{"id":30067,"date":"2012-06-08T22:31:45","date_gmt":"2012-06-08T21:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=30067"},"modified":"2012-06-09T02:37:49","modified_gmt":"2012-06-09T01:37:49","slug":"max-payne-3-pc-evaluation-fxaa-vs-msaa-shootout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/max-payne-3-pc-evaluation-fxaa-vs-msaa-shootout\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Payne 3 PC evaluation & FXAA vs. MSAA shootout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Max Payne is not the typical gringo cop\u00a0turned private security in Brazil.\u00a0 Max Payne 3’s<\/em> story\u00a0picks up\u00a0eight years after the events of Max Payne<\/em> and Max Payne 2<\/em> where an older and fatter Max is reduced to\u00a0near-poverty and living on\u00a0alcohol and painkillers.\u00a0 Max\u00a0is recruited by\u00a0Raul Passos\u00a0at a bar who tells him that they went to the police academy together.\u00a0 Well Max is convinced after\u00a0a mob boss in\u00a0New\u00a0Jersey puts a contract out on his life,\u00a0to leave for S\u00e3o Paulo for a fresh start in private security.\"\"<\/p>\n

The original 2001 game, Max Payne,<\/em> was ground-breaking in many ways and it became known as\u00a0the gaming equivalent of the “film noir” genre. Like its two predecessors, Max Payne 3<\/em> is so intense, that this player when nearing\u00a0its\u00a0conclusion with nerves jangling, had to actually leave the house for awhile just to get away from the game’s intensity.<\/p>\n

There is an addictive quality\u00a0to this\u00a0game that makes the player want to know what is just ahead; to want to know how the story will unfold as you blast the thugs in your way, even if it takes multiple tries to get through an action sequence.\u00a0 Basically, Max Payne 3<\/em> is\u00a0an interactive movie consisting of seamless cutscenes followed by intense nonstop arcade-like shooting action.<\/p>\n

Max is suicidal and he takes almost no stealth measures, and even quips about his lack of planning and how he dares the bad guys to kill him if they can.\u00a0 One of the loading screens calls this adventure,\u00a0“the longest suicide attempt in the world”.\u00a0\u00a0If\u00a0Max stays in cover, he will be\u00a0flanked on the right or driven into the open with gasoline grenades.\"\"<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Max is again voiced by the same actor, James McCaffrey, who also\u00a0performed some of the\u00a0live action for the game.\u00a0 And the same dark comments on life continue all through the series as Max narrates the game.\u00a0\u00a0Max gets a real look at the awful living conditions of the poorest people\u00a0of S\u00e3o Paulo where police corruption is rampant, and as he observes,\u00a0many times the\u00a0police are just another gang of thugs with badges and guns.<\/p>\n

This editor has lived in South Brazil and the atmosphere of the game is dead on.\u00a0 The NPCs’ gutter slang is Brazilian Portuguese and it is very descriptive and coarse\u00a0– even when they are talking rudely about Max right in front of him; unless you know Portuguese, you will miss what they say as\u00a0the locals\u00a0are often\u00a0apt to do there, especially if you only speak English.\"\"<\/p>\n

A\u00a0typical dark quote from the game after Max shoots up a slum leaving hundreds of drug dealers, gang members and dirty police dead is, “As charming as this neighborhood was, my sightseeing is over”.<\/em><\/p>\n

The first two games were written by series creator, Sam Lake and developed by the Finnish developer Remedy.\u00a0 This time, Rockstar developed the game and the writer is Dan Houser who wrote most of the Grand Theft Auto games.\u00a0 The graphics for the original\u00a02001-2003 games were very good for their day,\u00a0and today’s 2012\u00a0game is not a disappointment in any way as it uses the Euphoria dynamic animation engine very well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All of the Max Payne\u00a0games are\u00a0called “third-person shooters”\u00a0which feature an over-the-shoulder camera\u00a0as the player “becomes”\u00a0Max Payne and controls his actions.\u00a0All of the\u00a0Max Payne series\u00a0can be described as “run and cover” and\u00a0\u00a0Max Payne 3<\/em>\u00a0introduces a new cover move for our hero called Shootdodge.\u00a0Max Payne 3<\/em>\u00a0also uses\u00a0‘bullet-time’ – originally introduced in Max Payne<\/em> (2001) –\u00a0in\u00a0shooting sequences where you can\u00a0see each bullet\u00a0hit the enemy NPCs in slow motion.\u00a0 As\u00a0Max dives in any direction, time slows or his reflexes speed up to super-human and he can shoot in any direction while he is in the air.\"\"<\/p>\n

