With its gripping narrative, brutal violence, and fantastic implementation of Max Payne's bullet-time ability, this is a distinctive and outstanding game through and through, and it's easily a worthy successor to the Max Payne games that preceded it.

The cutscenes, while possibly too numerous, are seamlessly integrated into the overall narrative in a way that often makes you forget when it's time to take control of your character.

The coolest multiplayer mode offered is Gang Wars. This mode pits two teams against each other and incorporates story threads from the campaign to shape the five rounds. How a round ends dictates what the next objective will be, a design that keeps the battles fresh.

My only real gripes come in single-player action. Max has a very annoying habit of automatically switching to a handgun any time he's about to enter a cinema screen despite the fact that he might be carrying a perfectly usable assault rifle. There were some occasions the strongest rifle I was carrying in my arsenal practically disappeared after a bit of storytelling. This sometimes put me in precarious positions where I had to pull out a ridiculous combination of Bullet Time, rolling and melee (not always Max's strongest suit) to reach a weapon with more ammo in it. That led to a few expletive-laden moments, but it wasn't enough to get me to stop playing.

It maintains the mechanics that made the prior games great while modernizing them to excellent effect. Between the arcade mode and multiplayer, there's enough substantive content to keep you hooked for some time.

A technological tour de force that will have you screaming "Dear lord!" more times than midnight mass. The performances are top notch, the action plays out with unrivaled fluidity, and the multiplayer is deep and rewarding. Silly distractions aside, Max Payne 3 is an action lover's wet dream that also happens to employ some of the slickest direction and transitional trickery this side of a David Fincher box set.

Sublime shooting with narrative/multiplayer masterclasses, but will divide opinion. [July 2012, p.63]

When the game is actually Max Payne, when you've set up the perfect shoot-dodge and you're sailing through the air putting holes through people, everything lines up and it's the greatest game in the world: amazing graphics, great voice acting, a funny and deftly written script, a memorable soundtrack, the whole nine yards. It's just a shame about all of this other extraneous modern crap that Rockstar's bolted onto it.

Max Payne 3 has an action-packed and long-lasting single-player campaign driven by an expectedly solid single-player story that is a Rockstar trademark. That combines with very entertaining multiplayer that will have gamers playing long after the single-player campaign is complete.

A great game that manages to be on par with other third-person action games like Gears of War and Uncharted, keeping part of the personality of the first two games in the series and adding great new mechanics that will surprise every player. It also tells a very good story thanks to the charming and complicated personality of Max.

The story and presentation rival that of a summer blockbuster. Throw in some smart dialogue, fantastic gameplay and addicting multiplayer, and Rockstar has hit the ball out of the park again.

The story wraps up nicely, and it's interesting to see Max in a game with a much darker tone, especially when, for the most part, the grim elements are handled extremely well.

If you are a fan of Max Payne, this game must be played. The gameplay is very fun and it's easily the most cinematic Max Payne game yet. The story clocks in at about 10-12 hours of gameplay and the game has several unlockables. There are many reasons to go back and play the single player mode and the game offers many extra multiplayer modes as well. It's truly a crime to miss out on this one if you've followed the series up until now. Max Payne 3 is just as pleasing as the other games overall and has the best gameplay out of the series so far!

Max Payne 3 gives exactly what it promises: An awesome, cinematic and greatly-paced experience. A new standard for third-person shooters in this gen. Just amazing.

Rockstar took their time with this title, and it shows. Rebuilding not only the universe, but the characters in it, they managed to capture what we loved about the previous titles and matured it for this sequel. The multiplayer is a good addition to the series, enabling players to experience the world Remedy created with the staple bullettime modes intact.

Max Payne 3 is a great action-movie experience with life-like characters that Rockstar is famous for. It does fall a bit flat on the actual action part, however. The controls on consoles are confusing and hard to get used to. Still very much worth a play-thru. It's also one of the best looking console games in the current generation. [June 2012]

We have waited ten years to have the third chapter of Max Payne saga, but Rockstar brings us another masterpiece. Great story, lot of multiplayer modes and nice graphics do the rest. Don't miss it.

It's damn good fun, creating an environment of chaos and thrilling combat. The new Rockstar Social Club features allow players to team up easily in Crews, pairing them up with players on teams who are members of the same Crew, and it makes it easy to get into a game with people you might actually want to play with.

The presentation is top-notch, the game feels like you want it to never end while you're playing it, and the multiplayer gives it longevity that will stick around for a good while.

As a shooter, Max Payne 3 belongs to the highest ranks. Due to the fantastic animations and amazing action every confrontation is one to look forward to. And if the atmosphere, dialogue and narrative turn out to be of a 'Max Paynian' level, there's really nothing that can go wrong regarding this third entry in the series. If you have even the slightest love for virtual liquidation, then the purchase of Max Payne 3 is a bullet you can't dodge.

Max Payne 3 dismisses its well known noir-style, but retains the mature storytelling, and enhances the classic shooter mechanics to adapt them for the needs of this generation of gamers.

Probably helped with the strong cinematographic treatment, you really can feel what being in Max's shoes is all about, and wish that he can finally find the peace that has aluded him for so long.

But the truth is, Rockstar know their onions. They understand the importance of a gritty story, concise controls, cinematic visuals, balls-out action, and genuinely fun (albeit not 100% balanced) multiplayer. But above all, they carry with them a sense of style across all of their presentation. Max Payne 3 is yet another fine example of their prowess.

Max Payne 3 mixes the old and the new Max and brings the series in the new generation of consoles. A strong story mode and a deep multiplayer are the highlights of this game.

Max Payne 3 is one of the most important third-person shooters of this generation. It's frenetic and with a good replay value campaign, and has a direct and effective multiplayer and an incredible physics engine.

A consistently thrilling and explosive tale that states its case as one of 2012's best. I'd be hard pushed to find a game that has made me scream with excitement on such a regular basis, as the compelling narrative and rewarding gunplay conglomerate into a truly spectacular product.

Max Payne 3 is a triumph; an action game that is supremely polished, filled with adrenaline pumping gunplay and several memorable milestones.

While Max Payne may have lost his roots after playing far too much Grand Theft Auto IV in the last couple of years, he still manages to deal out some serious ass kickage in slow-motion, as is of course tradition. And hey, the dialouge and multiplayer are great too.