Max Payne - The Tragic Cycle of Depression & Self Hatred
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- Опубликовано: 25 июн 2024
- Max Payne once a celebrated NYPD Detective Max devoted his career to avenging the death of his wife and daughter. Believing it'll grant him some kind of closure Max was Wrong. Only descending deeper into a never ending cycle of hatred, anger and despair.
Intro - 0:00
Revenge for his family - 5:03
A second chance at happiness (max payne 2) - 11:19
Hatred, Alcohol, & Pills - 17:33
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R.I.P. James McCaffrey, he will forever be Max Payne....I tried my best to share Max's journey while giving context for all 3 games (especially since a lot of people haven't played the first 2.) I hope I still did the character justice . Keeping relevant information without going too deep or omitting crucial events/changes in his life. Maybe do a complete story/timeline of events to go as a "companion" with this video? I feel I still left out a bit of information but I wanted to focus on Max the character and his headspace over the years. What do you think? A timeline video or just leave this be?
Any Max Payne vidéo is good so a time line series is good in my book. Also i wanted to share a couple of éléments to add to your vidéo on what made Max move. First Pasos, this guy is similar to Max a failed cop and a failed security guy but with his optimistic side which is the opposite of Max he has something that Max don’t a fiance and unborn child even though he wronged him by leaving him Max saw a lot of him in Passos, he also says an underrated line « Life worth living ». I think this detail is a big reason on the ending when Max is off the sunset
Second is the song at the airport « Tears » by health even though is much for the player than Max the lyrics says it all
Max Payne 1
Is very accessible you can almost play it on all platforms. 2 not so much
Big respect my man you make awesome video my man and yes its sad that the actor voice passed away its really sad and that voice actor make a masterpiece acting for the voice of character
It isn't that weird that Max in number 3 is still depressed, that kind of shit never really leaves you, even if you think that you're ok.
Yep, people can relapse from different reasons, at different points in their lifes. He lost his family, then he fall in love with a killer who worked for Inner Circle, Lem betrayed him, Bravura almost died. Maybe Max despised Lem and Winterson relationship, because it was like a mirror of his own relationship with Mona. Also, detective Winterson had a son, and Max will have to carry the weight of being the one who killed his mother.
Bro I could never get over that. I'd just keep spiraling
Of course, the classical “realistically he would still be depressed” for the strawmans that keep thinking that max Payne 3 has good writing lmfao.
Max shouldn't have been depicted as a drunken bum that wallows in his suddenly existent misery. 2 already had Max as a depressed alcoholic (AA meetings mentioned by Bravura twice during the story) but the difference is: Remedy made it a subtle element for his character. Not so blatantly explicit like in 3. Another aspect is how he talks about things. In 1 and 2 he makes metaphors that feel more fitting for a "poetic" man, 3's come off more generic, with some sounding outright wrong for Max to say. Different time, but also drastically different style and delivery. Oh, and the head-shaving? Still the same grumpy, bumbling guy till the end. So much for a change for the better.
He shouldn't be grieving over his family again. That grief was resolved by the end of 2. Besides, it doesn't get brought up a whole lot, or even a proper closure. Ripping off a scab and letting the wound bleed, I say. And why write off Mona's involvement so much? Connecting with her helped him find that closure in the first place. And Winterson's grave? "Very bad call", he says. Things would've gone chaotic had he not pulled the trigger, not to mention missing out entirely on his resolve to move on.
He shouldn't be cursing like a sailor. It's a real off-putting aspect that doesn't click with the previous games. Max had ONE curse word in 1, for emphasis; "bullshit", describing his work with Alex during his nightmare in Part II Prologue. In 3 he curses way too often and it doesn't feel like the same character is speaking. Not to mention the out-of-place slurs in the script. Even the N-WORD made its way in, how??
Now, anyone saying that "9 years does these things to a man" or “max was written like a real person, realistically he would still have grief.” Max isn't that kind of man. He isn't a real person. He doesn't talk or even think like one. He survived an OD of a drug that makes people hallucinate and break down, a magnum bullet to the head, not to mention a long drop (seemingly on his head) that did almost kill him. His style is distinct and uniform in 1 and 2 while in 3 it is clearly very different.
