For anyone out there still enjoying the Max Payne 3 multiplayer, Rockstar has reminded us their free Disorganized Crime Pack, which features the Hoboken Rooftop multiplayer map as well as a host of new features and modes, is now available for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

This pack also introduces new modifiers for Score Attack in Arcade Mode: Explosive Rounds, Lone Wolf AI (much more aggressive enemies) and a Headshots Only mode. There's also a new Noir Mode which lets you play in Arcade Mode in the signature black & white style of classic film noir.

Be sure to drop us a line in the Comments section if you grab the new content with your thoughts.

Rockstar has today announced their first DLC pack for Max Payne 3, titled Local Justice Pack. Featuring what seems to be a multiplayer orientated pack, the DLC will be giving players three new maps from the game's singleplayer chapters, as well as a host of other goodies.

This pack includes three new maps for Max Payne 3 Multiplayer featuring areas from the game’s intense final chapters, plus a new weapon, a new item, a new multiplayer faction and associated new Achievements, Trophies or Social Club accomplishments.

55th Battalion HQ map for all game modes

The Imperial Palace/Departure Lounge maps for Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Payne Killer

Light Fingers Item for faster looting

M4 Assault Rifle with attachments

São Paulo Police Faction with related avatar customization options

Rockstar has also noted that the first week of the DLC launch will include a discount to the price, due to what was to be an initial release of June. The discounted prices will be 480 Microsoft Points for Xbox LIVE or $9.05 on PSN and PC, and will then go back to 640 Microsoft Points for Xbox LIVE or $11.45 on PSN and PC.

Sadly PC are at the end of the stick with this new pack, with the release dates set for July 4th for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and the PC version launching later on July 18th. Check out the screenshots below for a glimpse at the three new multiplayer maps that are sure to cause a bullet fight.

In related DLC news, Rockstar has also announced that all pre-order related DLC will be available for purchase on July 4th for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, however again PC players will have to wait until July 17th for their chance to grab the DLC.

Rockstar has today announced that the next title in the Max Payne series is finally here on PC. Featuring the very gritty tale of former New York City detective Max Payne, the PC version suppts a wide range of PC specifications, plus advanced graphics options, scalable high-resolution textures and character models, DirectX11 features, LAN support, multi-monitor support and stereoscopic 3D compatibility.

Max Payne 3 is the story of former New York City detective, Max Payne. His life in ruins and unable to move on from the tragic events of years past, Max looks for a new start working private security with an old friend in São Paulo, Brazil.

When the wife of his employer is kidnapped by a street gang while under Max’s protection, Max’s life spirals out of control as the factions of a dangerous and unfamiliar city close in on him, conspiring to keep Max from the real reasons behind the kidnapping and his part in a much larger conspiracy.

If you still aren't sure whether the life of Max Payne is worth it, check out AusGamers review. You can also check out the PC launch trailer embedded below which gives a great view of those beautiful graphics in action.

While consoles are enjoying the gritty world of Max Payne 3, PC players are eagerly awaiting their turn with the expected release of June 1st. To help the time pass, Rockstar has released new details on low and high end specifications as well as two new screenshots depicting the advanced graphics options.

As you can see from the specs list, we’ve worked hard to make sure the game will run smoothly on a wide range of PC builds. But it’s when you get towards the top end of that range that you can really push a game to its limits, and the game will look and run incredibly on the most advanced current machines around at the moment and well into the near future.
You’ll find that screen resolution is scalable, there’s triple and even sextuple monitor support which helps to run higher screen resolutions, there’s various anti-aliasing options, scalable water quality, scalable shadow quality, increased detail for characters and vehicles and a scalable texture filter that further increases visual quality.

We’re also supporting DX11 with Max Payne 3, with features including Hull/Tessellation/Domain Shaders (which adds curvature to the character/vehicle models), Gather4 (for optimized shadow sampling / FXAA), Geometry shader / Stream Output and DX11 texture samplers to name a few.

