Comedian Wayne Brady is a serious gamer

— -- Comedian Wayne Brady, who hosts Let's Make a Deal on CBS, spends his days on the Hollywood set playing games, literally.

When not interacting with his audience — asking what's behind Door No. 1, 2 or 3, for instance — he's holed up in his dressing room, often with announcer Jonathan Mangum, "killing zombies" on one of his three game consoles: Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 or Microsoft Xbox 360.

We caught up with Brady at the Deal set, where the comedian talked about how games are integral to his life.

Gaming as relaxation

"I have 30 minutes between shows, and I'm very protective of the time. My mom didn't let me play video games growing up, so now I do…gaming gives me a chance to just let go, blow somebody up and fight somebody from another dimension. It's all escapism. It's a little bit of an addiction, but one of the healthier ones. You won't see me in rehab anytime soon."

Games of choice

The new Mortal Kombat update, Halo Reach and The Michael Jackson Experience.

Social games? No thanks.

"I like to be left alone when I'm not working. So the last thing I want to do is go to a (game like Zynga's) Farmville and have a community. I want the single player experience."

How often he plays a game before tiring of it

"I play a storyline all the way through. The more cinematic the game is, the more can replay it."

Games helps him host

"As I'm doing a deal, I pretend they're Zelda and I'm Link," he cracks, referring to video game classic The Legend of Zelda.

But seriously, folks…

"Work is the thing that happens around the game time."