I actually had a lot of fun with MP3, but I don't think there was any getting away from the fact that this is a series where the emotional stakes seem to be steadily LOWERED with each new installment.

I mean, where the hell do you go after avenging your family's murder by systematically destroying the multinational corporation behind it? Apparently by killing the Russian guy you were mild friends with in the first and grieving over a dead girlfriend who may or may not have always been out to kill you?

And now by... I dunno, saving some rich Brazilians who you have nothing but bad things to say about the entire game? It's not just that Max Payne is an unlovable character and the tone of the game is one note, it's that when you spend an entire series destroying everything a character loves, there are inevitably going to be diminishing returns in your audience's investment in the story.

The last metaphor about the dog and the homeless man actually made me feel sad inside a little.

Beat it, enjoyed it. Yes the story is kind of contrived at this point, but what it lacks in substance it makes up for in style (and no loading times between missions, even after dying!). The game's physics feel rock solid and the shooting is top notch. No complaints here.

For someone who complains about stories in games not being deep enough the fact that it's a shooter where the story is about someone spiraling into depression because the only thing they're good at is killing yet no matter how many people they kill their situation only worsens seems to have flown right over his head.

Learn to think critically better

So, wait, this game isn't about Mark Wahlberg being chased by demons?