"Honey, I'm home!"

The lifeless house replies with nothing but an eerie silence. Halfway down the hall you notice the first signs of a struggle, an upturned table, a smear of blood. You hear screams, then gunshots, sounds that will haunt every living moment from now on. Fear is upon you, hope fading with every step as you ascend the stairs. Anger and hatred peer over your shoulder into the now silent child's crib. Heart and head pounding out the rhythm of death on the vengeful instrument of your body, something moves towards you. He's dead before your brain registers him. Running into the bedroom you see another, clad in green, he dies as quickly as the first, but this time you see the eyes. Eyes of a drug-crazed killer, hooked up high on Valkyre, the latest drug to hit this desperate city. You see her now, the beautiful girl you took to wife. Your world is ended. Welcome to a new world, one of pain, fear and anger. Welcome to the world of Max Payne.

Recently released as a platinum title, Rockstar's Max Payne is immediately set apart from other third person shooters by an invention you've probably heard something about, namely Bullet Time, but more on that later. The story is based around the tried and tested Hollywood cop-on-the-edge type thriller/action titles you can see in any cheap video shop. Max Payne has had his life ripped apart in and sets about trying to bring down the people responsible. We're not talking legal drama here, Max is a one man judicial system: Judge, Jury and Executioner, complete with his own tools of the trade, ranging from the bog standard crow bar, through to nasty Molotov cocktails and a high precision sniper rifle.

Whilst Max Payne may rely heavily on Bullet Time, which is essentially a way of slowing down time, making killing your foes a darn sight easier, there are one or two other tit-bits to make the experience surprisingly engrossing. The most substantial of these has to be the story and the way it's played out. Opening with the brutal slaying of his wife and child, Max Payne draws you into the seedy underbelly of New York with plot twists and a few unexpected treats narrative wise, making progression through the game truly worthwhile.

Despite the fact that this title wreaks of discarded Hollywood script, it's wonderfully suited to the average action gamer like myself. There's nothing too deep, but action by the bucket load. We see a majority of the plot not through FMV, as would seem to be the norm nowadays, but comic book style screens usually depicting Max being surly and weaving all manner of deep similes. This effect initially failed to impress having just played through MSG2, but quickly grew on me to the point where I really looked forward to them. They seem to mesh perfectly with the rest of the game to produce a title possessing that gritty darkness absent from most games in the genre.

Max Payne is a gory game, no two ways about it. Any potential gamer (or parent) should know that many of the images are of a disturbing nature and completing it boils down to how many people you slaughter. None of the scenes are in anyway comical or particularly far-fetched, making this a game well deserving of its 15 certification. Literally hundreds of baddies fall at the wrong end of your dozen or so weapons, all with blood curdling screams and curses. If you're after a game for the whole family, steer well clear.

The more trigger-happy amongst you will appreciate Max Payne's all out gameplay, as there is little about it that requires anything more than good shooting. The odd trap here and there breaks up the rather repetitive gun battles and occasionally you are pitted against a particularly slippery boss, requiring you to jump across rooftops or train carriages, adding a little more variety. The level maps are nicely varied, changing frequently throughout the 24 short missions and searching for exits is a rarity, which helps to keep the irritation factor down to a minimum.

Max is fairly easy to control, those of you used to FPS controls should pick it up very quickly, but even if you're not a frag-freak the learning curve is very gentle. Apparently the engine used allows for the enemy AI to respond to your skill level, becoming harder if you're breezing through and easing up if you suck. I have to say that my experiments haven't proved this thus far, but the feeling of being close to death is ever present whilst actually dying is quite rare. This gives you a nice experience unlike that of, say, Half Life where absolute mastery of the control and a good dose of good luck are needed to succeed.

The camera remains well behaved all the way through. Thankfully Rockstar have realised how much good camera work enhances a game, especially when you blow the last of a wave of baddies away, treating you to some Matrix style cinematography. As for the phenomenon of Bullet Time itself, as most of you will know Bullet Time is built up by sending your adversaries to their graves and can be used to slow time, allowing you to actually see individual bullets fly past your head. All these slow-mo shenanigans give you an amazing feeling and fortunately it never looses its charm. There really is nothing like diving into a room and blowing everybody away before you slide to a halt, all in a furious blaze of John Woo style glory. Slowing time is not only useful for shootouts; it can also be used to aid you when chasing baddies, as timing is often critical during these sections.

Max is never going to be the coolest kid on the block where presentation is concerned. Graphically it's acceptable, but the character models look like they're wearing cardboard boxes on their heads. It never really effects your enjoyment however, as you don't really have a chance to study anything in detail, due to the highly explosive nature of the gameplay. That said, the environments are well suited to the game and are interesting enough to save you from any boredom on the visuals front.

A lot of effort has gone into the sound effects, being both atmospheric and satisfying in equal measure, from pumping your shotgun to the grating noise of American phones, very much adding rather than subtracting from the whole.

Max Payne is like tomato juice; very boring on its own, but add a dash of storyline spice and a decent slug of Bullet Time vodka and bam, you've got a bloody Mary of a good time in store, albeit a very, very bloody Mary. With its platinum price tag, this title should suit most gamers' wallets and tastes. Max Payne is an action title through and through so if you don't like that sort of thing, don't bother. If you want a game to come back to again and again for a little blast-a-thon, you can't fail with this; Bullet Time is an innovation that will bring a smile to your face every time.

Reviewed by Tom Leclerc for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).