The Max Payne franchise put players in the role of Max Payne, a hard-boiled New York City detective with a penchant for violence, out to avenge the death of his family. The latest installment delivers more of the classic elements and hyper-intense action that fans have come to love, while moving the story of Max in a new direction.

Max Payne 3 begins 12 years after the events of Max Payne 2, with Max visibly older, more violent, and more world-weary from the events of his own life. Having left the NYPD, Max has been taking odd jobs in security and consulting, and when we find him he is providing personal protection for a wealthy family in Sao Paolo, one of the world’s deadliest and most crime-ridden cities. At absolute rock-bottom, Max discovers that trouble still dogs his every step, and he finds himself drawn into the brutal heart of the Brazil’s dark underworld.

Max Payne 3 retains many trademarks of its predecessors; a focus on story and character-driven action, a large number of sophisticated weapons with dual-wield capabilities, Bullet-Time, an addiction to painkillers, mature themes and Max’s ever-present internal monologue. Max Payne 3 also utilizes Natural Motion and Rockstar’s own RAGE engine, working with brand-new particle physics technology to deliver spectacular, highly advanced close-quarters combat, an intelligent cover system, and constantly varied gameplay in every level.

Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world, by area and population, and is notoriously known to house a number of the world’s worst drug traffickers, street gangs and kidnappers. The number one cause of death among the youth is murder.

Sao Paolo’s young gangs are amongst the most violent in the world, and the most dangerous of those is said to be the Primeiro Comando da Capital. The PCC has organized prison breaks, prison riots, drug trafficking, highway robberies and kidnappings since it was formed in 1993. With one gun for every 75 people in the country and 95% of those firearms obtained illegally, Max will need every skill he has in order to survive.