Release This: Diablo III, Max Payne 3 premiere worldwide

Gamasutra's regular round-up of worldwide video game releases, "Release This!", takes a look at every game title we know to be shipping to stores this week, in a custom compiled list. This week brings Diablo III and Max Payne 3 to North America and Europe alongside downloadable highlights like Sonic 4 Episode II and PixelJunk 4am. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending May 19th, 2012. Games Released in the United States: Nearly 12 years after the release of Diablo II, Blizzard's anticipated action-RPG sequel Diablo III will premiere at retail and as a downloadable title in North America and Europe this week, boasting five playable classes, an overhauled quest system, and a random encounter generator. Another long-awaited sequel hitting store shelves this week is Rockstar Studios' third-person shooter Max Payne 3, which arrives nearly eight years after the launch of Max Payne 2. Max Payne 3 offers a new take on the series' traditional bullet-time gunplay, and introduces a multiplayer mode in which objectives change dynamically throughout each match. This week also brings a diverse slate of downloadable titles, including Sega's side-scrolling platformer Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II, a Kinect-enhanced port of the laserdisc arcade game Dragon's Lair, the PS3-exclusive music visualizer PixelJunk 4am, and a standalone Hitman game available as a preorder bonus for Hitman: Absolution. Nintendo Wii: - Battleship Xbox 360: - Akai Katana Shin - Battleship - Dragon's Lair (Xbox Live Arcade) - Game of Thrones - Hitman: Sniper Challenge (Preorder-exclusive download) - JAM Live Music Arcade (Xbox Live Arcade) - Max Payne 3 - Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (Xbox Live Arcade) PlayStation 3: - Battleship - Game of Thrones - Hitman: Sniper Challenge (Preorder-exclusive download) - JAM Live Music Arcade (PlayStation Network) - Max Payne 3 - PixelJunk 4am (PlayStation Network) - Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (PlayStation Network) Nintendo 3DS: - Battleship Nintendo DS: - Battleship PC: - Diablo III - Game of Thrones - Hitman: Sniper Challenge (Preorder-exclusive download) - Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City - Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (online) Games Released in Europe: Diablo III and Max Payne 3 headline this week's European lineup, arriving alongside the region-exclusive Olympic sports sim Athletics Tournament and the multiplatform brawler Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL. Nintendo Wii: - Athletics Tournament - Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL Xbox 360: - Athletics Tournament - Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL - Dragon's Lair (Xbox Live Arcade) - Max Payne 3 - Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (Xbox Live Arcade) PlayStation 3: - Athletics Tournament - Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL - Max Payne 3 Nintendo 3DS: - Azada - Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL Nintendo DS: - 4 Elements II PC: - Athletics Tournament - Blades of Time - Diablo III - Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Games Released in Japan: A remake of Atlus's classic RPG Persona 2: Batsu (previously released stateside for the original PlayStation as Persona 2: Eternal Punishment) hits the PSP this week in Japan, joining a lineup of visual novel titles from Idea Factory, Media-5, and FuRyu. The Xbox 360 hosts an updated version of Ignition's stylish brawler El Shaddai, while the 3DS gets the Irem-published pachinko sim Pachi Para 3D Ooumi Monogatari 2. Xbox 360: - El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (Encore Edition) - Dragon's Lair (Xbox Live Arcade) - Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (Xbox Live Arcade) Nintendo 3DS: - Pachi Para 3D Ooumi Monogatari 2: Pachi Pro Fuuunroku Hana - Kibou to Uragiri no Gakuen Seikatsu PlayStation Portable: - Brothers Conflict Passion Pink - Bunmei Kaika: Aoiza Ibunroku Saien - Danzai No Maria: La Campanella - Maru Goukaku: Shikaku Dasshu! Shouken Gaimuin Shiken Portable - Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Iwake Ganai: Portable ga Tsudzuku Wake Ganai - Persona 2: Batsu - Soukoku no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera 3 Ashita he no Tobira