From 2001 to 2003, it wasn't just a thirdperson camera that made the world revolve around Max Payne. Nor was it the mere sight of its excellent graphics, or of PCs taking a sideways leap into console land from where they would never fully return. More than anything, it was the man. A propulsive thriller made by just two dozen people in Espoo, Finland – a "garage band", according to writer Sam Lake – it was the story of a man imploding. The door opened on that scene of devastation, the wife and and newborn child slaughtered bydrug addicts, and in one New York minute gaming had acquired a new thirst for revenge.
