Max Payne 3 Message Board

We’re putting the finishing touches on July’s PlayStation Plus lineup by welcoming Dokuro! The PS Vita exclusive that captured the hearts of many can be yours, free as part of your PS Plus membership. Also, PixelJunk Monsters: Ultimate HD for PS Vita is on sale for its launch week!

With all the PS Vita love, our friends at Rockstar decided to balance things out by putting a huge discount on one of the most intense action games of 2012. PS Plus members can grab Max Payne 3 for $7.99, or the Ultimate Edition for just $11.99. Action game lovers who may have not been able to play it last year: do not miss this one.

The clock is ticking to grab the PS Plus preorder discount on PlayStation Store PLAY titles, like Ibb and Obb and DuckTales Remastered. You can only snag those discounts by preordering.

Read on for this week’s full PS Plus lineup, and we’ll see you next week for the reveal of August’s Instant Game Collection additions!

Dokuro (PS Vita)

Regular Price: $13.99, Free for PS Plus members

Dokuro is a stoic, little skeleton who is a mere peon in the Dark Lord’s army. One fateful day he witnesses his master returning with a helplessly abducted Princess he intends to force into marriage. At once smitten by her plight, Dokuro resolves to free her from the Dark Lord’s treacherous, monster-infested castle. Along the way, Dokuro must switch between his Skeleton and Hero forms to utilize his various skills and abilities. While the Skeleton form allows him to stalk about in the shadows and ensure her safe passage, the Hero form enables him to mount a gallant offensive against the armies of darkness! PixelJunk Monsters: Ultimate HD (PS Vita)

Regular Price: $14.99; PS Plus Price: $11.99

The definitive PixelJunk Monsters experience! Tikiman the Forest Defender is in trouble. Hordes of monsters are sweeping through his realm, hoping to chow down on his offspring – and it’s up to you to defend them. Whether you’ve played the original, or have never taken PixelJunk Monsters for a spin before, this is an amazing way to experience a classic PSN game. Max Payne 3 Sale (PS3)

Max Payne 3 – Regular Price: $39.99; PS Store Sale Price: $9.99; PS Plus Price: $7.99
Max Payne 3 Ultimate Edition – Regular Price: $69.99; PS Store Sale Price: $14.99; PS Plus Price: $11.99

For Max Payne, the tragedies that took his loved ones years ago are wounds that refuse to heal. No longer a cop, close to washed up and addicted to pain killers, Max takes a job in São Paulo, Brazil, protecting the family of wealthy real estate mogul Rodrigo Branco, in an effort to finally escape his troubled past. But as events spiral out of his control, Max Payne finds himself alone on the streets of an unfamiliar city, desperately searching for the truth and fighting for a way out.

Last Chance (Leaving on 8/6)

Instant Game Collection
Battlefield 3

Discounts
Thomas Was Alone: Benjamin’s Flight
Ibb & Obb Preorder

What’s your favorite content from this week’s update?

You’ll find all the content detailed above with their Plus benefits active when the PlayStation Store updates on 7/30. We’ll be back next week with more details on the game arriving to the Instant Game Collection as well as any other benefits we can share.

If you’ve got feedback or thoughts on today’s Plus update, leave them below, or, if you’re looking to engage with more of the PS community, make sure you head over to the PlayStation Community to discuss this week’s news, find other topics to contribute your thoughts to, or start one for yourself. See you in the comments!

We've reported previously about the shooting mechanics in Grand Theft Auto V, and how it's going to be somewhat identical to what we've seen in Max Payne 3. And now Youtuber datarace1 delivers the visual confirmation, with a side-by-side gameplay comparison.Read more...

Max Payne 3 has shipped 4 million units and Borderlands 2 has sent out 6 million units, according to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick during today's financial conference call.

"Borderlands 2 remains on track to become the highest selling release in the history of 2K," Zelnick said.

That's 2K Games, which should not be confused with Take-Two's other child, Rockstar Games, which has a clear highest-selling franchise with Grand Theft Auto. The next installment in that series, GTA 5, is scheduled to drive off with everybody's money on September 17.

Mark Paynopolis? Mark Paynopolis. You heard right. I'll admit, the gameplay for Mark Paynopolis seems a little...boring? Maybe? But the game still retains that quintessential bullet time motion and, well, this guy tries really hard to sell it to you. Enough that I might fork over the cash just because of that. And, hey, at least it comes with all those awesome alternate outfits! To contact the author of this post, write to tina@kotaku.com or find her on Twitter at @tinaamini.

