Max Payne, who is now bald and sporting a pretty fierce beard, is back and in full force and gracing the cover of Game Informer.  Not only that, the guy is addicted to pain killers. Who didn't see that one coming?

Max Payne 3 takes place in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with "fully destructible environments". Which means more stuff to shoot at and blow up.  Players will also experience "day and night cycles".  Bullet time will be more violent and there will be an online multiplayer. But that's very hush hush right now.

Rockstar Games is actually the power behind this new twist in the genre.  Rockstar purchased the rights to Max Payne from Remedy Studios, so I think it's safe to say we may see some Grand Theft Auto elements in-game.  Max Payne will be powered by the RAGE engine and utilize the natural motion euphoria animation from GTA4.

With a powerhouse like Rockstar running the show, it will be interesting to see how they change the game to keep all the elements of the original game, (bullet time, storyline, etc.) and also weave a little bit of Rockstar magic to make it a truly epic experience.  Will it be another Grand Theft Auto knock off, or will this be something completely original, looks like we will find out in winter of 2009.