Max Payne 3 is now available across North America (coming to Europe this Friday) and the first reviews are in, including some perfect scores from GamesRadar, The Guardian, G4 and more - read on for some choice quotes and links...

“Sleek, stylish and brutal... Max Payne 3 is a taut and compelling action game wrapped in the sumptuous, gritty and delightful production detail that is the Rockstar hallmark. That means pitch-perfect writing and voice acting, luscious and realistic visual design, and by far the finest musical taste in gaming. And oh, yeah, the actual gameplay of leaping through the air while firing hurricanes of bullets at bad guys is a lot of fun too.” - The New York Times

"A masterpiece of underworld carnality, depravity and violence... a blisteringly entertaining third-person shooter... This is a breathless hair-trigger blast-'em-up that veers thrillingly between high-class clubs and low-life strip joints, from million-dollar yachts to the tumbling corregated iron shacks of the nightmarish favelas... It is relentless, pulverising stuff... another stylish, self-conscious and enthrallingly full-bloodied title from the Rockstar hivemind. If it is at all possible to distil every great Hollywood action flick into one interactive experience - with all the wise-cracking thuggery and anti-hero angst that would entail - this is it." - The Guardian 5/5

"Great storytelling, sharply implemented mechanics and inventive multiplayer. It's the total package... The mix of cover-based combat with Max's signature Shootdodge and BulletTime abilities manages to work extremely well, letting you feel constantly focused and precise. The kills you can pull off in MP3 feel beautifully choreographed, especially when you pause the game mid-game and spin the camera around to take everything in... If you get Max Payne 3, you'll see how good it feels to have your stomach heave with this anti-hero's signature brand of self-loathing and cunning. And then go online and see just how you manage the balance of caution and carelessness with thousands of people trying to do the same. Welcome home, Max. It's good to see you again, you poor bastard." - Kotaku

"Max Payne 3 marks an exceptional comeback for the series... It maintains the mechanics that made the prior games great while modernizing them to excellent effect. Between the arcade mode and multiplayer, there’s enough substantive content to keep you hooked for some time... Between its pacing, its presentation, and its excellent gunplay, Max Payne 3 has raised the bar for other action games to follow. Welcome back." - GamesRadar 10/10

"With Max Payne 3, Rockstar once again hits all of the expected series beats, most of which players have come to expect from the genre in general, but it does so with such flair, polish, and focus of vision that what you end up with is a game that has an old-school heart in a next-gen body... Max Payne 3 is a technological tour de force that will have you screaming 'Dear lord!' more times than midnight mass. The performances are top notch, the action plays out with unrivaled fluidity, and the multiplayer is deep and rewarding." - G4TV 5/5

"The shooting is a revelation... Max Payne 3 nearly makes you roll over in defeat, knowing that Rockstar has harnessed impeccable technology to make people die real good... a game build out of remarkably implemented, masterfully presented parts." - Joystiq 4.5/5

"As much as Max Payne 3 is a fascinating portrait of a man, it tells a great, action-packed story that runs in-stride with Max’s inner turmoil... The campaign is a fun ride that rarely slows. The script, an area Rockstar always seems to knock out of the park, takes Max to interesting places, and doesn’t follow a predictable path... It’s a new day for Max Payne, and at the same time, a return to his glorious past." -Game Informer 9.25/10

"The guns feel great, and powerful, and blind-firing around corners feels dangerous and desperate and satisfying in ways that no other shooter I can think of has pulled off. But a big part of that lies in how enemies in Max Payne 3 die. They sag and crumple around their wounds; they get knocked backwards; they slide to a rest and, for the final, unfortunate enemy in most encounters, the world goes into slow motion as the camera closes first on the bullets flying toward them, and then splits into three intimate views of damage. I found Max Payne 3's shooting fantastically rewarding... Max Payne 3's violence slides from over-the-top to genuinely disturbing." - Polygon 9/10

"Max Payne 3 is unapologetically violent. In fact, it lingers on violence, but not in a tawdry or sensational way. Yes, it focuses on some of its most visceral manifestations – ragged bullet wounds, charred flesh, dismembered limbs – but it also peers into the unseen causes that lie behind such acts of violence. It touches on the disparity between rich and poor, and how resentment and desperation can fester in the slums and the penthouses alike." - IGN 9/10

"Packed with fast action, brutal violence, and a striking cinematic style, all of the stops have been pulled out to make this the most exciting entry in the series to date... Max Payne 3 is a fantastic package, with a top-notch presentation and plenty of content to keep players busy and happy. It may have been a long time in coming, but there's no arguing with results, and Max is the kind of guy who gets them. Fans and newcomers alike are going to find plenty to enjoy in this exceptional title." - Destructoid 9/10