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Max Payne 3 (Rockstar Games)Still can't get Diablo III working? Sadly, you're not the only one, as the eagerly-awaited action/role-playing game's debut has been a mess of technical problems.

Good thing, then, that Diablo III isn't the only anticipated new game releasing this week. Eight years since his last game appearance, grumpy detective Max Payne is back at it in Max Payne 3. But isn't he getting a bit old for all this?

You could certainly be forgiven for making that assumption. The formula of the original Max Payne -- a bloody, gritty, noir-inspired shooter that saw the titular protagonist taking on room after room of baddies in glorious, slow motion "bullet time" -- isn't as fresh now as it was back then. But now the series is in the hands of a new team, and a new writer: none other than Dan Houser, fresh from penning award-winning Rockstar hits like Red Dead Redemption and a number of the Grand Theft Auto games.

Diablo 3 Launch Event

by Ashley Esqueda (Tecca)

From fan-made costumes to "Diableard" shaving, Blizzard Enertainment throws one heck of a launch party

Last night, hundreds of fans showed up for Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo III launch event in Irvine, California. The hotly anticipated title brought scores of eager gamers looking to pick up their copies at the GameStop in the Irvine Spectrum shopping center. Some cosplayed, wearing costumes depicting their favorite characters from the series. Some brought large groups of friends excited to play Diablo together again. And some simply brought endless enthusiasm and loyalty to a gaming franchise with a lot of history. A few die-hards lined up more than a day ahead

It's been 12 years since Blizzard last released an installment of its popular Diablo franchise, but judging by the enormous demand that today's release of Diablo III is seeing, it might as well have been yesterday.

The game unlocked at midnight Tuesday. Despite the late hour, however, players quickly overwhelmed the game's servers, extending the pain of people who have been waiting to wear out their index fingers on the clickfest.

Diablo III launched in multiple territories, which caused the Battle.net servers (required to authenticate the game before owners can play it) to buckle. That resulted in a dreaded "Error 37" message, forcing players to log in again, a stalling tactic to make the queue more orderly.

Not so fast...With the circus-like E3 expo less than three weeks away (listen closely and you can hear the collective gaming industry screaming in excitement/terror), you'd think the focus would be on 2012.

But with game sales on track right now to hit a six-year low, developers and publishers certainly want this year to end on an uptick, right? Well, of course, they do, but more and more, 2013 is looking like the year where things are going to get really interesting.

Square Enix's decision to delay the reboot of Tomb Raider until next year was the second big push back this year. Last week, Take-Two Interactive Software announced that Bioshock Infinite would miss its original October 16, 2012 release

(Credit: Getty Images)The Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 have done well for themselves, as over half of all U.S. households own a modern video game console. That also means, however, that a good chunk of the country still isn't playing along.

With whispers of next-generation systems swirling -- and one confirmed to launch later this year -- deciding whether to buy a current generation system isn't an easy one. Should you spend the money now, or should you wait and be a part of the cutting-edge in the months to come? Systems have typically hit the sweet spot in pricing, and there's a tremendous catalog of games to choose from (many at discount prices, thanks to "Platinum editions" of top-selling games).

With that in mind, here's a look at whether you should grab a system today or hold out for the next level.

Casey's Contraptions (Not Amazing Alex, officially)After flinging ticked off toucans at egg-stealing pigs for the past three years, the developers at Rovio are ready to spread their wings and fly away from the nest.

The creator of the massively successful Angry Birds franchise has a new game on the way, with nary a bird in sight.

Amazing Alex is in the works right now, a game centered on a young boy (go on…guess his name) who loves to build things. It's expected to hit the App store in the next two months.

Credit: Exeter CathedralAt a cathedral in England, congregants will pass around a PlayStation 3 Sunday as part of collaborative gameplay meant to enhance the spiritual journey.

By Leslie Katz, CNET

Put down the hymnal and pass the PlayStation. A British cathedral plans to incorporate a video game into worship services this Sunday.

At the Exeter Cathedral in Devon, England, the congregation will collaboratively play the PS3 game Flower, passing the Sony controller around until the first level is completed.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

Fireballs, for one thing. Also Dragon Punches, Shaolin Spin Kicks, and Phoenix Smashers. And if you don't believe us, then you've yet to play Street Fighter X Tekken.

A big hit on the consoles (the Xbox 360 version earned an 83  Metacritic score), the game mashes together the two famous franchises, letting players mix and match the likes of Ryu, Ken, Paul, Tiger and about 35 other burly characters. Deep gameplay, stellar graphics — it's a beast of a fighting game, and it's uppercutting its way to PCs today.