If you are running him one way and shooting at a bad guy that's behind him, Max will pivot and draw a bead on the guy as you continue to run to cover. In short, it's nothing short of amazing and probably some of the best animation to come from a game to date.

If you get up close and personal there's a real sense of power to the move, Max can shove the guy away and then put the business end of his gun to good use. It all looks realistic too and works so well.

Finally all this animation goes for the bad guys as well, so they use the weapons like Max, they get into cover like Max and if they are killed they don't have a canned animation. They crumple based on the bullet, where they're hit, the weapon's force and numerous factors. Again, this is truly fantastic to watch in action.

Physics

Max Payne 3 has a robust physics engine that delivers great explosions, devastating force and some superb cover degradation. In short it does everything it needs to and ties in with the animation system to provide even more solid visceral action combat.

AI

Max Payne 3 has good solid AI. They know how to use cover, they know when to run and they know how to hurl a well placed grenade. They will get curious if you remain in cover, try to flank you and at times they'll be stupid enough to come and check around that corner where you're hiding, just so you can give them a taste of shotgun up close and personal.

There are no real issues with it, so that's about all we can say on the matter.

Sound

A good solid sound system runs through the game, the audio is top notch and it's expected from Rockstar. So no complaints here either. The guns sound great and the various environmental sound effects are superbly done.

Music

Ahhh, the music for the game is great. Once you hear that old Max Payne theme kick in, all the memories come flooding back and you're shoot-dodging with the best of them. It doesn't get much better than that. It is a nostalgia trip – music by Health, whom we have never heard of but they're pretty good!

Voice

Max's voice actor is spot on, the grizzled noir tones of Max Payne come flooding out without a second thought and the rest of the cast do a fantastic job of bringing this story to life.

Dialogue

The writing is noir, it's sharp and it is gritty. It takes you on a rollercoaster ride where some of the reveals are telegraphed a little bit too much, but it is immensely satisfying to see the whole thing play out. There are no duff lines and some really outstanding script that drives the narrative to a great conclusion.

Multiplayer

We could do a whole review just on the MP aspect of the game, but we can say that this is right on par with the innovative Red Dead multiplayer and combines the same attention to detail as the single player. It plays really well, it is great for vets or for new players and there's a real feeling of luck involved with many of the firefights.

MP 3 is basically just as intense online as it is in single player, with bullet-time working via Line of Sight and catching anyone in that radius as well as offering tactical combat for the players via the use of bursts, which reminds us of Uncharted 2 etc. A further comparison to Uncharted 3 comes when you look at Gang Wars, which is basically the factions from the single player fighting it out through story based, constantly evolving scenarios.

It is excellent and you have to try it out yourself to really get the feel of it. Dynamic changes to the story happen based on the outcome of each round, it really freshens up multiplayer and makes things far more cinematic and fun.

Payne Killer lets you play as Max or his buddy Raul, kill either of those and you assume the identity, every player is going to be gunning for you and it's a hell of a lot of fun to try out.

There's also Deathmatch...

The Bursts offer a lot of tactical opportunity, with such Bursts as trigger happy that gives you a massive arsenal and Sneaky, that tricks the opposition into thinking a teammate of yours is on their side.

Then you have Vendettas, if you're killed twice by the same person, you can call out a Vendetta on them...kill them, you'll get double XP. If they kill you, they get the XP. Simple eh?

Crews form a vital part of the game and you can join them for extra XP, other rewards and Crews also carry over across other Rockstar titles such as GTA V.

In a nutshell, MP 3 multiplayer is fun, frenetic and a whole lot of value when combined with the single player game style story and narration for the Gang Wars mode. There are customisation features and levelling up, all of the things that we've come to expect from a multiplayer game...all tied in with Rockstars attention to detail.

Matches are mostly lag free and the matchmaking is solid.

The Late Goodbye...

Max Payne 3 stands out as a great shooter and a worthy successor to the franchise, proving once again that Rockstar are the best at taking their ideas forwards in terms of solid single player mechanics and interesting multiplayer ones too. It is a game that any Max Payne fan needs to play and own. Be warned, it comes on 2 discs.