Alright, so Max Payne 3 has a cover system, we’ve established that. But stay calm, it’s going to be alright. I played the fancy high resolution PC build for an hour across multiple fights with multiple enemies and didn’t duck once. Can we all settle down quietly now?
Today's Rockstar released the first images of Max Payne 3 running on PC, and while no exact comparison shots are available, taking a look at similar screens for the console version reveals substantial differences.
Just look at the image above. On the left we've got two of the three PC shots released today. On the right, two previously released console shots. All of them look just lovely, of course; this is Rockstar, after all. The PC shots just look crisper and sharper than their console counterparts. It's something PC gamers have come to depend on and expect, given the amount of money we pump into our machines.
The differences are most noticeable between the two shots of stubble-tastic Max firing off his weapons. The PC Max seems a bit more 'there' than the console one. Also he has a bit more hair fringe going on at his temple. This could just be due to the dynamic hair fringe system Rockstar is waiting for the right moment to reveal, which I just made up. Still, dynamic hair fringe: we need it.
The lack of a similarly-angled bald shot makes it hard to spot the differences between bald Max on the PC (left) and console (right). I really only posted this picture to demonstrate how good that shirt looks on both versions. I need that shirt. I need 10 of them in 2x-large, and I'll wear them every day for the rest of my life.
One thing to keep in mind as well is that Rockstar isn't taking screenshots on the sort of machine you likely have sitting on your computer desk. They've likely got Max Payne 3 running on the sort of system you see at trade shows and drool over until you realize it costs as much as a small car. Or at least something better than I have. Definitely not a Compaq Prolinea 425s.
When it comes right down to it, graphics don't really matter much when you're down on the ground and an angry enemy is shining a flashlight in your face like some sort of third and final Max Payne 3 screenshot. PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 Max Paynsylvanians (term coined) should enjoy the game just as much, no matter which platform they employ.
Folks that've pumped a couple thousand into a gaming PC will enjoy it a little more just as much.
Publisher Take-Two has filed trademarks for "GTA TV" and "Rockstar TV".
As spotted by RockstarSpy, the listings were filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month.
According to the accompanying blurb, the marks refer to the following:
"Computer game programs and software; animated motion picture films featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children's and documentary themes; pre-recorded video discs and other pre-recorded digital and electronic media in the field of live action programs, motion pictures, or animation featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children's and documentary themes."
Could it just be a strategic trademark hold, or does Take-Two have some kind of cross-media masterplan up its sleeve for Grand Theft Auto 5's impending arrival? At the time of writing, the publisher had declined to comment.
Is it just me or does Max Payne seem really in over his head every time Rockstar shows off a piece of their upcoming noir threequel?
This time, it looks like a fuck-up on Max's part lets a Brazilian magnate's hot young wife get nabbed by some criminal faction. Favela gangs, paramilitary troops and elite police squads are all trying control the action in the city's streets and it's a safe bet that Max will have to shoot his way through all of Sao Paolo's social strata to find out where Fabiana Branca's been taken.
But tough as Max is, he's on unfamiliar territory and another section of the clip shows him getting beat down by some ne'er-do-wells. Hopefully, this is a sign that Max Payne 3 won't be a cakewalk when it comes out on May 15th.
Rockstar is currently mulling the future of last year's crime thriller L.A. Noire.
Will there be an L.A. Noire 2? Rockstar has said it will not "count out the possibility", despite controversial developer Team Bondi now no more.
"Don't count out the possibility of a new game in the L.A. Noire franchise in the future. We simply have not decided anything," a Rockstar spokesperson wrote, answering a reader Q&A on the company's official site.
"We're all very pleased with how that game turned out and are considering what the future may hold for L.A. Noire as a series."
Rockstar said it was in no hurry to create a follow-up however.
"We don't always rush to make sequels, but that does not mean we won't get to them eventually - see Max and Red Dead for evidence of that - we have so many games we want to make and the issue is always one of bandwidth and timing."
Brendan McNamara-headed Team Bondi was shut down by administrators last year after swirling accusations of employee mismanagement during a brutal "crunch" period on L.A. Noire.
In the near future, Rockstar already has its plate full launching upcoming shooter Max Payne 3. Then presumably next on the cards is the already-announced Grand Theft Auto 5, more details of which Rockstar plans to share soon.
