Iron-sight aiming is one of the biggest changes in shooters since the release of Max Payne 2 in 2003.
It saddens me to see Rockstar give PC the cold shoulder in Max Payne 3, as the game is clearly made with console controls in mind. Max Payne 1 & 2 were far inferior on consoles because the games demanded accuracy you couldn’t get from a thumbstick. While most will be coming to Max Payne 3 on PC for the visuals, I’m mainly interested in the controls. Here are some comparisons between the different graphical options:
As soon as the game switches from movie to in-game, I think, “This is why I waited two extra weeks.” Seeing a club full of people dancing in front of flashing lights with their hair and detailed facial models rendered crisply and full of color makes that wait more than worth it.
Like playing a PS3 HD remaster, these videos ironically look much worse than the actual gameplay due to all the visual perks you get on the PC. They are used to mask the loading of the next level, but, on the PC, they serve as a constant reminder of how awesome the game is on this platform. There are a lot of cutscenes in Max Payne 3 that begin as pre-recorded video files. As you can see in the graph below, MSAA deals a heavy blow to your processing power. I haven’t faced any of these issues so far, but I played mostly with it off for the sake of a higher frame rate. That’s too bad, since it really brings out the color and crispness in the visuals. There are reports from several users on NeoGAF that enabling MSAA has brought about several graphical and mouse glitches in their game. It’s unfair to compare it to The Witcher 2 or Battlefield 3, as it doesn’t share the scope of those games, but everything from the detailed facial models, city backdrops, and textures make this game sing. Turning up the DX11 options, like tessellation, and maxing out the anti-aliasing presents image quality unparalleled on the PC. Max Payne 3 is one of the best-looking games on consoles this year, so it’s no surprise that it looks stunning on PC. While the insane download time may not be necessary, I’m here to say it’s definitely worth it. Once reports came out that the game would take up a whopping 35 GB (or four DVDs), people began to worry for good reason. Rockstar doesn’t have a stellar track record on PC, either botching games ( Grand Theft Auto IV) or forgoing a port altogether ( Red Dead Redemption). The concern for PC players isn’t the wait but the developer. Though we PC gamers had to wait a couple weeks longer, it didn’t matter that much after waiting nine years for a sequel. I’ll always play Demon’s Souls and Final Fantasy games on my PlayStation 3, because anything else just feels wrong. It’s hard to see your favorite series on a different platform.