With the release of the original Max Payne, many publishers were vying to release something just as good as Remedy Entertainment’s timeless action-noir experience. While you may not need more fingers to count how many Max Payne clones are out there (don’t worry, there aren’t many), you’d be surprised to find that some of these copycats were genuinely fun. For today’s occasion, we have El Matador, created by Plastic Reality Technologies and published by Cenega. The game has experienced various changes since its 2004 reveal, and it’s unclear why they were made. Luckily, you can see a bunch of pictures and videos showing the early look of the game for yourself:
Early Environments:
Early Main Character
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- Original character
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- 2nd iteration
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- Final character
Early Enemies
Observed Beta Differences:
- Different enemies
- The plot from the 2004 build is different to the final release
- Different HUD (health, ammo, gun icons, and aim pointer)
- Some different levels
- A different main character
- Different game logo
- The game originally featured stealth
- Different gun models
- Different running animation
Sketches
Beta Trailers:
What do you think about this unseen game? Give your vote!
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Writer, historian, content creator and a gamer since the age of 7. I love hunting down the history of obscure games.
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Either the Early Environments were in-engine and not ingame, or the ugly fad of excessive bloom and gritty style killed an excellent art style. For a 2004 in-development game, the pictures showcased looked more like a 2007-2008 ish game.