Just a reminder to Aussies and Kiwis that Max Payne 3 is officially out on store shelves for the ANZAC market from today, giving you plenty of reason to sink into your couch or desk chair over the weekend to help Max finish that glass of whiskey he never seems to be able to.

From our review:

Max Payne is a package and a half, and also represents a massive leap forward, visually, for the Rockstar bench. The environments throughout are some of the most detailed I’ve seen in a long time, and even on the review platform I played the game on, Xbox 360, I was constantly dropping my jaw -- it’s simply breathtaking.

For the full review (8.8/10) click here.

And drop us a line with your Max thoughts post-purchase in the Comments section.

It seems to be a bit of a theme this year, but once again a videogame and pop-culture icon has emerged in a new product -- the tortured ex-Cop Max, in Max Payne 3.

It's been a long time coming for Max, and while many of his supporters are worried about where his new handlers have taken him, I urge them to know that at the very least, down to his written core, Max is Max and Rockstar's treatment of him is of a stellar calibre. In today's review, I've avoided any story spoilers, because Max's tragic journey is your tragic journey.

Click here to read the AusGamers Max Payne 3 review.

Given the bad press that Microsoft's Games for Windows Live DRM system has been receiving of late, it's almost odd that Rockstar didn't confirm this earlier, but in response to a Twitter query (via PCGamer), the publisher very clearly stated "No, Max Payne 3 for PC will not use Games for Windows Live".

Rockstar's most recent PC outing L.A. Noire did not use Games for Windows Live, but a recent screenshot that sported the GFWL logo had sparked some concern that we might be seeing a return to the convoluted login process of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Max Payne 3 is due on PC on June 1st 2012, a couple of weeks after the May 18th 2012 Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launch.

They're officially calling it Social Club CREW, but the basic concept is Rockstar are now making it easy for anyone to put together a multiplayer clan through their Social Club service where you can also create your own Crew Emblem.

That's right, you can now create or join your own rough and tumble CREW in preparation for slaughter in Max Payne 3 Multiplayer. Hit the CREW UP button on your profile page and you can browse Featured Crews looking for recruits or invite your mates to join your ranks to blast through Gang Wars and Team Deathmatch together, racking up XP and starting online Feud beefs come next week. Every Social Club member can belong to up to 5 Crews, so form your allegiances wisely.

All Crew leaders can also designate their squad as a particular type of Crew that best describes their M.O.: All-Stars who consider themselves elite players and strive to hit the upper echelons of the Leaderboards, Soldiers who are in for serious teamwork and killing field success, Rebels out to just kick some ass and make their presence known, Thrill Seekers who prefer mayhem over ranking up and cheevos, and Chatter Boxes for those gregarious socialites of the Social Club we know from official Event chats.

The CREWS page also contains info on the in-game benefits Crew members get in online Multiplayer. You'll receive an XP boost whenever you fight as part of a Crew or battle against rival Crews and their members online. This means you'll effectively unlock bigger and better weapons more quickly than if you're flying solo. And because this feature is linked through the Social Club, you can represent your Crew across PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Rockstar are also offering any Crew that is created between now and May 15 the distinction of being a "Founder Crew", which seems more like an aesthetic title, though they're apparently working on special perks and abilities that Founders will have access to for being in the service first. Just click this link to learn more and sign up ahead of Max Payne 3's release next week.

Solidifying their understanding of the source material, Rockstar not only signed off on a three-issue Max Payne 3 comic book series with Marvel Comics, they're also offering the first issue of the comic as a free download ahead of game's forthcoming May launch.

Max Payne 3 Issue #1: "After the Fall" is written by Dan Houser and Remedy's Sam Lake, and features cover art from Greg Horn and pencils and inks by Fernando Blanco. The three part series will delve deep into Max's dark personal history, and "After The Fall" features characters from all three Max Payne games as the series weaves together events from various points in Max’s life.

You can grab the comic right here.

Max Payne 3 is due to hit PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 May 18.

Rockstar has given us a heads up outlining their post-release content plans for the Max Payne 3 multiplayer component of their game, including an annual pass option to buy into all the DLC plans early and at a discounted rate.

The Rockstar Pass grants you access to all upcoming Max Payne 3 DLC and will be available for 2400 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE), or $29.99 (PlayStation Network and PC) – over a 35% discount compared to purchasing the content individually. Once purchased, the Rockstar Pass enables gamers to download all DLC releasing through the end of 2012 via the in-game store as soon as it is made available on Xbox LIVE, PlayStation Network, or PC.

