Rockstar went to São Paulo to do a bit of research for Max Payne 3

Rockstar has posted a Max Payne 3 developer update on its official blog which goes into detail regarding the team's research trip to São Paulo, Brazil.

According to Rockstar, the team made various trip to the vast metropolis, while there studied the "highs and lows of city life" in order to incorporate what it learned into the game's characters, storyline and the situations which will befall Max.

In Max Payne 3, our hero is recruited to work for the Brancos, and the developers wanted to make sure the "touchstones of this elite and growing segment of Paulistano society" were represented appropriately and vividly in the game.

It's a very interesting post and contains a few shots of the city, opulent estates, and a couple new in-game shots of Max Payne 3 as well - which we've also posted below. It also provides an interesting look into the current state of affairs in the city, and a look at the massive gulf between those with everything, and those with nothing.

Game's out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 March 15 in the US and May 18 in the UK. The PC version arrives in stores May 29 in the US and June 1 in the UK.