When Remedy Entertainment released Max Payne in 2001, the third-person action shooter took the gaming world by storm. Its revolutionary use of bullet time in action sequences set it apart from many similar titles at the time, and its gritty, crime-focused narrative reflected a mixture of a hard-boiled detective story and graphic novels. The first Max Payne helped set the tone for shooters with engrossing stories moving forward, and while the sequel released in 2003 wasn't as commercially successful, both games still hold a special place for many fans.