Max Payne Story

MAX PAYNE The story is told in medias res. Max Payne, a New York City police officer, is standing at the top of a building as police units and their helicopter arrive. He then has a flashback going back three years ago. Back in 1998, Max is returning home to find that a trio of drug junkies high on a new drug called Valkyr has broken into his house. Max rushes to the aid of his family, but he is too late; his wife and newborn daughter have been murdered. After his family's funeral, he transfers to the DEA. Three years later, he is an undercover operative inside the Punchinello Mafia family, which is responsible for the trafficking of Valkyr. B.B., a colleague in the DEA, gives Max a message asking him to meet Alex Balder, another DEA agent and Max's best friend, in the Roscoe Street subway station. When Max arrives at the subway, Alex is shot by an unknown assassin. As Alex was the only person that knew that Max was undercover, his death results in Max losing his NYPD identity. As a result, the police consider Max the prime suspect in Alex’s death. Additionally, the Punchinello family finds out that he is a cop and wants him dead. Max goes after Jack Lupino, who oversees Valkyr distribution for the Punchinello family. After gunning him down, he meets Mona Sax, a hired killer, who laces his drink with a sedative and leaves him to be found by the Mafia, who proceed to interrogate him. Max escapes the Mafia and gains access to a shipment of guns belonging to the Russian mob after killing one of their traitors. Max uses these weapons to infiltrate the house of Don Punchinello, the head of the Mafia. Max discovers that the Don is only a puppet in the Valkyr market when the Don is killed by agents of Nicole Horne, CEO of Aesir Corp, in front of Max. Horne herself then injects Max with an overdose of Valkyr and leaves him for dead. Max has a drug-induced nightmare involving his internal torment and guilt for not being able to save his family. When he awakens, he pursues his only lead, Horne's last words, “Take me to Cold Steel”, heard just before he passed out. It leads him to a steel foundry with an old military bunker beneath it. He discovers that Valkyr was the result of a U.S. military project to improve its soldiers’ stamina and morale; the project was halted shortly after it began due to lackluster results. He also discovers that his wife accidentally found out about the project while working at the District Attorney’s office, so Horne let Valkyr junkies loose in Max's house. After leaving the bunker, Max gets a call from B.B., who asks Max to meet with him at a garage lot. There, Max realizes that B.B. was the one who shot Alex, framing Max for his murder. A huge running gun-fight begins with Max giving chase through the garage lot. After killing B.B., Max gets a phone call from a man named Alfred Woden asking him to come to the Asgard building. Alfred is part of a secret society called the "Inner Circle". Woden informs Max about whom Nicole Horne is and says the Inner Circle cannot pursue Horne because "their hands are tied." They ask Max to kill Horne in exchange for ensuring that any criminal charges against him are dropped. After the meeting, the room is stormed by Horne's agents and mercenaries. They kill every person in the room except for Max, who manages to escape, and Woden, who pretends to be shot. Max enters the Aesir Corp. main office, where Horne is located. As he makes his way past security guards, he runs into Mona Sax again. She is shot by Horne's men after refusing to shoot Max; yet her body vanishes. Max confronts Nicole and states that this whole thing started after Max's wife found out about the Valkyr project. Horne runs to the roof of the building, boarding a helicopter. Racing up to the roof, Max shoots the guy wires of the building's antenna; the antenna snaps off the roof and comes crashing down on the helicopter.

REAL STORY

MAX PAYNE The NYPD arrive at the scene, arresting Max. As Max is being led out of the building by the SWAT team, he sees Alfred Woden. Knowing that Woden will ensure his safe passage through the judicial system, Max smiles genuinely.

MAX PAYNE: 2 {THE FALL OF MAX PAYNE} Two years after the events of the first game, Max Payne is an NYPD detective. While investigating a series of murders by a group of contract killers called the Cleaners, Max encounters Mona Sax, who was assumed dead at the end of the previous game. Wanted for the murder of Senator Gates and, despite Max's protests, Mona is arrested and taken to the police station. While at the station, Max overhears his new partner, Valerie Winterson, talking on the phone about Mona. Suddenly, the station is attacked by the Cleaners, who are looking for Mona. Before they reach her, Mona breaks out of her cell and vanishes into the night. After Max meets her again at her residence, where they fight off the Cleaners who followed Max to her place, they begin hunting down the people responsible for the attack. Their search leads them to a construction site, where Max and Mona defend themselves against the Cleaners. After their foes flee, Detective Winterson arrives and holds Mona at gunpoint. Mona claims that Winterson is there to kill her while Winterson claims that she is simply trying to arrest a fleeing fugitive. After several moments of consideration, Max shoots Winterson, allowing Mona to escape. Before she dies, Winterson shoots Max, leading to his hospitalization.[5] After Max leaves the hospital, he begins looking for answers. When Max is kidnapped by Vladimir Lem, head of the Russian Mafia, he learns that the Cleaners work for Lem, who uses them to eliminate the competition to his businesses. Max then learns that Lem is part of the secretive Inner Circle, led by Senator Alfred Woden, who had ensured that the charges against Max were dropped at the end of the previous game. Lem plans to kill Woden and gain control of the Inner Circle. Max also learns that Mona is a hired gun for Woden, with orders to kill Lem and Max. After Lem reveals that Detective Winterson was his mistress, he shoots Max, and leaves him for dead in a burning building. Mona rescues Max, and together they go to Woden's mansion to save him from Lem.[5] At the mansion, Mona knocks Max to the ground in an attempt to follow her orders to kill him, but discovers that her feelings for him keep her from doing so. Lem shoots Mona after realizing that she will not kill Max. Woden then appears in a wheelchair, and lunges at Lem; Woden is killed during the ensuing struggle. Max and Lem then begin to fight, until Lem triggers a bomb that he planted in the mansion. After they both drop to the floor below, Max pursues Lem through the mansion. Max faces Lem in a firefight, and eventually destabilizes the platform below Lem, causing it to fall to the floor below and killing Lem. Max returns to Mona's side as the police arrive, and she dies in his arms. If the game is completed at its highest difficulty level, Mona survives.[5]

REAL STORY