Max Payne 3 screens arrive to remind us that a game really is coming

By Adam Rosenberg August 29, 2011

max-payne-3-screen — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Rockstar Games released a couple of new screens today for Max Payne 3, which you can check out above and below. The images don’t bring any great revelations about the game, but they do demonstrate just how beautiful games can look with Rockstar’s RAGE engine (see also: Red Dead Redemption.

Max Payne 3 picks up roughly a decade after the events of the previous game. The titular modern-day gunslinger has left his job as a New York City cop and gone off to Sao Paolo, Brazil, where he’s landed himself in some trouble. He’s a private security guy now, working for a wealthy local family, when he suddenly finds himself double-crossed and on the run. You can bet that Max’s trusty guns will be fired at least a few times in his search for the truth,

There’s no release date yet for Payne 3, though holiday 2012 seems like a reasonable guess. Rockstar hasn’t announced anything else lately, though rumors continue to suggest that an announcement for another Grand Theft Auto game is imminent.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Gaming

Baldur’s Gate 3 makes gaming’s most complex genre more player-friendly than ever

A party of four adventures walking through a mushroom forest in the Underdark

With Baldur’s Gate 3 now out, I can't help but feel a surge of excitement. A game that I have been playing, --and loving -- since its early access back in 2020 is finally in the hands of the general public. Its reception is overwhelmingly positive and it is truly great to see people sink their teeth into such a fascinating and complex game. That is, if they aren't too intimated to start.

Computer role-playing games (CRPGs) are notorious for being a complicated and daunting genre, especially one like this that draws so heavily on Dungeons & Dragons rule sets. I couldn't blame anyone unfamiliar with the genre who just feels too intimidated by its scope. That being said, don't let Baldur’s Gate 3 scare you off; this is the best introduction to CRPGs ever made.
Start small, start slow
The CRPG genre has a bad reputation for being unwieldy for new players thanks to all of the intricate layers of systems that tend to populate them. You usually have to deal with spells, weapon attacks, environmental stats, verticality, and so much more. It can give a new player stage fright as soon as they are given control of their character. Baldur’s Gate 3, on the other hand, does an excellent job of onboarding new players to the genre with its streamlined rules and systems.

Gaming

You can’t play Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox, but you can play these 6 Game Pass RPGs

A player conversation in Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur's Gate 3 just launched on PC on August 3 and comes to PlayStation 5 shortly on September 6. Unfortunately, an Xbox Series X/S version of the RPG does not have any concrete release date. Developer Larian Studios explained in a community post that this is because it doesn't "want to compromise on quality and feel it would be a shame to downscale to 30 [frames per second, aka fps] or make other compromises to hit an arbitrary date." Still, it's disappointing that Xbox players can't get in on the fun anytime soon. Thankfully, there isn't a shortage of alternatives on Microsoft's gaming platforms.
Xbox Game Pass is home to dozens of RPGs, many of which share the same computer-RPG roots as Baldur's Gate 3. While Xbox players might not be able to enjoy Larian Studios' shockingly thorough and immensely enjoyable Dungeons & Dragons CRPG just yet, they can't go wrong playing these six titles right now.
Fallout: New Vegas

Where Baldur's Gate 3 may be the pinnacle of fantasy RPG games inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, Fallout: New Vegas is that for postapocalyptic RPGs. This game from Obsidian Entertainment and Bethesda Softworks -- both of which are now owned by Microsoft -- first released in 2010. Despite some in-game glitches that still persist, the Xbox 360 version of Fallout: New Vegas on Xbox Game Pass is just as enthralling of a role-playing experience as it was nearly 13 years ago. The Xbox 360 version can even be played at 60 fps on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, thanks to the FPS Boost feature.
Like Baldur's Gate 3, it's a faithful follow-up to some classic CRPGs that give players a massive amount of choice as they complete their adventure however they see fit. You can have endless fun exploring the world and creating experiences that feel personal to you while dealing with its eclectic cast of factions and characters. While it's a bit rough around the edges in certain aspects, New Vegas is still one of the best RPGs ever made. As such, it's worth replaying or trying first the first time if you want to play an RPG, but can't experience Baldur's Gate 3 right now.
Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire

Gaming

With E3 2023 gone, other gaming events need to step up

Despite how inevitable the complete downfall of E3 felt over the past several years, E3 2023’s official cancellation still strings as it’s a significant loss for the game industry. For gamers, press, and developers, the show served multiple purposes that digital livestreams and scattered publisher-specific events don't currently replicate. In lieu of E3’s cancelation this year, and potentially forever, it’s time for other gaming events to step up and help push the video game industry forward.
Why we lost E3
I’m lucky enough to have the experience of attending three E3 shows across 2017, 2018, and 2019 and many publisher-run events focused on specific games or tighter game lineups. In its final years, E3 felt like the perfect middle ground to the gamer-focused PAX and industry-focused GDC, where people from all walks and sides of the video game industry could come together, see what’s coming in the future, and share their love for games.

It also felt more freeing than publisher-run events, as I discovered and experienced games of all sizes that I may not have otherwise and got to meet many people from every angle of the game industry. Apparently, the Entertainment Software Association struggled to convince enough people that this style of expo was important four years after the last physical event.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Entertainment Software Association president Stanley Pierre-Louis blamed E3 2023’s cancellation on the Covid-19 pandemic, “economic headwinds” due to the current recession that impacted marketing budgets, and the fact that “companies are starting to experiment with how to find the right balance between in-person events and digital marketing opportunities.”
The first two are understandable and have impacted a lot of physical events over the past couple of years. Still, the last reason speaks to a bit more worrying of a shift for those looking to network, get attention from the press, get a broader look at the industry’s future, or even pitch a game.
What we lose
Events are a great way for indies to get unexpected and much-needed attention from players and the press; look at the chance encounter that got one of our team’s freelancers hooked on Homeseek at PAX East. Now, indies will have to hope to gain attention at those more indie-focused events like PAX or be cherry-picked to be featured in a more prominent company’s showcasing. There’s also the networking and pitch factor to it.