There is also\u00a0a new\u00a0grace period when after after losing all of his\u00a0health,\u00a0Max must kill the enemy NPC who mortally\u00a0wounded\u00a0him in order to continue playing.\u00a0To use it requires that the player have a new strategy of always having one\u00a0or more bottles of painkillers on hand.\u00a0 Players are able to stay grounded after landing\u00a0a dive, which still\u00a0enables them to shoot 360 degrees.\u00a0 The game is also ultra-violent and very graphic.\u00a0 Here is one of the milder cutscenes.\u00a0 Playing in 3D Vision 2, the blood-spatter is\u00a0far more realistic.\"\"<\/p>\n

This is the first major game where when\u00a0a player dives to shoot,\u00a0it actually\u00a0looks natural and\u00a0and fits in with the context.\u00a0 Instead of the skippable comic book style of story telling used in the first two games, there are interactive high-quality\u00a0cutscenes which transition seamlessly into continuing gameplay. The developers were very clever to hide the game’s loading while the cutscenes are playing.\u00a0\u00a0You cannot skip the cutscene while the game is loading although you can skip them once the scene is loaded after the first playthrough.<\/p>\n

The player will\u00a0never notice\u00a0loading screens across gameplay and through\u00a0cutscenes.\u00a0 In this way, Max Payne 3<\/em> is more like an interactive action movie than any game preceeding it.\u00a0 And there is no loss of immersion.\u00a0 One note.\u00a0 If you are playing the game in super-widescreen – as we did for awhile at 5760×1080 across 3 screens – the cutscenes only play\u00a0on the center\u00a0screen and it is a bit more jarring than playing on one large screen (as we preferred – either at 2560×1600 on a 30″ display,\u00a0or\u00a0with 3D Vision\u00a02 on a 27″ 1920×1080 120Hz display).<\/p>\n

Multiplayer<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Max Payne 3<\/em>\u00a0willl allow\u00a0players to\u00a0form online private crews or to join public crews.\u00a0 A player’s Rockstar Social Club\u00a0account\u00a0allows joining\u00a0up to five crews at the same time. Completing tasks\u00a0together will gain XP.\u00a0 The Social Club integration promises to connect play across Max Payne 3<\/em> and the upcoming\u00a0Grand Theft Auto V<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The issues with cheats are promised to be addressed in an upcoming patch by Rockstar.\u00a0 However, this review just covers the single player experience – one that is quite short – perhaps\u00a0up to a\u00a0dozen hours long if you really take your time to explore or have to restart from checkpoints, over and over if you pick too hard of a difficulty.\u00a0 Yet it is a very intense ten or so hours on Normal or Easy.<\/p>\n

DRM<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are four DVDs to install for a total hard drive space of 35GB needed for its large textures.\u00a0 DRM requires that you connect to the Internet to activate your installed game.\u00a0 You do not have to connect ever again which means you will not be able to patch it.\u00a0 A major patch has already been issued by Rockstar which addresses some issues that this player did not have, and the game was completed with only two or three\u00a0crashes to desktop in ten hours of action using the game as installed on the first day of its release, last Friday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you are connected to the Internet when you launch\u00a0the game\u00a0and a patch is available, you must download it to be able to play\u00a0 There are issues with many Anti-Virus programs and they usually must be disabled in order\u00a0to play Max Payne 3<\/em>. Please remember to renable\u00a0your anti-virus\u00a0when you are done playing or you may have your own real-life issues with malware attacks.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Rockstar does not currently allow third-party tools like Fraps to measure framerates or to even take screenshots with the retail (DVD) version.\u00a0 If friends want to share video, it is impossible now with the retail version; the Steam version has no such issues.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, we were only able to take screenshots by using our Print Screen command and alt+tab’bing\u00a0out of the game to paste and then save using Paint.\u00a0\u00a0Since\u00a0we can not give you framerates, we will give you an IQ\u00a0comparison of MSAA to\u00a0FXAA,\u00a0noting that in this particular game, FXAA on Very High actually looks better and uses far less resources than 8xMSAA !<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

