You probably cringe every time you hear a 3d game that’s on Xbox, PS2, and GameCube heading to the GBA. Rockstar is releasing their PC, PS2, and Xbox hit Max Payne to the GBA, when I saw the link showing Max Payne in the GBA preview section, I thought it would suck instantly. But from looking at a few screens and finding a little bit more about it the idea stuck in my mind as pretty cool. Max Payne is making its way to the GBA as probably one of the only good games that was 3d on a next-gen console/pc.

Following the original story, he is sent on a bust to the subway, seeing his partner and best friend get shot in the back by an impersonator of him. Thinking it couldn’t get any more worse, he was wrong he then comes home to see his wife and new born baby murdered in a brutal way. Hell breaks loose as everyone is now after him. Out for revenge and with nothing to lose, he’s mad as hell.

This version of the game is being made by UK GBA, doing their very best to capture the same feel from the other versions and put it onto the GBA. From looking at various screens they did an okay job with the graphics, it having a 3d environment making bullet time possible. Every thing that you’d see on the pc’s or consoles screen is there health, bullet time meter, what gun is on, and how much pain killers you have left. Thinking about it, it took me quite a while to finish Max Payne and for UK GBA to fit all that stuff from the other versions onto a little cartridge is pretty amazing. But with the help of compressing the 30 minutes of audio to go with the cut scenes.

With 10 to 15 hours of gameplay promised by Rockstar, and with two new game modes, you can be sure this is another Rockstar hit. You can see the man with nothing to lose hitting shelves for the GBA December 15, 2003.