The success of 'Red Dead Redemption' ultimately emboldened Rockstar, and they learned the wrong lessons.
The gunplay in 'Red Dead Redemption' was counter-balanced by the serene and haunting quality of the open world that allowed for moments of reflection. 'Red Dead Redemption' was fun to play and had a masterful sense of atmosphere. We posit 'Max Payne 3' was ground zero for Rockstar Games losing their edge. "For that reason, Rockstar need to reassess their identity are they the subversive, edgy hellraisers of the game industry that crave column inches and horrify mothers, or have they become part of the bloated elite, comfortable cashing in on fan nostalgia?" In our review of the 'Grand Theft Auto Remastered Trilogy' last year we penned an open letter to Rockstar Games: In their attempt to go Hollywood, the former hellraisers that shook up the world of game design were in danger of believing their own hype. The game would not release until May 2012, amid a wave of publicity, most notably including an advertising slot during half-time of that year's Champions League final. The development process was anything but.īy expanding on the original liner and modest 'Red Dead Revolver' and making it an open-world behemoth, development ended up spiraling out of control.Ī simple project ended up ballooning to a game with a budget of over 100 million dollars, and allegations of crunch were widely reported in gaming media at the time.Ī 2010 article from reported that employees at Rockstar were expected to work 12-hour days, including on weekends, to get the game out the door.Ī letter signed by "determined devoted wives of Rockstar San Diego employees" pointed to an emerging problem within Rockstar as a whole.ĭevelopment of 'Max Payne 3' was similarly troubled, with reports from early 2010 alledging that developers on the game were working under crunch conditions.Ī source told Engadget that the game had undergone three rewrites in the space of two years, and that by January 2010 the studio was doing everything it could to release the game in August 2010. The studio were riding high off 'Red Dead Redemption' in 2010, a supposed wind-down project after the stresses of 'Grand Theft Auto 4' that ended up becoming a smash success. Rockstar Games had the blessing of o riginal 'Max Payne' developers Remedy to put their spin on the franchise, and on paper the Rockstar boys coming in to take charge of the franchise made sense. Rockstar Games simply couldn't make a purely arcade experience in the HD era, and instead strived for a cinematic experience that sounds better being described than played.ĭescribing a game where you fly through the air picking off enemies one-by-one in slow motion sounds exhilarating, but in practice, the game plays with all the pace of a World War 2 documentary being played at half-speed. Their animation style mandated lifelike models instead of their more memorable striking character designs from the 'San Andreas' era.Īs 'Max Payne 3' turns 10 years old, we reflect on the game that set Rockstar down the path of no return. It simply wasn't enough for their games to be simply pure fun, their proprietary physics engine had to laboriously simulate real life as much as possible. The anarchic, free-spirited nature of their games faded away as the developers reached the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era. The 'Grand Theft Auto' games horrified parents and agony aunts everywhere and became a favourite game of practically everyone.įor a short while, Rockstar could go no wrong. Much like Manchester United in the later years of Sir Alex Ferguson, they were on top of the world.
Once upon a time, Rockstar Games were exciting.
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