Then someone from Remedy proposed Payne as the last name, and immediately we ditched Heat and spent another load of money trademarking Max Payne. At one point, the best name we could think of was Max Heat, and we spent over $20,000 trademarking this name worldwide. Scott Miller explains: “I came up with Max, but I couldn’t think of a good last name. Both companies recognised the importance of the game becoming a bigger franchise, and wanted a name to match, but it could have easily been Max Heat instead. They called this game Dark Justice, and it was a third-person game but had a top-down angle with the camera a little behind the player.”ĭark Justice eventually became Max Payne, though things could have gone much differently. Remedy came to use with three ideas, a racing game, a Freespace-like space game, and a 3D game much like Loaded, by Interplay. Scott Miller, the founder of 3D Realms, spoke about Max Payne’s early conception in a first hand account of events, stating: “After Remedy completed Death Rally, both companies felt very positive about a continuing relationship, so we started talking about new game ideas. However, the team was looking to create something different. Back in the 90s though, Remedy had just formed and in 1996 were coming off the back of their debut release, Death Rally, which had been developed in a team member’s basement. Max Payne was the product of Remedy Entertainment, the Finnish game development studio who you may know now as the developers behind the likes of Alan Wake and Control.
Today, we’re asking the age old question: will we ever see Max Payne 4?
#MONA SAX MAX PAYNE 2 SERIES#
Since then, the series has remained on indefinite hiatus for nearly 10 years, with no hope or even hint of a potential comeback. The Matrix might have pioneered the art of “bullet time” in cinema, but Max Payne was proof that the formula could work in gaming, so much so that when the time came for The Matrix to be adapted into games, it couldn’t live up to the stellar standard of Max Payne.ĭespite a legacy spanning over two decades, there hasn’t been much in the way of Max Payne content, especially since the release of the third game which divided opinion. Later that night, she dies in Max Payne's arms as he kisses her.Remedy and Rockstar’s seminal third person shooter series Max Payne is perhaps one of the most influential games of all time. Dramatically, in that fateful moment of her decision, she is shot in the back by Vladimir Lem. When presented with the opportunity and the orders to kill Payne, the assassin can not bring herself to pull the trigger. Last battleĪt the Woden's manor firefight, Sax is confronted by Max Payne about her true employer, Alfred Woden. The duo eventually start working together trying to solve the Cleaner Case and develop a romantic relationship. Despite his past encounters with Mona, Max does not inform the NYPD of his acquaintance with her, nor does he inform them after Sax visits him at his apartment. That case is assigned to NYPD detective Max Payne’s partner Valerie Winterson. Mona Sax, alive, reappears in 2003 and is now the prime suspect in the murder of Senator Gates.
Though it appears as if she has been killed by Aesir Corporation security guards at the Aesir HQ elevator after being shot in the head, her body is never found. A guard then appears to killl the couple, but Mona saves Max, though a bullet hits her in the head. Horne orders Mona to kill Max, but Mona refuses, stating she doesn't kill "nice guys" like Max. She comes out the Aesir HQ elevator, pointing a gun into Payne's face. After that, she drugs him to lose his consciousness, stating she does not want to risk her sister being killed in his reckless revenge quest. Mona meets Max Payne for the first time after the death of Jack Lupino at Ragna Rock and tells him about Don Punchinello's involvement in the valkyr trade. The only clue to her past is a picture of Mona with her twin sister at Mona's hideout. Almost nothing is known about Sax's early life and assassin training. She strongly dislikes her sister's Mafia Boss husband. Mona Sax is the twin sister of Lisa Punchinello and sister-in-law of Angelo Punchinello.