Max Payne was first released on July 23, 2001. Twenty years later, it remains one of the all-time greats. So many games can trace their influence to Max Payne, from its breakout use of bullet-time as an actual game mechanic to its dark noir-inspired story, Max Payne is one of the best games of all time.
And I can’t heap praise on Max Payne without also heaping just a little bit more on perhaps the best mod of all time too.
To celebrate Max Payne’s 20th anniversary, Remedy Entertainment released a short video featuring the voice of Max Payne James McCaffrey as well as original scriptwriter, creative director, and body double Sam Lake wishing Max a happy 20th birthday.
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“Even 20 years later, almost every day, I get messages from you over social media on how important Max Payne is to you, how much you love it,” said Lake. “Thank you. I don't think I can ever thank you enough.”
And to really bring the reunion home, Lake put on the original Max Payne costume, McCaffrey put on the Max Payne voice, and the two put on a little skit for Max Payne fans everywhere.
Sadly, Max Payne as a franchise is on its last legs. Rockstar announced earlier this spring that they planned on shutting down several legacy game servers for PS3 and Xbox 360 on September 16, and that includes Max Payne 3. Story mode will remain perfectly playable, but high scores and leaderboards courtesy of the Rockstar Games Social Club will no longer be accessible.
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