Max Payne 3's final DLC package, Deathmatch Made in Heaven, comes to PS3, Xbox 360 and PC tomorrow, January 22, and features four new multiplayer modes: Dead Men Walking, Run and Stun, Marked Man and Time Attack.

Dead Men Walking, a two-player co-op mode, has waves of enemies swarm you and a buddy. Run and Stun features one player as Saci, Captain Baseball Bat Boy's nemesis, whose goal is to kill each player in the map and turn them to his side. Marked Man makes Vendetta victories five times as lucrative as normal kills in Deathmatch mode; five points for completing a Vendetta and five points for walking away from a Vendetta match with your life. Time Attack applies to Deathmatch, too, adding a countdown clock after each kill: The faster you kill another enemy and string together streaks, the more points you get.

Deathmatch Made in Heaven and its fearsome foursome of multiplayer modes drops tomorrow for $10 or 800 MS Points, or free for those with a Rockstar Pass.

Max Payne 3's final DLC pack, Deathmatch Made in Heaven, has a North American release date of January 22, priced at $10 (800 MS Points) on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Europe gets it on January 30.

Deathmatch Made in Heaven is "an action-packed doozy stuffed with new co-op and competitive modes, plus other awesome treats" for Max Payne 3 multiplayer. The first official piece of artwork is right up there, and Rockstar will reveal more information about it soon.

Deathmatch Made in Heaven was originally scheduled to launch last year, but all downloadable content for Max Payne 3 was pushed, beginning with the Hostage Negotiation DLC in September.

#maxpayne The band HEALTH's killer Max Payne 3 soundtrack was easily one of the best of last year, and a chunk of the reason Max Payne 3 was among my personal top games of 2012. More »

Rockstar has a whole calendar of multiplayer events planned for its titles this winter, and this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday goes to the bald guy with the guns. All players online for multiplayer in Max Payne 3 this weekend get triple XP earnings, and Rockstar devs will play online with everyone on Saturday from 11am - 2pm EST.

There's rewards available, too! All players are getting themselves a "Human Skull Mask" for free, as seen above on the left. The "Wedding Skull Mask," on the right, is going to the top ten player-made crews on the new Crew Leaderboards, so get your gangster bros out there and top some score lists. And finally there's a sweepstakes going on: Just enter on the multiplayer event page for a chance at some Max Payne-related loot. And if you're not around this weekend at all, worry not, because Rockstar has another event like this one on January 11 next year.

Originally slated to launch back in October, the Painful Memories DLC pack is set to infiltrate Max Payne 3 on December 4. Four maps are included in the 800 MS Point ($10) download: the Roscoe street subway map from the original Max Payne, the Hoboken dive Marty's Bar, a level focused around a posh yacht called Shoot First and, finally, the Gang Wars map, Canal de Panama.

The IMG 5.56 and UAR-21 assault rifles are added to the gun cabinet, plus there are new avatars, items and the Hangover Burst, which makes enemies spawn with reduced stamina, health and blurred vision. Just like a real weekend in Panama!

It may have taken a month longer than expected, but the "Hostage Negotiation" pack for Rockstar's Max Payne 3 is now available on Xbox 360 for 800 MS Points, and should also be available for $10 on PS3 and PC by the end of the day.

The DLC pack includes four new multiplayer maps for use in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Payne Killer modes, new weapons and items such as an M24 Sniper Rifle and the "Intimidation Mask," a new faction, new achievements and more. Anyone who previously purchased Max Payne 3's Season Pass is eligible to receive the DLC without expending additional funds, which is helpful since you're already spending so much to replace the furniture you've broken while slo-mo diving around the living room.

#dancebaby Games take us to all manner of fantastical, unlikely places. But as good as video games have gotten at accurately recreating a space-marine shootout or a mountaintop dragon battle, there's one thing developers are still learning how to create: A dance club. More »

Earlier this month, Rockstar pushed back its Max Payne 3 "Hostage Negotiation" DLC pack, following a botched launch in September. Today Rockstar dated the pack for October 30 on all platforms.

