Launch Station: Max Payne 3

Diablo III is not the only big game to release today.  The long delayed Max Payne 3 from Rockstar Games has finally hit store shelves after a few years of anticipation.  While Max Payne 3 is at a big disadvantage of being overlooked by most gamers due to the huge game it has to go up against, the Rockstar name and the legacy of the first two games will keep it from getting completely destroyed by Diablo III.

The years have not been kind to former NYPD turned vigilante, Max Payne.  His life is in the dumps and seems to have no where left to go.  Then Max gets called up by an old friend for a job working as private security for the wealthy Rodrigo Bronco in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Max takes the job in hope of escaping his troubled life in New York City.  Sadly trouble seems to find Max wherever he goes as he gets pulled into a conspiracy involving the warring Sao Paulo street gangs.   Max Payne 3 features some improvements to the series' core run-and-gun gameplay.  The new over the shoulder zoom and cover mechanics help Max Payne 3 compete with current third-person shooters.  Max Payne 3's main selling point is the return of Bullet Time, which allows you to slow down time in order to dodge incoming bullets and return fire to foes.  If Max has one painkiller on him when wounded, you can activate Last Man Standing.  In Last Man Standing, if you are able to kill the enemy that delivered the wounding shot, you will recover enough health to keep on going.  Max Payne 3 features a new version of Rockstar's Euphoria physics engine, which makes shooting and killing enemies more realistic than in any other Rockstar game.  Another new feature found in Max Payne 3 is the cinematic action movements, interactive cutscenes that seamlessly transition into continuing gameplay.  New to the Max Payne series is a full-on multi-player mode that offers maps the dynamically change during the match, rewards, ranking, clan support and Rockstar social club integration.

Have never got a chance to play any of the previous entries in the Max Payne series, so I am not that interested in Max Payne 3.  Honestly, I am a little more interested in Max Payne 3 than Diablo III only because I like Rockstar a little more than Blizzard.  Other than that I could care less for Max Payne 3 as I am not going to pick it up anytime soon.  If anybody is looking for a good third-person shooter, Max Payne 3 will definitely fill that void.