How Rockstar Should Bring Back Max Payne

What Makes Max Great?

The added touch of having much of the game narrated by Max’s inner thoughts gives the player a much-needed insight into his often sorrowful outlook on life.

The hardships he’s endured has turned Max into an aged, self-aware, wise-cracking, all-American a-hole. What made him special compared to other protagonists like CJ or Niko Bellic wasn’t just the grumpy and jaded persona, but the fact that he wasn’t a walking arsenal of military-grade weapons.

Max Payne tossed weapon wheels full of ridiculous and implausible weaponry out the window. In Max Payne, you had two hand-guns and one big one you could carry in your off-hand. Want to duel-wield those pistols? Then bye-bye assault rifle.

Playing as Max Payne made you feel powerful and vulnerable all at the same time. You couldn’t just walk up to a group of guys, pull out an RPG, and insta-kill the lot, you had to watch your ammo and scavenge dead enemies for whatever might get you through the next firefight.

With how blatantly stupid the Grand Theft Auto arsenal of death and destruction has become, the limitations of Max Payne’s design would bring gamers back to a simpler time. Similar to how Red Dead Redemption 2 only lets the player hold so much while the rest is stored on their magical horse.

The RDR2 comparisons don't stop there, Max is very similar to the anti-hero, Arthur Morgan, in the way that they are both utter badasses but have a genuine sense of mortality that simultaneously humbles the character and makes them easier to empathise with from the audience.