I don't see 3 as part of the same continuity. It's more of its own thing, with 1-2 happening very differently in concept. Rockstar's style doesn't fit the narrative that Remedy solidified with 2 prior games. Even 3's prequel comics have differences between what happens in 2, like Mona's makeout scene (in the game Max wants Mona, in the comic Max is regretting it; both are supposed to be his internal thoughts). I can accept Max's past (childhood and meeting Michelle before 1) from the prequel comics as part of both continuities. But not the rest of it, and especially 3.
@@Endru85xwell that and all the people that he killed in max payne 1 due to being framed for his best friends death. He came close to death so many times in that story but could not just die. Even worse, he got drugged with the drug that instantly makes people addicts (in which the one he got was a even more potent form of it). By the end of the game, his body is still at its limit.
@@sonny661yt8 Yeah it's a really lazy excuse to give that the reason Max's whole personality had a shift was him becoming more depressed, when really it was just a complete tonal change by Dan Houser the dude who wrote the third game. He is largely responsible for most of these changes, and for whatever reason believed it was a good idea to make it so Max thought of Mona as just an escapist fantasy he was using to keep him from thinking about his dead family, which was absolutely not what Max in the second game was doing. Continuity as it is, Houser is responsible (as well as a few others who helped write with him) the story that is Grand Theft Auto 4, which did have a pretty good story, so it kind of sucks to see this game, which is a sequel to an amazing piece of storytelling, be turned into Houser's lesser work and is a step below from quality like the other games. I think the sequences where Max is contemplating in his room are the best, because he isn't always saying something generic in response to another character or himself. Really, really weird as I actually really liked the gameplay of three
Max Payne 3, the best $65 I’ve EVER spent on a video game. EVER.
The fact that it’s not available on the PS store pisses me off to no end
None of them except the first one is. Which is an outrage
@@CynicGTAremake won’t be long now. I’ve never played the first 2 so do you reckon I should just wait or get them?
@@lewisofthehooodmight as well wait if you waited this long what’s a few more years
I was pissed lol good thing I got an Xbox I literally got all 3 games
Rest in peace James McCaffrey, he will never be forgotten.
17:52 Yeaaaahhhh, no, I think two games of popping painkiller pills like they're health potions gave him that addiction.
What everyone misses is it's the self-destructive journey of an alcoholic. He has a positive outcome in Max Payne 2 but It doesn't matter to him because he just wants to grab another drink And then to self hatred kicks in and it's a never-ending cycle of misery. The critics who hated on Max Payne 3 didn't understand what it's like to go through alcohol/drug withdrawals and the overall need for sobriarity to get that clear-headed clarity a man needs. Max Payne 3 ends with him walking off into the sunset remaining sober. The true happy ending, and of course don't forget the lyrics of the song used in the terminal stage "Tears"
Good video man!
Hes clearly seen drinking a beer at the end
And what many of y’all miss is that Max Payne 2 was suppose to be the end of Max Payne. Max's story ended in Max Payne 2, he gets over the grief over the death of his family and is reborn, which is why the credit song is called "Late Goodbye" it's about him finally saying goodbye and letting go, although late, he still says goodbye, I have other problems with 3 (that are irrelevant in this case.) other than the fact they completely ignored his character development in 2, it's over, 2 was all about the letting go and being reborn.
@@Cosmicshambler
It's supposed to be a soda, like a Sprite / a 7up. But obviously they couldn't just get a brand deal so it's just an unlabeled green bottle just like when Max tells the detective he wants a soda... Instead of just saying a Coke. (I would have went with Seltzer)
If it really was a beer He wouldn't just be walking off into the sunset with dignity. Because one beer is never his love of chronic alcoholism means a single drink will make him relapse back into throwing it all away again. And it wouldn't make any sense narratively, especially when the rest of the game worked very hard to accurately depict what it's like to go through this level of alcohol abuse.
