What I can say for the game is that it has a fairly complex plot. So, you’re killing hundreds of people for a reason, not just for fun. There is a difference here. You play the role of New York undercover police officer Max…wait for it…Payne. Three years ago you come home to find your house thrashed and your wife and baby callously murdered. Thankfully, when you arrive home the perpetrators are still in the residence. At least you get to take them out, right? It turns out the crooks were on a new, very dangerous drug, known as Valkyr. So, what’s a member of the NYPD, and owner of countless guns to do? Why get revenge no less.

Having played the PC demo (waiting for the Xbox version), I know a little about the story and how the game starts out. Turns out that that infectious drug that ruined Max’s life is closely related to the New York mafia. So our hero (if you want to call him that) infiltrates the Mafia looking for clues. And yet the plot thickens. In the process of all this, his boss, and long time friend, is murdered. And guess what? You’re the prime suspect. To sum it all up -- not only are you trying to seek revenge for your dead wife, child, and best friend by killing the people who manufacture the drug, but you also have to prove your innocence for a crime you didn’t commit, all in while escaping the mafia and police. Complex indeed.

Gameplay takes place in the now very popular third-person perspective. You guide Max around the mean streets, subways, and buildings of New York, murdering countless criminals as the plot twists and unfolds. What differentiates Max Payne from other shooters of this stature is Max’s unique ability known as “Bullet Time”. Borrowing a lot from the movie – The Matrix – the Bullet Time mode basically puts the world in slow motion, in turn allowing Max to dodge bullets and dish them out more accurately. The really cool part about this is that you can spin a full 360 degrees while in the mists of pulling this maneuver off. No doubt, this is the highlight feature of the game, and must be used in the correct situations in order to fully master and ultimately complete the game. If anything, it certainly gives the game that “cool” factor.

Graphically, expect to see visuals equivalent to a Geforce 3 equipped PC or better from the Xbox version. After all, the Xbox’s GPU is basically a hyped up version of the video card. With that comes flawless graphics. Lifelike character models, fluid animations, high-resolution textures, and every other ability under the sun should represent itself in this, which should be the most impressive, version of the game. Basically - it’s going to be purdy.

The sound department is also set to impress. With well-done voice acting, explosions, and gunfire, expect to be immersed. One of the coolest sound effects that I noticed happens within the Bullet Time mode. When the button is pressed – everything (gunfire, people yelling, etc…) has a muted sound to it as a heart beat noise takes over. When the time expires, the sound slowly rips back into real time leaving for a very nice effect. Once again, “cool”.

One worry I have about this Xbox translation is its control scheme. The PC version controls were very reminiscent of a FPS’s. In that the mouse allowed you aim and look around, while the directional buttons controlled your movement and strafing. How this converts to the Xbox controller remains to be seen. I’ve heard that Halo controls flawlessly though. So I fully expect the developers to have no problems here. Just like Halo, I’d anticipate that the left analog stick to be used for movement, while the right will be used to look around.