Highlights
An exciting mod for Max Payne 3 grants players the ability to replace the protagonist's current visage with the iconic face of Sam Lake, an esteemed writer and designer of the game series.This remarkable modification seamlessly incorporates Sam Lake's facial features into the character model, maintaining an authentic portrayal of Max's emotions and effortlessly adapting various hairstyles to suit the new countenance.
Sam Lake may have moved on to other projects, but his association with the iconic Max Payne character remains strong. This mod for Max Payne 3 allows players to replace Max's new face with the original one based on Sam Lake's own face. Lake, who played a key role as a writer and level designer in the first two Max Payne games, went on to create new franchises, leaving the development of Max Payne 3 to Rockstar Games. As a result, subsequent entries in the series featured different face models.
Sami Antero Jarvi, known by his pen name Sam Lake, is the Creative Director at Remedy Entertainment. He played a significant role in the development of the Max Payne series as a writer and level designer. He later led the creation of the Alan Wake and Control franchises. Initially, actor Timmothy Gibs' face was used as the character model for Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. However, for Max Payne 3, Rockstar Games took over development from Remedy and chose a completely different face for the iconic character. Actor James McCaffrey, who had voiced Max since the first game, finally became the face of the character.
A mod named "Sam Lake Mod" created by a user named AlexSavvy and available on Nexus Mods aims to bring an updated version of the original Max Payne/Sam Lake character model, including the face, into Max Payne 3. This mod enhances the texture and clarity of the character model, integrating Sam Lake's face seamlessly. It meticulously preserves all of Max's facial expressions during gameplay and cutscenes, including realistic details like sweat running down his head in real-time.
Throughout the story, Max's hairstyle undergoes 14 different changes. To ensure a perfect fit, AlexSavvy meticulously crafted each hairstyle to match Sam Lake's head, avoiding any resemblance to an ill-fitting transplant from the original Max Payne 3 character model. Moreover, AlexSavvy dedicated efforts to accurately depict the slimmer physique of the Sam Lake version of Max from the neck down. This involved readjusting every outfit worn by Max throughout the narrative, including his iconic combination of a leather jacket and Hawaiian shirt, which he sported not only in the first game of the series but also in parts of the third installment.
Sam Lake, known for his work on the X-Files-inspired game Control and currently involved in developing a new Alan Wake game, is often recognized as the embodiment of the gritty, vengeful protagonist with a name straight out of a crime novel. It is appropriate, then, that mods such as AlexSavvy's aim to maintain Lake's facial features in order to preserve the authenticity of the character. Max Payne 3 can be played on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Source: Nexus Mods
