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Since leaving the NYPD and New York itself behind, Max has drifted from bad to worse and almost into obscurity. It's been more than two years now since the game's announcement, two long years that we were forced to get by on scraps of rumours and screens of screens. No more though, as earlier this week we were treated to a brand new images of a now fully haired and much bloodied Max (gallery below), as well as new details in an EDGE magazine preview, which inevitably landed up on the internet.

Apparently Max has matured along with its core audience in Max Payne 3, with the game offering up an even meatier experience this time around. "Both the games and the audiences have become more sophisticated," art director Rob Nelson told EDGE. "Gamers expect a more fully realised cinematic experience, even if the main mechanic is still shooting. And though this is a more linear game for us, people want to be constantly surprised and entertained in new ways."

If the word "sophisticated" has you worried on some key gameplay elements, don't fret, all the fan favourites such as bullet-time, the shoot dodge mechanics and Max Payne's voice actor James McCaffrey are making a comeback in the new instalment. You also look forward to bullet timing the hell out of your friends as Max Payne 3 will also feature in multiplayer modes, according to NowGamer, but Rockstar has been vague on exactly how this mechanic will be implemented in multiplayer.

Another thing that will play a large role is NaturalMotion's Euphoria physics engine, previously seen in such visually stunning games as Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption. "Every game we do, we're thinking about how to push NaturalMotion in new directions," explained Nelson. "I think Red Dead was a nice evolution from GTA, and Max is going to be the same thing again."

Overall though, the many delays don't seem to have affected the original plans for the game, with the story still taking place in Brazil, and Max still looking pretty disgruntled. No word on a release date, but hopefully this latest update means Max Payne 3 will be out sooner than later.

[via Joystiq]