You love action movies, but you know you'd rather be the star than the audience. Rejoice, John Woo fans: now all you need to put yourself in the center of the action with both pistols blazing is your Xbox and Max Payne.

Where's the $@#! mall directory?

As Max, you play an undercover cop working the blood-drenched streets of New York... and while the streets are mean, you are meaner. Your family was murdered by junkies and you're working undercover to take down the drug lord responsible. You'll have to fight your way through an entire city full of hostile gunmen, but even they can't stop your bloody revenge because you've got a quick draw, a steady eye, and an additional edge that nobody else has....

Remember "bullet time" from The Matrix? Rockstar Games has provided Max Payne with the same kind of visual time distortion. In bullet time, everything slows down except you: don't hesitate to burst into a room full of armed thugs, because one click of a button sends them all into slow motion while you move and fire in real time. "Outnumbered and outgunned" doesn't mean much to a guy who can shoot down his opponents before their first round clears the barrel. As Max you also have some pretty fancy moves that allow you to move in one direction while firing in another, and a healthy assortment of leaps, rolls, and dodges that keep you out of harm's way while remaining right in the middle of the carnage.

Though bullet time slows down your enemies, nothing can slow Max Payne's relentless gameplay. The deeper you descend into Max's nightmarish quest, the more action you'll find. Rockstar Games has created a brutally gripping experience that takes you by the throat and never lets go, from the heart-breaking introduction to the blood-soaked, cordite-scented showdown.