Max Payne (series)

Max Payne (series)

Max Payne is a video game series developed by Remedy Entertainment (the original game and Max Payne 2) and Rockstar Studios (Max Payne 3). The series is named after its protagonist, Max Payne, a New York City police officer turned vigilante. The series' first and second installments were written by Sam Lake, while Max Payne 3 was primarily written by Rockstar Games' Vice President, Dan Houser.

The first game of the series, Max Payne was released in 2001 for Microsoft Windows and in 2002 for Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Apple Macintosh; a special version of the game was also released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. A sequel entitled Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne was released in 2003 for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Windows. In 2008, a movie adaption, loosely based on the original game, entitled Max Payne was released, distributed by 20th Century Fox, starred by Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis in the roles of Max Payne and Mona Sax (respectively). Max Payne 3 was developed by Rockstar Studios and released on May 15, 2012 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and on June 1, 2012 for Windows.

The franchise is notable for its use of "bullet time" in action sequences. The series has achieved varying levels of success. Max Payne, Max Payne 2 and Max Payne 3 were well received by critics, although the first sequel's sales were considered underwhelming. As of 2011, the Max Payne franchise has sold over 7.5 million copies. The film rendition, which featured Mark Wahlberg as Payne, was the opposite, in that it received harsh criticism and was given negative reviews but was commercially successful.