Vigilante stories have long been popular in movies, television and comic books, so it’s no surprise that they’ve been just as notable in the video game scene. Max Payne is one of the more successful series that covers this genre, and it first came on the scene when it released 15 years ago, in July of 2001.

The story of the first game follows the titular character, a former NYPD officer, as he attempts to find the people who killed his wife and child. Along the way, he ends up involved with the Russian mafia and also must take out those in charge of a dangerous drug ring. Max Payne proved to be popular for its neo-noir storytelling style, which emulated graphic novels, as well as the gameplay action that used a “bullet time” feature.

A second game, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne continued the film noir style of the first game and released in 2003. Max himself had returned to the force and ends up running into Mona Sax, who he believed to be dead. A third entry in the series wouldn’t be released for another nine years, and had been plagued with delays during its development period. Max Payne 3 released in 2012 and received generally positive reviews.

During the long period between the second and third games, a Max Payne film was released. The film was only loosely based on the events of the first two games and also added a demonic threat – something absolutely not present in the games. It was so wildly different from the story of the games that the CEO of the game’s producer, 3D Realms, made a public statement against the movie. Critics seemed to agree, as the film was universally panned, but it did take in $85.8 million at the box office.

The future of the series is still up in the air, though those who are interested in playing through it have more options than ever, with all of the games available on multiple consoles as digital downloads.