The first content pack to land after the game's release is the "Local Justic Map Pack", coming this June, which features the "Police Precinct map for Gang Wars, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Payne Killer multiplayer modes", alongside two additional maps for Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Payne Killer as well as the usual multiplayer challenges, avatar awards and so on.

The rest of the schedule looks like this:

Summer 2012

• Disorganized Crime Map Pack
  
• Deathmatch Made In Heaven Mode Pack
  
• Hostage Negotiation Map Pack
  
• New York Minute Co-Op Pack

Autumn

• Painful Memories Map Pack
  
• Trickle Down Economics Map Pack

For a look at how the multiplayer in Max Payne 3 fares ahead of our forthcoming review, click here.

Max Payne 3 is due to release on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 June 1.

As we edge closer to the game's May 18th launch, Rockstar have trickled out another batch of screenshots from the technically-superior PC version of the game. However, this time we have a little more substance -- the desktop system requirements.

In addition to the usual higher resolutions and potential framerates, PC gamers can look forward to DirectX 11 support that includes "tessellation, as well as a number of additional advanced graphics options".

A blog post on the official Rockstar Games site details the rig you'll need to run the game at both minimum and recommended spec. Here's the skinny:

OS: Windows 7 32/64 Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 32 / 64 Service Pack 2, Windows XP 32/64 Service Pack 3
CPU:Intel Dual Core 2.4 GHZ - i7 3930K 6 Core x 3.06 GHZ / AMD Dual Core 2.6 GHZ - FX8150 8 Core x 3.6 GHZ
RAM:2GB - 16GB
GPU:NVIDIA® 8600 GT 512MB VRAM – NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680 2GB VRAM / Radeon HD 3400 512MB VRAM - Radeon HD 7970 3GB VRAM
Sound:100% Direct X 9.0 compatible – Direct X 9.0 compatible supporting Dolby Digital Live
HDD Space:35 GB

Hit the thumbs below for the latest PC screens, featuring Max both with and without hair.

Rockstar have released another clip in their Design & Technology series of videos that have been providing us with healthy doses of gameplay footage, accompanied by informative narration about the game's underlying technology. This latest trailer focuses on perhaps the most iconic gameplay mechanic of the Max Payne series: Bullet Time.

Max may not have hair any more, but that doesn't seem to have affected his ability to dodge bullets and today's clip explains how Rockstar have approached that skill and advanced it to play nice with their modern game engine physics.

Check it out below or click here for our HD video page.

Max Payne 3 is due on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on May 18th 2012 with the PC version to follow on June 1st.

They were obviously never going to say anything bad during the game's development, but it's still heartening to hear that Remedy Entertainment, the studio that brought us the first two Max Payne games, thinks that Rockstar Games are doing a bang up job on Max Payne 3.

Speaking to Games Industry International, Remedy CEO Matias Myllyrinne explained that many of the original Max Payne dev team have been able to have input on Max Payne 3's development and that he thinks it's "f***ing brilliant":

"It's f***ing brilliant. I've had a chance to play it and we've worked with Rockstar a little bit - obviously, they're doing the heavy lifting. They're doing the development. But they wanted our input on a couple of occasions and we've had loads of our people, our core group, who worked on the first two games, give input and it's awesome."

"Those guys, they just don't put out bad games. And so, in that respect, it's very - it's almost like the best position to be in. It's like somebody's making a great game and you just get to give them input, and it's already brilliant so I've enjoyed it," he said. "I can't obviously - I don't want to give any spoilers and can't give out any spoilers, but it's a testament to their attention to detail and it's a testament to their passion and dedication. It'll be worth the wait."

Max Payne 3 is due in Australia on May 18th 2012 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. You can check out our most recent hands-on impressions with the game's multiplayer right here on AusGamers.

It might seem like a strange decision to add multiplayer to Max Payne 3, but according to Rockstar it's actually something that was even on the drawing board for the first two games.

The obvious reason it was never fully realised though, was how to translate Max's signature single-player bullet-time moves into a mode with multiple human players. Rockstar feels they've nailed the problems down though, and with a basic line-of-sight rule that applies to bullet-time, it definitely seems that way. We actually had a chance to try it out first-hand though, and can happily report it definitely does work. We also got knee-deep into a lot of what else is on offer in the game's multiplayer though, and put together a preview for you.

Click here to check it out.