References to the Max Payne Series

This page is about the references to the Max Payne series in other works of fiction.

References in film

• In the 2016 movie Triple 9, someone playing a Max Payne 3 game. It can be seen here.

References in video games

• In Alan Wake, Remedy Entertainment's action-adventure video game.
  • In Episode 4 when Walter is dying he says "Like a real bad follow up to a real good movie, where the best friend is suddenly the bad guy".
  • In Episode 3 when you first wake up after drinking Rose's coffee you will see a book on a shelf named "Believe In Change" in the same room as the television. The cover is a picture of the Max Payne character Alfred Woden.
  • In the flashback at the beginning of Episode 2: Taken, Wake returns to his New York City apartment and comments it's the worst storm ever. This was the case in the original Max Payne, where it was set in a blizzard-covered New York. It is possible, although unlikely, that the events of the Max Payne series and Alan Wake occur in the same universe. To further coincide with this, the storm had been going on for 3 days in both Alan Wake and Max Payne.
    • However, this is contradicted by the fact that the flashback scene takes place in 2006, while the main events of Max Payne happened in 2001.
  • Alan's popular character Alex Casey is a deliberate reference to Max Payne, another Remedy character. Casey is killed off in Alan's latest book because Alan wants to move on to new and different stories, Remedy's way of saying that they want to move on from Max Payne and tell the new story of Alan Wake.
    • The first two manuscript pages of Episode 2: Taken are taken from the final Alex Casey novel and narrated by Casey, played by James McCaffrey, the voice of Max Payne. The implication of Casey's wife and child being long dead matches the setup for Max Payne. The reference to painkillers is also a call out to the use of painkillers to restore health in Max Payne.
    • In Episode 2, two crossed golden Beretta 9mm handguns are on display in Alan's apartment office. This is a reference to the Max Payne series, as dual berettas are Max's weapon of choice in Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.
  • In the interview with Alan Wake on The Harry Garrett Show, Sam Lake appeared. Sam Lake not only wrote the game's story and script, but also helped design levels and was the face model for the character of Max Payne in the first game of the series. This fact is highlighted when Sam Lake is asked to "Do the Face", to which he looks at the camera and mimics the face of Max.
  • In the Episode 6 flashback of Alan Wake, Alan wakes up with a hangover and requires pain killers to stop the pain. The bottle is identical to the one that is used by Max Payne for his pain relief, and the sound effect that is played when he picks up the bottle is the same one used in Max Payne for when Max uses painkillers to replenish his health.
  • In Episode 4 you meet a burned out game designer. The game designer rants about how they thought it was fun to include "mullets" and "mullet time" in their game. Soon producers wanted "mullet time" in everything. This is a reference to the "Bullet Time" ability both Max Payne games used. It quickly became popular and got added to a lot of games before disappearing again when it was considered as a gimmick.
  • One of Wake's books is Return to Sender. In Max Payne some of the televisions are showing episodes of the series Address Unknown, in what the station is calling a "Return to Sender Marathon".
  • In The Signal, after Thomas Zane speaks to Alan Wake through the bathroom mirror, the player can turn around and open the furthest stall door on the left. There is graffiti here which reads "Mirra Was Here." This is a reference to the character John Mirra from the show Address Unknown in Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.
  • Wake's Alex Casey novel, "The Things That I Want" shares its name with a chapter from "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne" as well as a pun said by Max.
  • Alan's character in his books was called "Alex Casey". In Max Payne, there is an advertisement that can be found throughout the game saying "Real Men Drink Casey", an advertisement for alcohol.
• In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the player can find a sign on the window reading "Max Pane- Bulletproof Glass." at The Gasso Gas Station in Dillimore. This is an obvious reference to Max Payne. It can be seen here.
• In Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games's action-adventure video game.
  • One of protagonists, Michael De Santa, bears a strong resemblance to Max Payne. He is a depressive retired man in his 40s, he has drinking problems and a dark past. Michael has the same special ability as Max Payne called "Bullet Time", that allows him to slow down time. Both at some point in their lives arrived at their houses only to find out it was under siege by a group of mercenaries while their families hid in horror. Michael even has the same gray suit that Max wears in the beginning of Max Payne 3. He can also purchase a Hawaiian shirt and leather jacket from the same game and his haircuts are very similar to the ones Max himself wore through the story.
  • There a mission called Dead Man Walking, which shares same name of arcade mode in Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.
  • The yacht from the chapter Sun Tan Oil, Stale Margaritas and Greed featured was also reused in Grand Theft Auto V as a yacht named Dignity. Even there are missions involving this yacht and the reused interiors.
    • Also, the music for this level was remixed and later re-used as the pause menu theme.
• In Bully, Edgar, the leader of the Townies, has a tattoo reminiscient of the Valkyr logo from Max Payne.
• In Mafia, Gathering of Developers and 2K Games's action-adventure game series.
  • In the beta version, Thomas Angelo did not differ much from the final version, but looked much older and looked like Max Payne.
  • In the 14th chapter of Mafia II, Stairway to Heaven, Vito and Joe overcome difficulties on the stairs of a skyscraper under construction. Also, this name and the ascent to the skies of the local heroes resemble the last two chapters, and the whole course of the Max Payne game.
  • In the mission Crossing the Styx of The Betrayal of Jimmy, there are the same proper names as in the similar chapter of Max Payne.

Gallery

Triple 9, 2016 American crime thriller film.

Alan Wake, Remedy Entertainment's action-adventure video game.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar Games's action-adventure video game.

Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games's action-adventure video game.

Bully, Rockstar Games's action-adventure video game.

Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, Gathering of Developers's action-adventure game