What's with "Bullet-Time"?

[CTU_Agent24]

Why is it that every game that incluse the ability to slow doen time (i.e Bullet time) is being labled a 'max payne' rip off?

True Crime
Stranglehold
Dead to Rights (few of the head)

Why does every game with bullet time get labled max payne rip off?
Surely its time to move on from max payne...

(P.S only game that does not is the matrix games, but thats obvious)

 

[Reasonable Doubt]

Mispost

 

[Johnn Johnston]

I think that they are called Max Payne rip-offs because that was the game to really do it first. Personally, I think Stranglehold did it better.

 

[ReepNeep]

Maybe better than MP1, but no way in hell was it better than 2. The extra moves like riding the carts and kicking off the wall were fun (I wish MP1's kung-fu mod was ported to MP2), but the gunplay wasn't as good. Thats not even taking into account the story and presentation angles.

Its also not just bullet time: all of those games you mentioned were 3rd person shooters as well. FEAR used bullet time quite heavily and I don't remember thinking it played like Max Payne at all.

Any 'playable action movie' is going to be compared to Max Payne for the same reason that any space opera is going to be compared to Star Wars. The same reason that any mafia movie is going to be compared to Goodfellas and The Godfather. You just can't make anything in an established genre without some comparison to the best that genre has to offer.

 

[gamshobny]

I think that they are called Max Payne rip-offs because that was the game to really do it first. Personally, I think Stranglehold did it better.

Being an intense max payne fan, enlighten me. How do you think stranglehold did it better? Sure, it was good, but I just liked the absolute control max payne gave you a lot better.

 

[sathie]

I've not played Stranglehold, but I absolutely loved Max Payne 1 and 2. Even without bullet-time it was a fantastic series of games. Anyone can do bullet-time these days, but nobody seems to be able to emulate the awesome feeling that those games had.

I suppose when something is new and unusual it's better. Then you become used to a feature and it's no longer as special.

 

[gamshobny]

I've not played Stranglehold, but I absolutely loved Max Payne 1 and 2. Even without bullet-time it was a fantastic series of games. Anyone can do bullet-time these days, but nobody seems to be able to emulate the awesome feeling that those games had.

I suppose when something is new and unusual it's better. Then you become used to a feature and it's no longer as special.

Not true for me. I've tried a lot of games that used bullet time (Max Payne 1 & 2, stranglehold, brigade E5), but none of those realy managed to capture even a glimpse off the liquid nitrogen coolness that max payne (especialy 2) brought.

 

[HeyZeus_Ezekiel_Jesus]

Max Payne was influenced by John Woo films so calling Stranglehold a Max Payne rip-off is like saying the game version of Starship Troopers was a rip-off of Halo.

[NOTE: As far as I know, which isn't a lot, ST didn't not influence Halo but I'm just trying to make of a comparison, albeit a shitty one]

 

[ReepNeep]

Yes, that was a really lousy analogy.

Yes, Max Payne drew allot of inspiration from John Woo films. Max Payne is a video game, not a movie, and it is how the 'bullet ballet' is translated into gameplay that makes Max Payne special. In that, it truly is the first (and in MP2's case, best) of it's kind. For what its worth, Stranglehold merely apes MP's gameplay and adds a couple of bolted-on extras and seems to get the feel wrong somehow.

 

[SilentHunter7]

To be fair pretty much every FPS in the 90's was labeled a Doom-clone, deserving of the title, or otherwise.

 

[eggdog14]

True Crime
Stranglehold
Dead to Rights

Because these three games ARE Max Payne ripoffs, almost verbatim, and shitty games at that.

Some (small) credit for "Stranglehold," as it is the psuedo-sequal to "Hard Boiled," the John Woo movie which inspired the bullettime-effect for MP.


Timeshift, Fear, Prince of Persia; all had "bullet-time", but they're used differently, hence no label.

 

[corporate_gamer]

the games you list mirror max payne in more than just the bullet time, they are first person shooters and i know the two of them i have played (true crime and stranglehold) also have strong similaritys in the gun options and the way they are handled. so saying their called rip-offs simply for the bullet time is somewhat simplistic.

 

[Sniper_Zegai]

Ask Uwe Boll. HE LOVES IT!

Uwe Boll is a pioneer my friend! He was the first ever director to actually add video game footage to his films . . . he was also the last director to do that but the point is still valid!

Also he makes excellent use of bullet time, where else can you see a zombie who isn't doing anything at all, frozen in bullet time . . . . nowhere that's where!

 

[klarax]

I loved Max Paine, the story was so damned good, and some-what dark and gritty.

The Narration over between levels was brilliant.

 

[Gerfo]

that's the first time I ever heard of games being called max payne rip offs. I never got into max payne, looked pretty good though. And I never thought they did so well for other games to be called rip offs of them

 

[Anarchemitis]

You can do bullet-time in Half-Life 2, following these easy instructions!

Spoiler: click here

Enter into the developer's console these codes[li]sv_cheats 1[/li][li]bind "," "host_timescale .2" [/li][li]bind "." "host_timescale 1"[/li]
In this way, when you press "," the game goes 1/5th speed, and returns when you press ".".

Bullettime is classified as a cheat in HL2, so I don't care for it as legit gameplay.

 

[Daeres]

-NOTE: As far as I know, which isn't a lot, ST didn't not influence Halo but I'm just trying to make of a comparison, albeit a shitty one]-

Untrue, lets think about this a second.

1) Space warfare versus an alien race bent on destroying humans
2) Power armour/powered exoskeletons
3) Drop troopers
4) Still using bullets and conventional weaponry in a future setting
5) Unified global armies against a common foe(okay Halo is galactic scale but you get my point)

Starship Troopers is one of THE definitive sources of inspiration for futuristic warfare in science fiction of all mediums, games included. In fact this is one of the things Halo uses the most in terms of its inspiration.

 

[shadow skill]

Keep in mind that Starship Troopers is fourty nine years old, it definitely more than old enouh to serve as the inspiration for a good bit of science fiction games, books, and movies.