you'll be completely on-side with his whole "I'm worth nothing, but I'm gonna do something before I die" shtick.

What Doesn't?

For all its rebuilding and reframing of Max as a down n' out ex-cop being fuelled not by revenge but some inbuilt need to go out with a bang, Max Payne 3 didn't 'feel' like a Max Payne game.

Gone were the comic book panel interludes, the noir-style colour palette, the wintery level design and the 'one cop against a city' vibe, and in was Max going to Brazil, ditching his trenchcoat (outside of a couple of flashbacks), and being on the back foot to every scenario, rather than quipping on top of it.