@@sonny661yt8 at that point you might as well not even see Max Payne 3 as Cannon. By all means, have it your way. Not like it matters anyway since no returning characters show up from Max Payne 1/2. Have your own little head cannon, Max Payne 3 doesn't care so much about the continuity of Max Payne 2, it's all about the family He lost in Max Payne 1. Although as he admits in the cemetery they've been dead for a much longer time then he's actually known his own wife in person. Max Payne 2 was falling in love with Mona, someone with too many secrets and the farthest thing from a family woman, at best she's a one night stand that Max never got to experience so he blames himself... Speaking of non-cannon, the 100% ending of Max Payne 2 were Mona Sax lives might as well be fanfiction that you might as well believe Max Payne 3 never even happened at that point.
@@Gator159 what's worse is that you don't see how he gets over his grief, the airport song is amazing but it isn't enough, specially because he seems to get off the booze and then he magically gets over it by the end, it sucks massive ding dong compared to how he gets over it in 2,in 2 he stops trying to runaway from the past and instead looks back into the past and accepts his grief, and in that act of seeing, he is reborn. the plot is also weak, if the whole plot was for Victor to kill his family and frame the bodyguard, so why in the actual hell would he hire an ex detetive who is infamously known for having the highest body count ever who also has a deathwish and refuses to die despite hating myself, he was literally asking to get busted when he hired a guy who got shot in the fucking head with deagle and survived, 2 wasn't even a tragedy it was a conspiracy, it had to be in New York because the plot needed the characters from the first Max Payne is a film noir story.
Thank you so much for showing some love to Max Payne its so nice to hear about my favorite game again
I wonder if Rockstar will ever release Max Payne 4? Maybe they could do a story where Max rescue the woman from danger, they end up falling in love, and Max can finally have a happy ending
Rest in peace James McCaffrey
I love how the music explores Max's journey with the main theme being reflective of his depression throughout the series. One introducing it to us and two being heavy but with lighter violins, showing some sense of hope representing Mona. 3 gives us the penultimate version with stronger cellos and an added chorus signifying a greater fall. Most importantly are the two songs that play at the end of 2 and 3, Late Goodbye and Tears.
Late Goodbye is literally Max Payne himself reflecting on the people he's lost; a wife, a daughter, a lover, his only friend Vlad and himself.
Tears is his redemption, a rising of his forgotten human spirit and the acceptance of his loss and the reignition of his will to live. However, this will isn't motivated by revenge or love, it's motivated by himself.
I'll be honest, when I played through that airport level and tears started playing, I got chills. It felt like it would have been Michelle singing to Max to let go of his pain and move on but not to forget those that he lost.
this is perfect I’ve been playing these three games all day today
Best game i ever bought and played back in 2012. I loved the change of setting and how grounded and grim the story was, the gunplay was top tier and the action scenes were some of the most fond memories i have about that game. Max's decline in mental and physical health made sense as a man with so much guilt,trauma and self hatred its understandable to fall into the dark and deep hole of addiction and unwillingness to find a reason to keep going which made his comeuppance even more gratifying to see unfold and in the end max got somewhat of a happy redemption ending. Also this game had some of the best soundtracks ever put in a game that blend so well with the gameplay, HEALTH did a fantastic job with some of their tracks outright specifically made to play as memories that haunt max to this day like the track DEAD that plays during the cemetery scene, and one of my most favourite segment of the game was the airport terminal shootout just when TEARS starts playing you instantly get goosebumps, especially if you play on higher difficulties it elevates the intensity but also speaks to max himself in the form of his dead family and why its important for him to move on. Overall definitely recommend grabbing it you won't regret it!
I can’t believe James is gone. He did such an incredible job as max. Great video!
I actually saved Mona Saxx in my gameplay it was a hard but worthit
it’s a bit hard but in my eyes that’s the true ending
@@angeloh58d always will be
And people call me a simp but for me Hidden ending is true ending
Is their a ending where you save mona????
@@johnrambo1304 yes it is and it's in max Payne 2.
It has some specific e
Requirements and you can check them on RUclips just type Saving Mona from Mac payne 2
@@johnrambo1304 when you beat Max Payne 2 on the Dead On Arrival difficulty you get an alternate ending where Mona ends up surviving.
