Apple’s gamemeister Brad Cook has cooked up another feature story on a Mac game that’s just about to be released. This week, he gives readers a preview of Max Payne, the innovative 3D action game coming later this month from MacSoft.
Max Payne tells the story of a New York City detective who loses his family and his partner following a series of events that draws him into the darkest corners of New York’s underworld. What has separated Max Payne from other third-person 3D action games is its use of “Bullet Time,” which enables you to aim your gun on your targets as everything around you moves in slow motion.
“It’s amazing to watch Max dive to the left, in slow motion, while being able to put the crosshair right between the eyes of the bad guy,” MacSoft product manager Al Schilling told Cook. “I’m sure you’ll see something similar to bullet time in a lot of games in the future.”
The game also uses a noirish look and feel that its developers at Remedy Entertainment said were inspired by Frank Miller, the legendary graphic novel artist who created the “Dark Night Returns” work for D.C. Comics’ popular Batman franchise.
MacSoft plans to release Max Payne to retail stores on July 17, just in time for Macworld Expo in New York City.