In what feels like an impossible dream come true- Rockstar Games and Remedy Entertainment have decided to bring the band back together and remake BOTH Max Payne 1 and 2 for modern platforms. And for anyone that still has that rotten taste after the GTA “Definitive” editions, Remedy themselves will be in charge of remaking the titles with their own in-house Northlight engine.
I’m so pumped to see these games come roaring back with new firepower and with enough painkillers to kill twenty men. TWICE. And on top of the long awaited Alan Wake 2? Fans like me will be partying like the Old Gods this generation
Having said that… it IS a REMAKE. In a world where we’ve gotten remakes of Spyro and Crash Bandicoot with few changes content wise, something similar could happen with Max. Shiny new graphics, updated controls and maybe a couple new surprises. But then there are others like Mafia or Final Fantasy VII that have changed a lot more than just a few cutscenes and missions.
Being made with a AAA budget and scale, I’m already expecting some serious changes to come up into Max’s depressing little world. And should they come to pass, I’ve come up with a list of things that I’d like to see happen with the Max Payne remakes. This list is in no particular order, and it’s early speculation since the games are currently in pre-production.
McCaffery IS Payne:
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| McCaffery as Trench in Control (2019) |
One thing remakes unfortunately like to do involves changing or adding in additional dialogue. Which means having to redo all the original voice acting, sometimes with different actors. Usually new voice overs are considered inferior to fans who have been accustomed to the original VOs for years. Studying their deliveries and nuances- anything different would be considered blasphemy.
I could accept it if they decide to re-record all the voice acting. But if there’s ONE person that needs to reprise their role, it’s Max Payne himself- James McCaffery. His voice is perfect in delivering his slight monotone metaphor laden narration and I cannot see anyone else do any better. The man IS Max Payne.
This is the easiest expectation since McCaffery has been in other Remedy games since Payne. He’s the voice of Thomas Zane (the poet or the filmmaker?) in Alan Wake and appears as Former Dir. Zachariah Trench in Control. Getting him back to don the metaphorical jacket one more time should be no problem!
Besides, Rockstar tried once before to replace McCaffery early on for Max Payne 3 and nobody liked that.
The Face of a Broken Man:
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| The face of a generation |
Sam Lake, creative director at Remedy and creator of Max Payne, is as synonymous with the studio as Payne himself. He’s the one who modeled as Payne in the original game, giving us the iconic face fans have memed for years.
So having that iconic face come back in the remake is a freakin’ no brainer. Some people would probably suggest having Lake reprise himself as Payne. I mean, why not? He's clearly still got it.
But if that doesn’t appear to be the case, at least we should be able to have the original look as an unlockable for completing the game or something like that. A nice little reward for the old school fans.
Also, think of the meme material having that smirk stay glued on during a serious cutscene.
"Funny as hell, it was the most horrible thing I can think of."
Different Games, Same Digs:
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| The Fall of Max Payne |
Admittedly, I haven’t played The Fall of Max Payne as much as the first game. I’ve probably waltzed around junkies at Roscoe Street Station more times than I’ve tangoed with cleaners at a construction site. But recently when the games became backwards compatible for my Xbox Series X, I ran through them again in celebration.
Jumping into MP2 after playing MP1 felt… odd. I couldn’t shake this strange feeling when I started playing the game. I even restarted it the day after to see if it would go away. Perhaps it was because I was more familiar with the first game?
Eventually, I was able to comfortably play it, but that feeling never fully went away. Like a familiar friend I hadn’t seen in years, he felt more like a stranger. I’ve toyed with replaying the game after the announcement, just to see if that feeling is still there.
With the remakes being developed together as a singular package, it’ll probably mean the games will play more or less the same as one another. Similar looks and feel with maybe some additional writing to make for a seamless transition between the two games. Not looking for exactly 1:1, but maybe it won’t give me that odd feeling between playing 1 to 2.
Tribute to a Tribute:
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| Honestly, could be worse. Could be in a movie. |
Max Payne 1 and 2 used most of their cutscenes in the form of a graphic novel throughout the games. It was a creative decision to help tell the story and set up the atmosphere despite technical limitations at the time of the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox.
When Max Payne 3 came out in 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the game switched to using traditional cutscenes. But in tribute to the original games, Rockstar used transitions or camera cuts in ways that were similar to comic book panels. Certain keywords or dialogue appeared in the air as characters spoke, like the kind you'd see in speech bubbles. Even the loading screens paid homage to Max’s roots.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Remedy turned the graphic novel sequences into full-on cutscenes for the remakes. But what would really surprise me is if they did something similar to what Rockstar did with MP3 for their cutscenes. Not only would the games stay true to their original roots, but would bring the trilogy together in a way they couldn’t before in the past.
MP3 came out nine years after the previous two games (MP2 in 2003), and by the time the remakes will have been released, it will have been over ten years for them to fully size up to its flashier younger brother.
Talk about a vicious cycle of vengeance.
Payne Goes By Other Names…
With the release of Control, Remedy has confirmed that both that game and Alan Wake are part of a connected universe. Unfortunately, since the Max Payne IP is owned by Rockstar, it can’t be part of that world. But that doesn’t mean it can’t bleed over into it…
Remedy likes to leave plenty of easter eggs in their games. One that likes to keep coming up from the dark waters is the FBI agent Alex Casey. In Alan Wake, he’s the main character in the hard-boiled novels Alan wrote before his nightmare vacation to Bright Falls. You can pick up a couple of manuscript pages early on that can be read over, containing a lot of references to the series… and also narrated by Max’s voice.
Remedy seems to have plans with what looks to be a rechristened Max Payne with Casey continuing to be brought up in both Quantum Break (also not directly connected) and Control. Perhaps the Payne remakes will return the favor with their own indirect connections to Remedy’s other games?
Maybe the next time we hear the Address Unknown TV segments, John Mirra’s voice will sound vaguely familiar to that of a particular writer… if the whole situation didn’t already strike any chords after watching the AW2 teaser.
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| I've put a lot of faces on this post. This one should scare you. |
What do YOU think they should put in the Max Payne remakes? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this article. Also, while I hate to sound like THAT GUY, please share with anyone that’d be interested in Always Delayed and for more future content like this!
Other links to content used in this article:
Remedy Connected Universe Reveal
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