In 24:22
also relates to the song that plays from the Airport shootout scene.
[TEAR - Health]
This music is wake-up call for Max payne to give up and let it go .... if he can came back alive from this shithole. and the result is he finally give himself a chance to leave it all behide and move one in the end game.
Incredible video dawg. I love the variety in all the topics u cover
TBH, i always thought Max Payne, after all the events happened in MP1 and MP2, supposed to be well known in criminal community as a guy to not to mess with under any circumstances and stay well away from.
Seeing him slipping downwards on the bottom and being a subject of bullying from some macho idiot guido is just...sad.
Fitting situation i saw in movie (yeah, i know that no one from MP fans considers movie seriously, but still), one of the criminal masterminds warns movie's Mona that Max Payne is the man "that got nothing to lose, that's because he is extremely dangerous", since they know that he is on search on something well forbidden and well hidden.
it is exactly what some young idiot would do in front of a friends, to prove himself and all that
Great video. I think a lot of guys are in a similar mindset to Max in these tough times
I fully played part 1 and 2 on PS2 ..loved them! Never got to part 3..however it looks interesting. Part 1 (original) is a masterpiece in every way. BTW, you make a better movie here then any adaptation real life could ever be. Also the games themself were a movie all along
At least his character finally found peace in game
And he is in good place irl too
Great video, dude. Congrats.
Intro was excellent
wait, James McCaffrey died?
Yeah sadly he passed not too long ago
@@Adam_X78 RIP. I was in a dark hole mentally around the time he died, I may of saw but I probably blocked it out, hope he's alright wherever he is.
@@user-uo8ny1kj4c I hope you’re doing good too brother
When?? I saw him at 20 anniversary of max Payne @@Adam_X78
He passed in december of 2023 from myeloma
These Games were so good.
I believe max found clarity from saving Giovanna. As she and Passos were the only people left alive by the end. All he wanted to do was save someone who needed saving.
His wife, dead.
Moana, dead
Marcelo, dead
Fabiana, dead
Having a woman he actually saved probably gave Max some form of clarity
Maxpayne 3 is my all time Favaorite TPS game.
Max literally walks off into the sunset, a hero, and he dies of cancer a decade later. He's at peace now.
Is that a fanfic? Did Sam Lake release that information or something?
@@Gator159 it's a reference to James McCaffrey Death , he sadly passed away to cancer.
@@trupaozbornowie9513 Fair enough. I don't know why I didn't think of it that way.
Great video man, please do the metro characters 👍
Im confused why MP3 had better graphics than GTA V
Cause they put more money into MP3
Cause Max Payne 3 is not an open world game, it doesn't load as much assets and parts of the world as GTA 5, back then open world games had to have lower graphics to optimize the game, since Max Payne 3 is more linear, they were able to make better graphics without risking the game's performance
@@fusion913 I mean, i think that's still the case. Not only because of less load for the GPU and CPU, but also because of "less work". In a non-open world game, you can put much more work into every corner than in an open world game.
Because GTA V pushed the ps3 and 360 to their limits.
It’s a true character study of the great Max Payne.
A man who had a hard childhood, a promising future taken from by a couple of drug junkies. And trying over three games to get over his suffering.
Wow this video hits close to me
My favorite games ever
The first two are my favorite
as someone who have been relating a lot w him recently since i been pathetic and miserable in the past months This Is A Good Video ! That mf is so me ……
Yessir
I obviously love all 3 & I'm so hyped for the Remake! I just hope they don't fuck it up! 😏 Max Payne 1 really was something special! Besides DOOM, MGS, & only a few more, Max Payne was/is def one of my top games/franchises hands down! I'll never forget how happy I was when I saw it was releasing on XBOX! 😏 Back then, literally noone had a PC really, & if they did, it wasn't running Max Payne! Lucky if it ran OG DOOM!😉I was fortunate enough to have a PC really early on because was Dad is military & got access to one a long time because I started even seeing basic PCs in peoples homes! But even my PC wasn't quite powerful enough to run Max Payne, So... My little mind was blown when I saw it was coming out exclusively on Xbox(at first, later came to PS) I was already looking for new, great games for the OG Xbox & this couldn't of been more up my alley! I literally felt like it was done for me specifically😂 & IDC, actually didn't know/notice "the Xbox's version problems" that I've heard/seen folks talk about nowadays. Throughout the year every year I go back and play them I even have Max Payne One installed on all my phones at all times😂 Great Video My G! Keep up the good work my brother! 🤘🏽🫡
Max Payne is awesome
Where the comments at?
