Summer a great time to catch up on gaming

The summer is always a bit of a dry spell for video game releases, ironically at the time when many of us have the most time to play them.
It is nice to have time to catch up on those games I never quite got around to finishing though. Here's what I'm revisiting this summer.

Borderlands
Best described as "Diablo" meets "Halo," "Borderlands" delivers some of the most addictive qualities of both. The different classes, branching skills and enemy item drops are what got players addicted to "Diablo," and "Halo" fans will feel right at home with the regenerating shields and co-op gameplay.

The characters inhabiting the wasteland world of Pandora are varied and colorful, and the lure of riches and power buried in "The Vault" should keep players entertained throughout this great game.

"Borderlands" is available on PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3.

Klonoa
I would say they don't make them like this anymore, but the truth is they never really made them like this. "Klonoa" is a Wii remake of the overlooked 1997 Playstation platfromer "Klonoa: Door to Phantomile."

Players take control of the titular character in what has often been referred to as a "2.5D" perspective. Imagine last year's "New Super Mario Bros. Wii," but the path players take through the level loops through a full 3D world. It keeps the gameplay simple while giving players the chance to experience more realized worlds. If nothing else, "Klonoa" is a unique experience that every fan of the old Mario or Sonic games should give it a shot.

"Klonoa" is available for the Wii.

Sam & Max Seasons One, Two and Three
Ah, Sam and Max. Everyone's favorite fedora wearing dog and "hyperkinetic rabbit-thingy" detective team. The freelance police made their triumphant return to the video game world with 2007's "Sam & Max Save the World." Broken up into six episodes, each stand alone game follows an over arching story line dealing with hypnotism, former child stars, the mafia and tons of weird twists and turns.

Fans of the old Lucasarts and Sierra point and click adventure games will have plenty to love.

Developer Telltale Games has been one of the few to really embrace the episodic model for games, and so far it's paid off. They've already finished the second season, "Beyond Time and Space," and the third, "The Devil's Playhouse," is currently running, so what better time to catch up with all the mayhem and mystery that make up the world of Sam & Max.

"Sam & Max Save the World" is available on PC, Wii, and Xbox Live Arcade, "Beyond Time and Space" is available on PC, Mac, Xbox Live Arcade, and "The Devil's Playhouse" is available for PC, Mac, Playstation 3, and iPad.