"Some people say, ‘Max is a noir game and it has to be black and white and in New York,’” Barrera says. “But noir is a style not necessarily a place and a color scheme. Noir is not necessarily saxophones and big dark shadows. It’s looking at a world in a bleak way. That’s what we’re doing. It’s more contemporary."

Game Informer has just posted a 5 page preview of Max Payne 3. While it doesn't mention a whole lot of new information, it's still an interesting read on the lengths Rockstar went through to make the game look and feel just right. The preview also mentions a couple of new details about the cover and bullet time systems.

"The player has full control at all times, and is able to use the slowed down tempo of Bullet Time to pull off maneuvers that would be too difficult at full speed. One example Rockstar revealed occurs in the favela. After vaulting over a wall, Max slides down a tin roof, artfully picking off enemies on each side as he descends."

Source: Game Informer

Brazilian blog "Faca no Console" has been receiving some interesting packages and emails lately that have to do with some kind of alternate reality game for Max Payne 3. It all started with a letter. The letter read "They're coming. Vikings used to wear them for protection." The them the letter is referring to is a wings sticker that was included with the letter.

Three days later, the website received a package from Aesir that included two blue bottles of Valkyr. On the bottles was what they once thought was a serial number, however, a guy from Warpzona found that it was actually a phone number for a company called iChimps. iChimps is the company who set up the campaign for Rockstar. When he called, they didn't say much but they did say even though the blue liquid is non-toxic, no one should drink it to be on the safe side. Probably a good idea considering how addictive Valkyr is. :P

from     eme pe <emepe09@gmail.com>
to     brunovieirasilva@gmail.com
date     Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 5:25 PM
subject     Don’t trust AESIR
mailed-by     gmail.com

Hi Bruno,

We don’t know each other, but I need you to trust me.

Don’t be scared. I got your email because I had access to the database of all the people who were contacted by AESIR in the last 20 days.

And YES, I know that AESIR has been sending you some “gifts”. But I strongly recommend you to ignore each and every gift this company has sent you. You should not get involved with them or their products.

I am at the final stage of my investigation and soon I will send you visual evidence hoping that you understand what the real intentions of this company are.


I’m counting on you.

Best of luck,

EMEPE09

A week later, they recieved an email from "emepe09", who is most likely Max. Notice the bold letters? That's the way they received the email, so it must point out something right? It does, "tumblr". So what does it mean? It's a free blog site similar to Wordpress. Guess who has an account there...yep, Max Pay...EMEPE09. There is only one thing on the account, a picture of a pouch with a description of " 9YA is the answer". I downloaded the picture and decided to have a look at the metadata. Lo and behold I found a link to a Brazilian short URL service in the title. The link takes you to Correios, a shipping company.

This is where I come to a dead end. I cannot at the moment figure out what to do next. If you've figured out the next clue, please email me at aj@rockstarwatch.net.

Special thanks to Faca no Console

Rockstar has updated the official Max Payne 3 website today with the first ever digial high-quality screenshots of the game. We have posted them below.

This month's Game Informer has yet to hit news stands, however, some subscribers have received the issue early. According to Kotaku, Max Payne will be set loose a decade after the events of Max Payne 2 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Max is said to be balder, paunchier and more heavily bearded. For all you bullet time lovers, bullet time will remain in tact. The issue is also said to talk about a multiplayer component. We'll keep looking for more info.

Source: Kotaku

The official website for Max Payne 3 has had a minor update today, with the addition of a downloads page consisting of an Official Wallpaper, Avatars and Buddy Icons. All of the downloads use the same image that appears on the front page of the website, however more of the character is shown. You can see the available downloads on the download page, a preview of the wallpaper can be found below:

Related: Max Payne 3 Downloads

Back around 2004, Take-Two's then CEO, Jeffrey Lapin confirmed that Max Payne 3 was coming. However, after many years and new Take-Two CEOs, most people lost hope that Max Payne would live to see another game. Well, Max Payne fans rejoice! Rockstar has just announced that Max Payne 3 is coming this winter to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and yes you are reading this right, the PC!

Unlike the first and second game, Remedy Entertainment is no longer developing the game. Instead, Rockstar Vancouver, the studio behind the Bully, will be developing the title. Here is a quote by Sam Houser:

"We're starting a new chapter of Max's life with this game," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation."

The press release doesn't have more information than that really. However, it does reveal that Max is no longer in New York.

Since leaving the NYPD and New York itself behind, Max has drifted from bad to worse. Double-crossed and a long way from home, Max is now trapped in a city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out.

Official Website: Max Payne 3

Two interesting rumors have popped up today. Starting with the first rumor, Max Payne 3 is said to be in development by the very quiet Rockstar Toronto. Back in 2007, there was a rumor going around that the same team that had originally developed Manhunt 2, Rockstar Vienna, was developing the title but was canceled when the studio was closed. Rockstar Vancouver was said to be continuing developing of the title. However, this new rumor says Rockstar Toronto is developing the title. Perhaps it was a mix up of the studios? Seems logical being that they are both located in Canada and Rockstar Toronto received a name change after the Vancouver team became part of Rockstar.

Also adding to this, Rockstar Toronto has been very, very quiet since the release of The Warriors. They have worked on Manhunt 2 and Bully since then but they were just ports. It may be unknown who the developer is but one thing is almost for certain, Rockstar is working on Max Payne 3. On to the next tidbit of information, remember that exclusive PS3 IP Sony said that Rockstar was working on last year? Well today's rumor says that Rockstar North is developing the title.

Source: 1UP

Blogger softrockhallelujah has struck again with more inside Rockstar information. This time on the subject of Max Payne 3, the game many have been waiting for since the end statement in Max Payne 2 credits -- "Max Paynes travel through the night will continue", however much some websites believed it was canceled some of us still hoped. If this information is correct then that hoping is over, and we have won:

Max Payne 3 will see release in either summer or fall of next year for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

The believed-to-be-canceled game that was at development alongside the previously-believed-to-be-canceled Manhunt 2 at the now-defunct Rockstar Vienna has not been canceled and is currently being developed by an unknown Rockstar studio. Take-Two plans on having one major sequel release from Rockstar each season of next year, with MC:LA for winter, GTAIV for spring, MP3 in either summer or fall....and DNF (Duke Nukem Forever for those who do not like acronyms) in either summer or fall (whichever one that MP3 does not come out in).

Also, Take-Two plans on introducing Bioshock swag, starting with various items featuring the recently-trademarked "Every Man Has a Choice, I Chose the Impossible."

UPDATE: A source close to the title has informed me that Max Payne 3 is being developed for PS3 as well. And another source tells me that the game is being developed in Vancouver.

Now weighting this up, it does add up quiet well really. Also for those who we're unsure on the studio that created the first two, it was not Rockstar Vienna contrary to popular hear-say, it was in fact only ported by Vienna. Remedy made Max Payne 1 & 2, and from what I have heard myself Remedy and Rockstar had a fall-out not long after the release of Max Payne 2, and Remedy stated in '04 that they were not working on Max Payne 3. Chances are it is being worked on in-house by Rockstar by one, or more of it's studios.