The gameplay delivers on its promise of being like an action movie. The controls are simple and very intuitive, which makes it easy to look like a pro within a few minutes of playing the game. You have a lot more confidence walking into a room with three guys, pulling out a pair of Berettas and lighting the place up when you don't have to worry about complex keyboard layouts. And yes, the bullet time feature, which is like something out The Matrix, is as awesome as everyone says it is. After taking out an apartment full of goons in slow motion you just feel cool. In fact, even after you're done playing the game, that coolness will still stay with you. Your friends will hang out with you more, you'll get more dates, and your dog will want to play frisbee with you again. You'll be a mini Keanu Reeves... ok maybe not.

The levels are good, if not linear. The textures and architecture of the buildings are fantastic and expertly detailed. They range from condemned, ghetto buildings to fifty-story corporate skyscrapers. But even though there are dozens of rooms in these buildings, only a handful of the doors are unlocked; and those that are keep you on a clearly defined path to the level goal.

Enemies in Max Payne are very to the point. If they see you, they shoot. If you run, they pursue. You can't really ask for much more in an action game. The touted "self-adjusting skill level system" is also noticeably functional. The enemies get harder as you get better. And by "harder," I mean that they have quicker and more accurate trigger fingers; and that really gets annoying in the final levels. Turning the corner and immediately getting a shotgun shell in the face will test your keyboard's durability against the pounding of your fists, as frustration sets in.

And that's it: straightforward gameplay, straightforward levels, and straightforward enemies. Twenty something levels of walking into rooms with impossible situations, hitting the Bullet Time button and doing some John Woo shooting, as if you're in an action movie. Wash, rinse, repeat. And that is satisfying...until the fifth level of it, at which point it doest start to get a little repetitive.

We need more than just point and shoot. Max Payne does a great job of raising the bar of storytelling and graphical detail, but settled on only good gameplay. It's sad that Remedy had figured out most of the formula for creating a truly great game, but then stopped short of its full potential.

If you have a strong enough system, Max Payne's graphics will floor you. The textures are crisp and nearly photo-realistic, but they will bring your system to its knees if you set them higher than your system can take. A couple of times, I was forced to adjust the video settings because the framerate stuttered during action-intensive situations. Once you find your system's sweet spot, though, you will be impressed, especially with the explosions. They look so real that they can make you jump if you're not expecting them. The facial textures are done well too... Though Max has a Jack-Nicholson-as-the-Joker grin plastered on his face, you can see every little detail of that grin.

Music only comes during boss battles and graphic cinemas and it's usually in a "Pulp Fiction" flavor. It's good but for the most part it's non-existent. Remedy, surprisingly, decided to splurge on professional sounding voice talent, which is a good thing in a "story driven game." The accents are well mimicked and actors deliver their lines believably. But if one thing really pulls you into the Max Payne world, it's the sound effects. Gunshots are piercing and the explosions are booming. When you go into bullet time all sound effects slow down and are backed by a pulsing bass drum. The sound effects help raise the tension and suck you in.