The Story & t<\/strong>he Gameplay<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Max Payne starts a new chapter of his life completely addicted to painkillers and booze and deeply depressed and ultimately suicidal. Since the game is largely viewed from Max’ eyes, the screen will often blur and move slightly out of focus even during the cutscenes – much like using painkillers and long term alcohol abuse cause.<\/p>\n

It is a very gritty game, ultra-violent, and it deserves its M rating for its subject matter and look at life in the raw in the poorest areas of Brazil. This is in stark contrast with the wasteful life of Max’ ultra-rich employers who look down from their towering penthouses on the huge sprawling slums where many tens of thousands live crammed together\u00a0in abject poverty.\u00a0 The slums are\u00a0called ‘favelas’ where lawlessness and crime is a way of life for many of the residents.\"\"<\/p>\n

Max\u00a0begins working in the private security sector for a wealthy local family and especially\u00a0for the ultra-wealthy businessman Rodrigo Branco and his two brothers: the politician Victor and the youngest brother Marcelo, whose “business” appears to be making deals for cocaine. When a street gang kidnaps Rodrigo’s wife, Max is pulled into a conspiracy of warring factions\u00a0involving every aspect of the society that surrounds him.<\/p>\n

The game’s backstory is excellent as Max is drawn into a web of deceit that involves the family he is employed to protect; viscious warring gangs, corupt Brazilian police and government officials, and a sinister plot that preys on the very poorest citizens of S\u00e3oPaulo. During this time,\u00a0the game\u00a0tells the story in a series of\u00a0narration and\u00a0cutscenes, followed by the\u00a0action scenes, where the player directs Max usually in shooting a gang of thugs.\u00a0\u00a0Only his extraordinary abilities to speed up his reflexes to the point of appearing to slow down\u00a0time, give\u00a0Max a fighting chance against otherwise impossible odds.\"\"<\/p>\n

Much of the time, Max is involved in attempting to save the members of the family – especially the younger sisters. The story is so well written, that the player begins to actually care for some of the characters and, like Max, feels a sense of real loss when you fail to protect one or more of them. And if you really don’t care, the game puts you on a timer anyway, and a failure means you must replay from the checkpoint.\"\"<\/p>\n

Sometimes Max is successful and sometimes he loses someone in his charge. During this time, Max realizes that alcohol has contributed to his negligence and he goes on the wagon and gives up alcohol cold turkey, although he still needs painkillers to survive when he is wounded. The story is deep and delves into philosophy while the mechanism is one of pure survival.<\/p>\n

The screenshot below shows\u00a0Max sniping would-be hired killers from the family’s private helicopter as one of the younger sisters, “the good one”, is fleeing in sheer terror from them. Notice the golden rifle that Max carries. You can find parts of these enhanced weapons well-hidden in many places and they are very useful for subsequent play-throughs on higher difficulty.<\/p>\n

\"\"Max actually works toward a kind of “redemption” where he ultimately learns to not blame himself, which is in contrast to the very depressing Max Payne 2<\/em>. This game story actually ties up all of the storylines started in the earlier two games and sets itself up for a probable expansion, DLC and continuation of a hopefully a very successful series with the further adventures of a much more mature Max Payne.\"\"<\/p>\n

Best of all, unlike the first two games, the settings are varied and expanded beyond New York\/New Jersey and even S\u00e3o Paulo. You will also find your self in Panama on a Yacht;\u00a0shoot from a helicopter, from an out-of-control bus, from a speeding boat, in an office building under attack and also find yourself under intense sniper fire in S\u00e3o Paulo’s football stadium trying to help your partner.<\/p>\n

If that is\u00a0not enough action,\u00a0Max will\u00a0battle multiple well-armed gangs\u00a0and corrupt police in a disco and a broken-down hotel, as well as inside a police station where a major riot of his making breaks out.\u00a0\u00a0There are also\u00a0other interesting and varied situations that pay homage to the earlier games and try to improve on them.\"\"<\/p>\n

The game also uses flashbacks to show Max and Passos in the Panama Canal protecting Marcelo on a yacht party that is raided by guerrilla pirates. \u00a0Max later finds Marcelo and Passos trying to drive away with unknown cargo which allows him to begin to piece\u00a0a bigger picture together.\u00a0 And of course, Max’ Sao Paulo counterpart – an honest cop – is there to help him from time to time.\"\"<\/p>\n