I don't know. Mp3's Max doesn't feel like Remedy's. As for your point about MP2, well obviously the events of both games would screw you up, but it _is_ a retread. It's tired and he has gone through the lesson a third time. There's also even more reasons such as references he makes, how his pessimism has turned into something completely different, and he's not even a good bodyguard.
Yes I agree mp3 isn’t even that good mp2 is the best then mp1 mp3 just doesn’t even feel like a max Payne game and completely disregards the 2nd
@@angeloh58d Disagree. While the Story of MP3 isn’t as good as the first two imo. It was still solid and It has much better Gunplay. I can’t really go back to MP2 after MP3 unless playing chronically of course.
For disregarding the second game. Not really. canonically losing another lover and having everyone around you die again. Yeah that shit would take a toll no matter how many years.
Even if Mona survived the events of the second game (DOA Difficulty) she was a wanted fugitive IIRC. She would have been away for a Very long time.
In the Prequel Comics to MP3 and to some extent the main game. Max considered his relationship with Mona “cheating” and grief it makes sense though. Given how quickly he fell in love with Mona despite acknowledging she was an Inner Circle Assassin and he still missed his family.
@@motorsporttj1689this tells me you clearly didn’t pay attention to the story.
In fact, that part of the prequel comic is character assassination for max.
in max payne 2, it’s explicitly shown that Max wants to be with Mona.
@@sonny661yt8 yeah he does. But at the same time he does acknowledge that he was just running on pure Cope.
Listen to the dialogue when Max was making out with Mona “to change the past, my wife and baby girl back” He was still thinking about his family while making out with an Assassin. during MP1 he quickly got along well with Mona despite the whole reason for killing the Punchinello Crime Family in that point of the story was to avenge his wife and child. I don’t think that part of the Prequel comic was character assassination. It would make sense he thought that entire Relationship with Mona was “grief” or “cheating” in a sense.
Also Sam Lake, Max Paynes Creator helped with MP3 and it’s Prequel Comics. Are you really trying to say he doesn’t know his own Character? Cause I can say that to a number of Creators. Sam Lake though he knew what he was doing.
@@motorsporttj1689
And that's all and well, but don't pretend that the direction Rockstar went is something Lake envisioned for the character. I'm well aware that rockstar owns the rights to the series, that doesn't mean I have to pretend their version of the character is accurate to the original. On that note, MP3 was not a max Payne game in tone and character.
Here are Sam Lake’s official words:
"Rockstar guys, Dan Houser and the others, they reached out to us at a certain point in development (of Max Payne 3), and asked if we would be interested to play it through and give notes, which was really awesome and really nice from them. And it, to me, I mean, it most certainly looked like a Rockstar game. And it was their take on this idea, which was wonderful, I felt. It was much better in my mind to go that way than to try to maybe imitate too much what we would have done.
He more or less says what I am saying, just not as freely. He says that he finds the game to be great, but that it has taken a different direction than the originals.
And also, remedy or lake had no involvement with MP3 further than being consultants, Dan houser wrote the third game and the prequel comics were written by lake (along with Dan houser as well.)
funny...i use to had self hatred the older i get the anger it consumes alot more btw i was born in 1998 5:12
Litteraly me (wojak soy face)
Is it bad or terrible that I don’t feel the vibe of Max Payne 3? I watched many videos and tried playing it but Max Payne 1 and 2 are way better than 3
such a doomer game
I can't really put my finger on it but I never liked Max Payne 3. I might just be terribly biased
Same
I think its the best out of the 3
Aaro
REAL 💯💯💯.🙏🏽🩸