To find the updated range of minimum to maximum tested system specs check out the link here. As well as the update system specs, Rockstar has released two PC specific screenshots detailing the gorgeous graphics that you can expect with the scalable high-resolution textures and character models in-game.

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.

Rockstar has released an all-new multiplayer video for Max Payne 3, outlining in detail some of the main features punters can expect from the game when it releases on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this May 18.

Adding something as unique as line-of-sight bullet time, a gameplay tool no one ever thought would work in the multiplayer space, is only one component of the team's multiplayer ambitions, with a number of unique modes on offer, including Payne Killer where two players become Max and his buddy, Passos. Everyone else now targets these two, who're buffed and better equipped than everyone else, but the person who inflicts the most damage in either Max or Passos, then becomes him when he dies.

Watch the new trailer embedded below (or here in our HD video library) and stay tuned for more on Max Payne from us very soon.

Max Payne 3 is "not a port" of the console versions of the game, Rockstar has asserted, revealing that it has been built from the ground up for the PC platform to "run beautifully straight out of the box".

"We're proud to say that Max Payne 3 will support Direct X 11 features including Tessellation," reads a fact sheet from Rockstar. "This means a higher frame-rate, greater visual fidelity, precision mouse and keyboard controls, a full suite of customisable visual and control settings, and optional 3D functionality for an even greater sense of immersion."

We also have a handful of PC-specific screens you can check out via the thumbnails below. It's great to see a steady increase in the number of developers taking the PC platform seriously again, and Max Payne 3 is really starting to look like a bit of a PC poster-child.

The game is due to arrive on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 May 15. Stay tuned for more in the lead up to its release, right here on AusGamers.

AusGamers was recently invited out to Rockstar Sydney HQ to get hands-on with Max Payne 3 on Xbox 360 (we'll be looking at PC soon).

We played through two missions of the game and had a look at Rockstar's new narrative structure in-place, all while eating up its impressive presentation. And, like our hands-off demo, we walked away with a sense of nostalgia and hope. The team have done a bang-up job keeping all the things in place that make a Max Payne game just that, but have also added plenty in the way of modernised gameplay to make the whole experience feel fresh and new.

Click here for our full preview, and click on the thumbnails below for a flick through a host of new screens.

We're still a few months out from launch, but Rockstar have already shared a heaping helping of in-game media from their upcoming Max Payne 3. We've been a little burned out on sharing new developments as they trickle out three stills at a time, but figured we'd make an exception with these latest guys as they're the first look at the higher fidelity PC version of the game.

That's right, all the previous screenshots we've seen so far have been from the console offerings. Annoying Rockstar have told us to "stay tuned for more detailed information including special graphics hardware support and enhancements", so we're going to have to wait for yet another trickle to find out what additional technical wizardry the desktop version will be receiving, but you can check out the new images below, or swing by our May Payne 3 game page for the rest.

Max Payne 3 is due on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on May 18th 2012.

Don't like the baldness? Too bad. Not a fan of Hawaiian shirts? Not his problem. Sun and jungle no substitute for the cold, harsh streets of New York city? Tell it to the judge. Whether you're on the fence, or in some kind of cone of silence over the direction Rockstar has taken Max Payne in its third installment, the game is coming this May, and it looks damn good.

Today we have a new trailer showcasing the game's rich environments, myriad characters, classic noire narrative and all the shooting you could ever want from a Max Payne game. And honestly, after this trailer (and what we've actually seen of the game in person), it's hard not to want to pick it up.

Watch it embedded below, or click here for the direct video page link.

As promised, Rockstar Games have released another narrated walkthrough trailer explaining the design and technology in Max Payne 3 -- their upcoming revisit to the popular noire action franchise. This latest video is titled "Targeting and Weapons" and offers an in-depth look at the game's combat mechanics and how they have evolved on the previous games in the series, as well as demonstrating how incredibly slick and natural the bullet-time maneuvers look in action.

Watch it embedded below or click here for the HD video page.

Max Payne 3 is due on May 18th 2012 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with the PC offering following two weeks later on June 1st.