Summer months are a notorious dry period for video games, but two major May releases will keep gamers busy when they aren’t relaxing on the beach.

Max Payne 3

Developer: Rockstar Vancouver
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Get it from: Best Buy for $59.99
Fireballs: 4/5

If you haven’t played a ‘Max Payne’ game before or have only seen the bad Mark Wahlberg movie, don’t worry. Payne’s life has changed a lot in the past eight years, and his family’s death, the only relevant detail of his past, is covered early and thoroughly. Payne is now little more than an alcoholic ex-cop playing bodyguard to a group of Brazilian socialites.

Things quickly go sour, and Payne must unravel a kidnapping plot by shooting as many people as possible. Each mission takes place in a distinct environment, from a high-class nightclub to favela slums to a flashback set in Hoboken, N.J. Payne is a dark, interesting character, and his inner monologue is acted out well and tone-perfect for this gritty crime story. The length and variety is refreshing, even if the story itself seems to drag.

Although the story falls apart, the action definitely doesn’t. It progresses seamlessly from cut scenes to game play. Character animations are among the most realistic you’ll find. The ability to perform action movie dives through the air returns from previous games and looks better than ever. The game gets shockingly difficult on its normal setting, but strategic use of cover and slow-mo will get players through most gunfights. And you’ll never see a load screen.

New to the series are score attack modes and multiplayer, both attempts to increase replayability. Replaying story missions to get better scores isn’t appealing, but the multiplayer is surprisingly immersive. The story-based ‘Gang Wars’ mode and all-against-one ‘Paynekiller’ mode are particular highlights.

Few games are as slick as this one, and even when it stumbles, it still has a stronger foundation than most of its competitors. Unless you devote yourself to the multiplayer, it should only keep you busy for a couple of weeks or so.

Diablo III

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms: PC, Mac
Get it from: Best Buy for $59.99
Fireballs: 5/5

‘Diablo III’ has been a long time coming. Blizzard Entertainment, makers of ‘Starcraft’ and ‘World of Warcraft,’ built lofty expectations to live up to, with some fans still regularly playing 2000’s ‘Diablo II.’

Even with no prior experience, it was very easy to get into. Once in the world, you just click: Click to move, click to attack and click to pick up gold, armor and weapons. Eventually, you’ll earn more abilities that can be activated using other keys, but you’ll never stop clicking.

There are five classes to choose from, each with different abilities and play styles, specializing in close combat, ranged weapons, magic or any combination of the three. If you’re the kind of player who runs into walls in first-person shooters, you’ll have no such trouble here. It’s brilliant in its simplicity.

Game play is fast-paced. Between that and the color-coded loot system enticing you with better and better weapons, it’s easy to lose track of time.

The story doesn’t matter as much as the addictive quest for better gear, but it’s told well. Most of it is cookie-cutter fantasy, but the cut scenes feature computer animation rivaling Pixar, and voiceovers flesh out the world with a well-written backstory.

You can play online with up to three friends, with difficulty scaling up. Unfortunately, even if you’re playing alone, you’ll need to be online. It’s frustrating to have a lost Internet connection kick you out of a single-player game, but it’s probably for the best that a game so addictive isn’t portable.

At $60, it’s expensive for a computer game, but with cooperative play, potentially endless content and a hard line to the addiction centers in your brain, it’s solid. Assuming Blizzard takes its time with the next one, gamers will probably still be playing this in 10 years.

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Published on May 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm

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