We also get to see Max and Passos in New Jersey in another flashback and to relive their original meeting and the intense gunbattles with a mob bosses’ men after Max kills his son.\"\"<\/p>\n

This game is intensely exciting as the player gets to chase a plane with a grenade launcher, as well as hanging from a helicopter with one hand\u00a0while shooting RPGs down with the other hand that are being launched at you, as well as\u00a0many other intense action scenes where it seems impossible that Max will survive.\"\"<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the cutscenes are reasonably placed so the player usually does not have to go back too far when Max dies. However, there is often real frustration in nearly clearing a section, only to get shot in the back to then replay the entire sequence all over again. And this can happen pretty often.\u00a0 There is one other obvious bit of “consolitis” where you must follow a certain sequence exactly in response to on screen prompts or you see your own grisly death, over-and-over.\u00a0 Fortunately, the game works perfectly with a keyboard plus mouse, especially after the patch.<\/p>\n

Ducking for cover and having the new ablity to Shootdodge as well as shoot\u00a0from the ground in any direction, gives Max new strategy and abilities to deal with multiple AI-controlled NPCs. The game’s AI is not bad as the enemies use varied methods to try and outflank the player while others rush him using varied dodging tactics.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h3>\n

Graphics and Widescreen<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Max Payne 3<\/em> has excellent graphics. It is perhaps not quite up to the level of Crysis 2<\/em> or Battlefield 3<\/em>, but it is sufficient to give excellent visuals when everything is maxed out. We played the entire game at 2560×1600 using a single GTX 680 and Core i7-3770K at their stock settings as chosen below.\"\"<\/p>\n

The implementation of FXAA in Max Payne 3<\/em> is very good and the text is not blurred. MSAA can be used but the performance hit is high and 8xAA actually does not look as good as FXAA on Very High. Please check the FXAA vs. MSAA Shootout on the following page. Since we could not use Fraps, we cannot comment on framerates except to say that it was “fluid”.<\/p>\n

Max Payne 3<\/em> is also designed for super-widescreen resolutions and we played at 5760×1080 using a GTX 690. There were no issues whatsoever and the gaming experience was superb. The only issue that we found is that the cutscenes are not set up to display over 3-panels and will only display on the center screen.<\/p>\n

We actually preferred to play Max Payne 3<\/em> on a single display at 2560×1600 for best immersion even though we lost the widescreen tactical advantage of being able to see enemy NPCs attempting to outflank Max on the sides. We also enjoyed playing Max Payne 3<\/em> in Stereoscopic 3D even though it is “Not recommended” for 3D Vision 2 yet by Nvidia. Please see the 3D Vision 2 section.<\/p>\n

These are 5760×1080 outdoor widescreen shots.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The above shot is of\u00a0a night scene with Max wearing a flak jacket. This extra protection is only employed for one particularly intense chapter. However, nothing is really lost by playing on a single screen as often the action is confined to indoors or to narrow street scenes.\"\"<\/p>\n

Max Payne 3<\/em> gets the series exactly right and improves on it. There is an awesome balance of story-telling from the hero’s view, coupled with intense action that is somewhat relieved by very dark humor and sometimes insightful observations. Max actually grows as a hero and as a person in this game and it is a great story on many levels.<\/p>\n

The over-the-top violence is to be noted as absolutely not for the squeamish and although it is graphically violent, it does not glorify it for the sake of violence. Rather it is a condemnation of the conscienceless who do not value it – these are the thugs that Max guns down and executes without mercy. During his growth, Max searches his own conscience for his motives. Max Payne 3<\/em> is very much like a ten-hour non-stop interactive action\u00a0movie, and this editor felt that he got his sixty dollars’ worth just from a single playthrough. It is that good!<\/p>\n

Max Payne\u00a0is not super-human and he cannot take on armed NPCs directly except during bullet time. Multiple gunshot wounds will quickly end his new career as private security.\u00a0 His health does not regenerate although Painkillers are the equivalent of a healing “med pack”.\u00a0 As Max, the player will need to adopt tactics depending on which enemies they are facing.<\/p>\n

As in the original game, it is always wise to survey your surroundings and plan out your attack beforehand. And if you do not successfuly complete your objective, pay careful attention to where your enemies were shooting from so that you can go into the replay with foreknowledge.<\/p>\n

