Fans Will Still Recognize Max Payne in the Third Game, Voice Actor Says

James McCaffrey, the actor who voiced Max Payne throughout the series, believes that the upcoming third installment will still feature the grizzled NYPD detective everyone knows and loves, even if he’s going on a new adventure in a new country.

Max Payne 3 introduces quite a few changes to the franchise’s formula, taking Max Payne from his New York home and sending him to a new adventure in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

As you can imagine, this change didn’t exactly get fans excited about the new game, but the voice actor of the protagonist, James McCaffrey, believes that the story will ease players into the experience and show that Max hasn’t changed since his last adventures.

“Max has been trying to drink his demons away, and the painkillers are a way of trying to keep a brutal part of his past at bay. But unfortunately for Max, escaping his life by following Passos to Brazil doesn't change as much as he'd like. All hell breaks loose,” he told Videogamer.

The new setting may seem different at first, as the slums of Sao Paulo are a far cry from New York City, but Max is still the same, so players will start reconnecting with the protagonist.

“The new setting is perfect. Max is the same guy – a little older - and he ends up in Brazil out of happenstance. A guy who he bumps into helps him out of a jam, and offers him work protecting a rich family. It sounds like a simple job and it should be, but he has no idea what he's getting into. It's almost like the Wizard of Oz. The setting doesn't give you a reason to care about Max, it's the other way around - Max gives you reasons to care about the setting. And Max's demons go wherever he goes,” he added.

McCaffrey also highlighted that noir elements are still present in Max Payne 3, even if they’re not that apparent from the videos we’ve seen up until now.

“There are definitely still noir elements to the story, and that will come out when people finally get to play the game.”

Max Payne 3 is finally out next month for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms from Rockstar Games.