It looks like Take-Two have taken too much on in the way of work.

According to VG247, the company’s fiscal results report for Q4 2009 states that, while release dates for Bioshock 2, Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption remain unchanged, Max Payne 3's release has been pushed back to late 2010. The report reads:

‘BioShock 2 is on target for a global release on February 9, 2010, and Red Dead Redemption is planned for April 27, 2010 [...] Mafia II is scheduled to follow during the first half of calendar 2010, and Max Payne 3 is now planned for release during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.’

The reason for the delay is unknown; maybe Take-Two are just saving the best ‘til last. Whatever their logic, at least we know what to ask Santa for next Christmas.

Max Payne has been absent from the video game landscape for six years now, and so we imagine subsequently that Grand Theft Auto, Matrix and Die Hard aficionados are hanging on every murmur about the series’ future third instalment: Max Payne 3. Well, we have good news. A preview article has recently materialised (courtesy of Game Informer) which takes a look at the older, bulkier Max, and examines how things have changed since Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.

Gamers can expect improved Bullet Time physics - made possible through the combination of Rockstar’s RAGE engine and the NaturalMotion Euphoria animation technology used in GTA IV - environmental deformation and a new cover system, as well as numerous other slight but significant gameplay changes that shine throughout the title’s characteristically deep, dark plot.

From what we’ve read, it’s going to be one fluid, no-holds-barred bullet-fest. Fantastic stuff.

Rockstar have released the first screenshots for Max Payne 3 - you can see them on the official site. It looks like Uncharted with a large, generic-looking bald guy for a main character. It doesn't look like Max Payne at all. We can't say we're encouraged by this.

However, it is Rockstar, so we're holding on to our tongues until we've got more interest. Read more »