Make sure you look carefully for both clues, golden gun parts and for painkillers.\u00a0 They are often quite cleverly hidden and the painkillers can make the difference between\u00a0breeezing through a section or repeating it over-and-over.<\/p>\n

Next up, we look at Tessellation, Image Quality and especially MSAA vs. FXAA as well as playing with 3D Vision 2.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n
\n

<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

Tessellation and IQ in Max Payne 3<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Max Payne 3\u00a0<\/em>offers support for DirectX 11 tessellation which is a good way to increase the level of detail in a scene with a relatively\u00a0minimal performance impact.\u00a0 The character models are well-tessellated which gives them a much more natural look.\u00a0 Also, the rendering of the hair is greatly improved.<\/p>\n

Max Payne 3 uses a tessellation technique called Phong Tessellation to characters and vehicles. Phong shading, developed by Bui Tuong Phong at the University of Utah, refers to an interpolation technique used in surface shading in modern 3D engines like games. Unfortunately, artifacts remain on interior contours and silhouettes if the surface geometry is not smooth, so\u00a0Phong tessellation is a geometric version of Phong normal interpolation that is applied to vertex positions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FXAA<\/strong><\/h3>\n

FXAA is a shader based image filter developed by Nvidia which reduces visible aliasing. It is applied along with other post processing steps like motion blur and bloom. For game engines making use of deferred shading, FXAA provides for less of a performance and memory hit over using deferred shading with MSAA. Not only does FXAA cost less in terms of a performance hit, but the visual difference is very clear over not using it at all.<\/p>\n

First of all, you cannot force MSAA in the Nvidia control panel and all settings are applied in-game.\u00a0\u00a0On all of the following images, there is either MSAA or FXAA – we did not test using both\u00a0applied at the\u00a0same time.<\/p>\n

Here is a scene from Max Payne 3 without MSAA or FXAA.\u00a0 Anisotropy is 16x and all details are set to maximum at 1920×1080.\u00a0 You can see the obvious alaising.<\/p>\n

No FXAA – No MSAA<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Normal FXAA:\"\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

2xMSAA\"\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n

FXAA High\"\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

4xMSAA\"\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

FXAA Very High\"\"<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

8xMSAA<\/strong> \"\"<\/h3>\n

It is probably easiest to open two or three images at a time in separate windows or tabs and compare between them.\u00a0 Look especially at the fan and the conduit running to the switch box.\u00a0In each case, from no MSAA to 2x to 4x and to 8x MSAA there is a progressive smoothing of the aliased lines although the anti-aliasing\u00a0results are\u00a0not as impressive when compared to Normal to High to Very High FXAA.\u00a0 We are not sure how the developers implemented MSAA so as to apparently not smooth all of the polygon edges.<\/p>\n

In each case, we would prefer the FXAA implementation in Max Payne 3<\/em> over the corresponding level of MSAA.\u00a0 This certainly does not hold true for all games and FXAA tends to blur some scenes in other games.\u00a0 We will explore MSAA vs. FXAA in depth in a future article and these discussions are always open on ABT forum in Video or Gaming<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The graphics in Max Payne 3<\/em> are excellent and the game also supports Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) and especially 3D Vision 1\/2.<\/p>\n

3D Vision<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>3D Vision<\/a> offers a more immersive stereoscopic 3D experience over playing the game in 2D. A combination of high-tech wireless glasses and advanced software, 3D Vision’s drivers automatically transforms over 500 PC games into full stereoscopic 3D. I n addition, you can watch Blu-ray 3D, view 3D digital photographs, and even stream YouTube 3D videos.<\/p>\n

“Not Recommended”\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the game is currently rated as “Not Recommended” by Nvidia for 3D Vision.\u00a0 It is true that some action and objects aren’t in perfect relationship to each other but we find that the game is actually “fair” to “good” with 3D Vision.\u00a0 The depth can be adjusted to eliminate some of the ghosting and the 3D enhancement actually does aid in aiming and especially for Bullet time.<\/p>\n

NVIDIA 3D Vision 2<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

3D Vision 2<\/a> is the next generation of Nvidia\u2019s stereoscopic 3D technology and features a number of new innovations.<\/p>\n

