Max Payne 3

Was Max Payne ever actually any good? Well, sort of. 2001′s ultra-hyped, mega-delayed first entry – starring possibly the most constipated-looking character model ever to escape a development house – debuted the oft-copied mechanic/gimmick that was Bullet Time (itself ripped off from The Matrix and sundry Hong Kong action flicks). It scooped awards aplenty, but was still overrated.

The second – 2003′s The Fall of Max Payne – was a classic. It may have retained the simplistic core values, but the addition of Havoc physics (making their blinding debut) with a noirish, flashback-riddled narrative so dark it’d give John Huston the shivers pushed Payne to superlative heights. Also: Mona Sax = phwoar.