Prepare for some Payne

Long-awaited shooter Max Payne is apparently close to release after its lengthy development at Finnish company Remedy. Although the official line from Remedy and their partners 3D Realms remains "when it's done", George Broussard recently revealed that "when it's done is almost here". Our latest information from the game's publisher Take 2 shows just how close that could be now, with word that Max Payne should be available in the UK on July 27th. Meanwhile Electronics Boutique in the USA are now offering the game for pre-order, listing a July 26th release for America.

Set in deepest darkest New York, Max Payne features the gun-toting exploits of the eponymous undercover cop, who finds himself fighting gangsters and cops alike after being framed for murder. The story could have been lifted straight from a John Woo or Ringo Lam movie (come to think of it, it probably was) and the visuals are there to match, with Matrix-style "bullet time" sequences and all the "flying through the air sideways in slow motion while firing a pair of handguns" shoot-outs you would expect from a great Hong Kong action movie.