The first innovation is new active shutter glasses that have larger lenses and improved materials. The second innovation is LightBoost which delivers brighter 3D screen images and richer color quality than existing display technologies.<\/p>\n

Cut-scenes are in 3D<\/strong><\/h3>\n

All of the elements of\u00a0Max Payne 3\u00a0are in 3D. This includes everything from the interactive 3D character portraits to every in-game cut-scene. The in-game cut-scenes are rendered in full HD 1080p 3D video for the highest quality cinematics. The characters from\u00a0Max Payne 3 come alive in stereoscopic 3D Vision.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Using 3D Depth <\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to Nvidia, with real time depth information being delivered via 3D Vision, the gamer has an advantage when gauging certain aspects.<\/p>\n

Nvidia claims that 3D Vision gives 3D gamers the tools to interact with the environment in a way that 2D gamers cannot and we found enhanced aiming and much better cutscenes in S3D – the blood splatter is horrifyingly realistic in 3D slow-motion.<\/p>\n

Of course, there is a performance penalty for playing with 3D Vision. The expected performance hit when playing it with everything maxed out did slow down our GTX 680 in the most intense scenes and we played mostly with 3D Vision 2 using our GTX 690 after we set up for Super-Widescreen resolutions.\u00a0 And of course, we used FXAA over MSAA.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at the game’s system requirements as well as the more specific recommendations for playing with GeForce cards and playable settings with Super-Widscreen and\u00a03D Vision as well as our conclusion<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hardware Requirements, Performance & Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rockstar’s website<\/a> gives the range\u00a0 of tested PCs for Max Payne:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

It is interesting to see the progression of requirements.\u00a0 For the original game, a 700MHz CPU was\u00a0recommended along with 128MB of system memory and a 32MB D3D compatible graphics\u00a0card\u00a0and it intalled off of one CD.\u00a0 Max Payne 2 required 2CDs and a better graphics card.\u00a0 Max Payne 3 needs 4 dual-layer DVDs!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Performance<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nvidia’s reviewer’s guide suggests that a GTX 570 can max out Max Payne 3<\/em> at Very High settings including FXAA.\u00a0 Our own fluid results with Very High settings and 4xMSAA with a GTX 680 suggest this is correct.\u00a0\u00a0 A GTX 560 should be able to manage High settings.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3D Vision & Surround Performance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The expected performance drop when playing Max Payne 3<\/em> with 3D Vision 2 with a single GTX 680 suggests it is quite playable with FXAA.\u00a0 A GTX 690 has no issues with 4xMSAA in S3D nor with 5760×1080 although a single GTX 680 needs to drop back to FXAA for playing in Super-Widescreen resolutions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Replayability<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Max Payne 3 <\/em>has some definite replayability.\u00a0 Since the player has the option to skip the cutscenes after it loads, he can concentrate on his shooting accuracy and you can replay the main story line to find golden gun parts and clues you might have missed, perhaps at a harder difficulty.\u00a0 There is also an Arcade Mode where the player can race the clock while causing as much destruction as possible.\u00a0 Score Attack Levels are unlocked by by beating them in Single Player mode while completing the game again, unlocks New York Minute.<\/p>\n

New York Minute\u00a0starts\u00a0you out with\u00a0a minute of life and you can add +5 seconds to it for each enemy NPC you kill.\u00a0\u00a0 Fantic is the best description of this mode.\u00a0 And of course, there is Multiplayer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Max Payne 3<\/em>\u00a0comes highly recommended and we give it a solid 9.5 for Max\u00a0Payne fans; 8.5 for everyone else.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 The graphics are extraordinary, the gameplay is enhanced over the original games, and the story and voice acting is absolutely top-notch.\u00a0 We feel it was $60 well spent for an excellent game and we are looking forward to playing future installments in the Max Payne\u00a0series.\u00a0 Recommended!<\/p>\n

Max Payne 3<\/em> is definitely not for those who are easily offended by realistic over-the-top violence.\u00a0 Nitpicks include the shortness of the game, checkpoint saves\u00a0and lack of framerate monitoring and convenient screen capture with the retail edition.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned as we have many more reviews and evaluations coming up. This weekend, you can expect a full review of the Noctua NH-DH14 as we quest for 5.0GHz with our Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K.\u00a0 And of course, join us in our ABT forum and speak your mind!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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