"We know that there are a ton of questions you all have about the game, including release date and lots else," Rockstar said of GTA5.
"Right now, we are very hard at work on the game and are excited as well to show and tell you more as development progresses - expect that we'll be talking much more about GTAV starting at some point in a few months' time." E3 then.
Grand Theft Auto IV's iCEnhancer series of mods and tweaks takes a Rockstar PC game that looked pretty good already and turns it into - relative to the scale and size of GTAIV - the prettiest video game on the planet.
At least, if realism is your thing.
And if your PC can handle it.
The mod's creator, Hayssam Keilany, writes "Reflections are bugged because of the ROCKSTAR VIDEO EDITOR. It doesn't look like that in-game, don't worry & sorry about that."
Version 2.0 of the mod is now out and free to download at the link below.
iCEnhancer 2.0 [icelaglace]
Here's three news screens from the upcoming Max Payne 3. Whenever I think Max Payne, I think a trenchcoat diving in slow-motion, a gun blazing from each hand. I guess Rockstar does as well.
Since we ran a feature on Duncan Harris, the groovy "video game photographer" behind the website DeadEndThrills, I've been sharing some of his work each week here.
This week Harris brought in some great shots from a modded version of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV. Let's take a look!
(Small note: This week, the full 1080p images were a touch to big for us to host. So, most of these are only at 720p. If you'd like to download the full HD images, head on over to Dead End Thrills.)
First up, up top we have:
I love this shot of the GetaLife building, certainly one of the most iconic buildings in Liberty City's Skyline. The textures on the sky here are amazing. Bonus points for a classic game shout-out in the title!
Tools and tricks: iCEnhancer 1.25 ENB Series mod, antialiasing (injected SMAA), 2160p rendering, game resource check overrides, Simple Trainer 6.4, Cam-Control mod, time and weather control, no-HUD, custom FOV.
Great night shot of Star Junction. I'd love to mod the crap out of the PC version of the game just to see if I could get the lights to look like this.
Tools and tricks: iCEnhancer 1.25 ENB Series mod, antialiasing (injected SMAA), 2160p rendering, game resource check overrides, Simple Trainer 6.4, Cam-Control mod, time and weather control, no-HUD, custom FOV.
Another shot of downtown, this one during the day. Dear lord, this game certainly never looked like this when I played it.
Tools and tricks: iCEnhancer 1.25 ENB Series mod, antialiasing (injected SMAA), 2160p rendering, game resource check overrides, Simple Trainer 6.4, Cam-Control mod, time and weather control, no-HUD, custom FOV.
Nice shot of Algonquin (I believe?) in the rain. Again, with the insane amount of detail that was packed into this game. It's an incredible feat of game-making, even four years later.
Tools and tricks: iCEnhancer 1.25 ENB Series mod, antialiasing (injected SMAA), 2160p rendering, game resource check overrides, Simple Trainer 6.4, Cam-Control mod, time and weather control, no-HUD, custom FOV.
The thing I dig most in this one is the graffiti in the background. Again with the details. I remember when I first played GTA IV marveling at the Grafitti, and wondering how Rockstar managed to put together so much good stuff.
Tools and tricks: iCEnhancer 1.25 ENB Series mod, antialiasing (injected SMAA), 2160p rendering, game resource check overrides, Simple Trainer 6.4, Cam-Control mod, time and weather control, no-HUD, custom FOV.
Fantastic shot of the Dukes branch of the Liberty City PD; this one actually looks just a biiit like Bully, which makes me wish all over again that we could get a sequel to that super amazing game. Anyway, this picture is cool.
Tools and tricks: iCEnhancer 1.25 ENB Series mod, antialiasing (injected SMAA), 2160p rendering, game resource check overrides, Simple Trainer 6.4, Cam-Control mod, time and weather control, no-HUD, custom FOV.
You'll have many armaments at your disposal in Rockstar Games' upcoming noir shooter and it sure looks like the 608 Bull's the one designed to make you feel like Dirty Harry. Witness its thug-stopping power below.
That .357—and the leader of the Comando Sombra gang you'll be shooting it at—get the spotlight at the newly launched official Max Payne 3 website. If you want to absorb every last bit of info about the hard-boiled threequel before it comes out in May, then head over to rockstargames.com/maxpayne3/.