Hostage Negotiation adds four new multiplayer maps - Club Moderno and Estádio Do Galatians, and the favelas of O Palácio Strip Club and Favela Heights - to Max Payne 3, plus two new rifles, a new Explosive Burst booby trap and additional cosmetic options, and a new avatar faction. Hostage Negotiation will cost $10 (800 MS Points) on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC when it launches on October 30.

Max Payne 3's next batch of DLC, Hostage Negotiation, was supposed to launch in September. It didn't, in case you were wondering. Rockstar has delayed Hostage Negotiation to "later this fall," for $10 on PSN and PC and 800 MS Points on Xbox 360.

Hostage Negotiation includes four new multiplayer maps, the nightclubs Club Moderno and Estádio Do Galatians, and the favelas of O Palácio Strip Club and Favela Heights. Hostage Negotiation adds two new rifles, Explosive Burst booby traps, the Bomb Suit, Intimidation Mask and Filhos De Ogum avatar faction.

The following packs, Painful Memories and Deathmatch Made in Heaven, were previously announced with October release dates. Rockstar says it's "working hard" to get everything out in a timely manner.

"Our apologies to Max Payne fans who've been waiting for this one and the other upcoming packs - we're working hard to bring you this and all the other DLC and should have a release date to announce for this next pack very soon," Rockstar writes. To compensate for the wait time, Rockstar promises a new chrome weapons bonus redeemable for free to all Social Club members later this week.

Max Payne 3's next round of free DLC, the Disorganized Crime map pack, is shooting in on August 28 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Disorganized Crime features the Hoboken Rooftops multiplayer map and new modifiers for Score Attack in Arcade Mode, such as Explosive Rounds, Lone Wolf AI, Headshots Only and Noir mode. Noir mode allows players to run through the single-player campaign in classic, black-and-white film noir style.

Rockstar has released the first images of Disorganized Crime, displayed in a neat row right here.

#maxpayne Taking a page from LA Noire's case notes, Rockstar's Max Payne 3 will on August 28 be adding something called "Noir Mode", which is a tidy term for "playing the game in black & white". More »

#science For Neo, moving faster than bullets was a matter of realizing the Matrix's rules could be bent. For most of our video game heroes, bullet time is a popular mechanic that has appeared on titles like Max Payne, Red Dead Redemption, Vanquish and more. More »

#maxpayne This video starts off slow, showing you just how depressed and lifeless poor Max is, but it really picks up once some of Max's, um, "friends" come around. More »

After the Max Payne 3 servers get DQ'ed for pigeon doping, Ryan gets his chance at the gold.

[Scene: a darkened alleyway. MAX PAYNE struggles to stand, clearly dazed and more-than-slightly drunk.] Ugh, what happened? How did it get his bad? One moment, I was riding high in Brazil and taking the nearest highway exit onto easy street. And the next…? My sales had gone south, and I’d swerved into the seedy gutter of an industry where three million shipped units is barely even good for a pack of cigarettes and a cheap bottle of booze. And now I’m practically bleeding DLC, digging my way out of one grave and right into another. Hah,  I guess the joke’s on me – like a seagull with two fully cooked turkeys for wings flying against the crashing waves of inevitability. You know what I mean?

(more…)

The next few months' worth of Max Payne 3 DLC content has been given a schedule, albeit a fairly loose one. First up on the docket, though, is some good news for PC gamers: MP3's "Local Justice" DLC pack will finally hit your hard drives on Thursday, August 9. The pack includes three maps and will cost $5.99 for the first week, and then $7.99 after that.

Beyond that, more ambiguous windows were give for the next four map packs coming to Rockstar's slow-motion bullet ballet. Also in August, the free "Disorganized Crime" pack will add a "Hoboken Rooftops" multiplayer map, as well as new modifiers for Score Attack mode, including exploding bullets and headshot-only kills.

September will see the release of the "Hostage Negotiation" map pack, while October will play host to both the "Painful Memories" and "Deathmatch Made in Heaven" packs. All three packs will cost 800 MSP/$9.99, depending on your platform preference. The previously announced "New York Minute" co-op pack and "Trickle Down Economics" map pack have been cannibalized by the other packs, their content spread out between the three remaining releases.

Max Payne 3 has shipped 3 million units since its launch for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in May, Take-Two Interactive announced in its first quarter 2013 financial report today. Max Payne 3 and Spec Ops: The Line both sold fewer copies than Take-Two anticipated, leading to first quarter results below the company's expectations, CEO Strauss Zelnick said.

