Improvements and frustrations as Max Payne is converted for the smaller screen.

Why are gifts always wasted on the unworthy? Take Bernard's Watch for example, if given the opportunity to stop time why does he not use these precious new seconds at his disposal to do something cool, rather than clean up the house after his little sister spills milk everywhere? You have to wonder don't you.

Then Max Payne discovers that when in desperate situations he's able to enter an adrenaline zone in which time slows down. I'll give the guy some credit, shooting people with a shotgun in slow motion is highly satisfying but surely he'd have noticed this ability could prove more lucrative elsewhere.

Think of the opportunities, why not become an unbeatable table tennis master for instance? I'd go and live by the side of the motorway, running from lane to lane dodging cars at the last minute before being arrested.

Of course his quest for vengeance of his wife and child's murder by Valkir junkies probably put an end to this ambition. The GBA version pretty much follows the PC original in terms of plot with Max heading through the seedy world of V to find its corrupt roots, the new isometric viewpoint and shorter levels being the most obvious concessions in the step-down.

In terms of story the game is pretty faithful, keeping many of the comic book cut-scenes that drive the story with style, but unfortunately losing some of their charm thanks to crackly voices and loss of the more humorous Italian-American accents.

It's a shame that the host hardware is to blame for most of the game's annoyances. The small screen means sometimes despite the telltale music kicking in the enemy is not always visible.

It also means that none of the excellent set-pieces from the original can be replicated (though I was less disappointed to see the frustrating dream sequences cut). Additionally to open cupboards and read clues Max has to be frustratingly pixel-perfect in his positioning. Again this isn't helped by D-pad control.

This isn't a poor conversion, just one that was clearly limited from the beginning. It's a little too easy, short (though the PC original was by no means epic) and the bullet-time shooting was never going to be as effective.

Having said that Max Payne is still enjoyable and probably the best we could have hoped for. Don't expect to be blown away.

6/10

Bushby