Katana

There are two types of Max Payne mods: those that change some aspect of the gameplay and allow you to revisit the original storyline with new mechanics, and those which offer a new campaign. Sometimes, we get both at the same time. Such is the case of Katana, which is itself based on the mighty Kung Fu 3.0 mod, perhaps the biggest culprit of people replaying the vanilla game. Like its name implies, it added a new hand-to-hand fighting system with some spectacular moves, including wall running, and many projects include it.

The authors of Katana, more than two years in the making, used it as a basis to further refine it into blade combat. Clearly inspired by Japanese anime (sometimes when I closed my eyes I wondered whether I was watching Ghost in the Shell), it tells the story of a well-trained assassin with a dark past who is trying to leave the secret order he used to work for. Not exactly original, but the mod includes a PDF detailing the background and characters, to help you get in the proper mood. Nice touch.

Now I have to warn you about something, and I mean it: read the manual. Even if you played Kung Fu 3.0, you'll probably take a severe beating in the first five minutes, specially when sword-wielding enemies make their appearance. Learning and properly executing the handful of techniques your character is well versed in can take some effort, particularly when you're surrounded and being shot and stabbed at the same time. Also, there's no "parry" movement to speak of, except for attacking at the correct time, and the combo system can get complex too.

And this is probably the biggest problem with this mod: it's too difficult. The first boss fight (where you're not allowed to use firearms) was like a reality check and took many tries. The final confrontation was plainly impossible and I had to cheat my way through to see the credits. In the middle, lots of shootouts and knife fights with the hurt meter easily going up. Foes with blades seem to have an easier time deflecting your bullets than you do, and winning requires lots of patience and carefully rationing the painkillers. Luckily, the health and bullet time will refill slowly over time.

It's not very long, an hour and a half more or less unless you get lost. In the end, some questions are left unanswered, with a promise for a sequel that never came to be. But it would be unfair for me not to recognize the time and effort the authors put into this, or the fact that it's held in high esteem by the MP community.

There are sadly a few bugs that may force you to reload a quicksave (characters getting blocked during a sequence, doors not unlocking, blows not registering...), and sometimes the pace feels a bit odd, with confusing backtracking where you're not very sure what to do or where to go next. Usually, professional developers solve this by dropping a few "breadcrumbs" (such as new enemies spawning) to mark the way you're supposed to follow, but that's not the case here. The custscenes can't be skipped so you'll watch them over and over again if you die repeatedly.

If you're left yearning for more after finishing the main story, you should consider beginning the original game to see the titular character handling a katana to slice some mobsters (a gibbing system has been added, with spectacular -and gory- results).

Playing

ModDB.