Still, "the outlook for our slate of upcoming releases is stronger than ever," Zelnick added. "Early consumer enthusiasm suggests robust demand for our extraordinary lineup of upcoming releases, particularly Borderlands 2, NBA 2K13 and BioShock Infinite. We continue to expect fiscal 2013 to be one of the best years in Take-Two's history."

The Max Payne 3 Cheater Pool launches today, quarantining anyone confirmed to be using hacked saves, modded games or any other cheats into one, isolated playlist where they can't pick on honest players.

If you've cheated and are worried about ending up in the Cheater Pool, first of all: Good, that means the system is working. Second, you'll know if you've been caught if you consistently end up in empty lobbies or matched up with games full of other cheaters. If you genuinely haven't cheated and have somehow ended up in the Cheater Pool, you can email Rockstar support at the address found on the Cheater Pool FAQ. It's unlikely, Rockstar says, since it manually reviews each Banhammer report and only takes action if there is clear evidence of cheating.

Happy gaming to all, and to all cheaters good night.

Rockstar Vancouver, we hardly knew ye.

Rockstar Vancouver, the studio most recently known for its work on Max Payne 3, has been closed, according to Take Two Interactive. 35 staffers were part of the team prior to its closure, though the good news is that they haven't just been cut from Rockstar outright. However, they may need to look into relocation services should they decide to remain with the company.

That's because Rockstar has at the same time opened a new studio in Oakville, Ontario, and invited any of the Vancouver staffers to move to the new office, as well as any other Rockstar studio currently in need of staff.

Why make this move in the first place? Because of tax credits, of course. The Ontario government has made a deal with Rockstar to provide a hospitable financial environment for them to expand their existing Toronto team. Up to 50 staffers will be housed in the new Oakville office, including any of the Vancouver team that wants to join up.

Forced relocation deals are never exactly fun for the people being forcibly relocated, but at least in this case, the former Vancouver staffers have some options at their disposal. Hopefully they all get settled soon enough.

In related news, I should probably finish Max Payne 3 at some point, shouldn't I?

#blip Rockstar Vancouver, the main developers behind Max Payne 3, have been shut down. Not to worry (much): the staff are being offered jobs at Rockstar's other Canadian studio in Toronto. More »

You know what they say: Every time a window Vancouver studio closes, a door Toronto studio opens. Well maybe that's not how the saying goes, but tell that to Rockstar; the company has closed up its Vancouver, Canada facility, and opened up a new facility in Oakville, Ontario for Rockstar Toronto.

The Vancouver staff, which numbers around 35 and was last seen working on Max Payne 3, is being given the option of joining Toronto, or a different Rockstar studio.

The new Toronto facility, says Rockstar, is being built in conjunction with a deal from the Ontario government, though specifics on how much the deal is worth weren't available. Rockstar says the combined Canadian team will grow even further, with as many as 50 people being hired on in the future. As for the Vancouverites - we hope they're flexible on location. Otherwise, we wish them well wherever they end up next.

Now that these three multiplayer map walkthroughs of Max Payne 3's Local Justice DLC pack are online, you can't afford not to study them. What if you show up guns blazing in the pool of the Imperial Palace, only to find your opponents have strategically placed themselves on the balconies, where they know they'll have a clear shot to your skull? In this case, you have to assume everyone will study these maps, lest you be the only one who doesn't.

Rockstar has laid out The Imperial Palace, 55th Battalion HQ and Departure Lounge, all three from the Max Payne 3 campaign and optimized for multiplayer battles. Take a gander at the maps below or on the Rockstar newswire. Local Justice is set to drop July 3 for PS3 and Xbox 360, and July 17 for PC.

Get new maps, a weapon, an item, faction, Achievements and Trophies in the July 3 Max Payne 3 multiplayer DLC.

When Max Payne 3's "Local Justice" DLC arrives next week, it's coming in guns blazing. And likely in mid-air, in slow motion, while carefully aiming so as not to waste bullet time. Because, ya know ... Max Payne.

Also known as the first footage of the first Max Payne 3 multiplayer DLC.

#maxpayne And yet it is. This video by Michael Shanks (the same man behind that great Box-Art Brawl video from last week) depicts the high's and lows, mostly lows, of Mr. Max Payne's day-to-day life. More »