LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes comes to Wii U today, along with new features exclusive to this version.

Players can use the touch pad to view the world map off-TV, and even play the game completely on the touch pad away from the TV. Alternatively, friends can join to play separately on the television screen and touch pad. 

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super heroes is already available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC and 3DS.



 

Nintendo Direct's been a pretty good way to inform the public on anything happening at Nintendo. E3's around the corner and that's usually the place that new games are playable and by a select group. The public could only watch, but that's going to change this year.

Reggie Fils-Aime announced at the end that they are partnering with over 100 Best Buy stores to allow the public to play select games there during E3. No specific games were announced, but it's a good bet that it would be many of the titles being shown at E3. This is a pretty nice move on Nintendo's part to grab some publicity and let a large population try out their upcoming games, not just those attending E3. I hope more companies start doing this. 
 

During today's Nintendo Direct, it was announced that an exclusive partnership between Nintendo and Sega will bring a new Sonic game to the Wii U and 3DS titled Sonic Lost World.  While not much is known now, more info will be revealed before E3 2013 which begins on June 11th.  However, that wasn't all that was announced on today's Nintendo Direct.

Several other things were announced such as Mario and Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games for the Wii U, a new Mario...um, I mean Luigi game, more Game Gear games coming to the Virtual Console (including several Sonic games), and more.  Check out the official press release for more info and a list of everything that was discussed at Nintendo Direct, or you can check it out for yourself. [READ MORE]

GeoGuessr, a Google Experiment using Google Street View, has people getting lost and found all over the globe. Among the Sleep, an indie horror game played through the eyes of a two-year-old, went into open alpha on Tuesday, nabbing its $200,000 Kickstarter along the way. But with System Shock 2 hitting Steam this week, Gaming Nexus is gaming like it's 1999.

What are you playing this weekend?

Russell Archey | staff writer | Twitter @neoscyther
I got System Shock 2 last week and have enjoyed it so far, except for those stupid monkeys that my wrench never seem to hit, but that may be my own fault (and yes, I was crouching). As much as I try to take a break from it, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim keeps drawing me in.  The good news though is that I'm near 100 in smithing, which was my last goal before taking on the final set of quests, so hopefully I'll be able to finish this one up this week and can finally move onto something else.

Nathaniel Cohen | staff writer | Twitter @seven_hells
I'd never played System Shock 2, but now that I'm just about finished with it, I have to say that while I love the complexity of the gameplay, I miss the complexity of the story. I sort of expected System Shock 2 to have a BioShock-style story, but it's actually really bare bones, and the twist--even though I knew about it beforehand (doesn't everyone at this point?)--seems extra obvious. I would love a BioShock game with the stats and character building of System Shock 2. Also, I’m about to fire up Freespace 2 for the first time. Wish me luck, guys.

Sean Colleli | staff writer
I knew it would happen, but I'm completely sucked in by System Shock 2 again. It's great to finally have such a classic on Steam, and it reminds me why I was just a bit disappointed by all the BioShock games. Ken Levine seems more focused on making games with really complicated stories, instead of really complex gameplay, which is fine, but it's cool and a little sad that Irrational will never match the depth and terror of System Shock 2 again.

Jeremy Duff | senior staff writer | Twitter @duff3c
Things are finally slowing down for my game life this weekend. In addition to fitting in a few rounds of Injustice: Gods Among Us where I can, I will be getting my co-op on with Mike Mahardy in some FUSE.

Charles Husemann | editor in chief | Twitter @chusemann
My gameplay this weekend will be another edition of Farm Simulator: Suburban Edition as I finally get around to buying and planting new plants in my garden. Will probably work a bit on MechWarrior Online and resist the siren call of Metro: Last Light.

Randy Kalista | staff writer | Twitter @randykalista
Last week's dip into the Xbox Indie pool refreshed me, so I'm cannonballing back in. Zoning out on the clink of quarters jangling down the coin slot in Arcadecraft. Fighting my three-year-old for control of the gamepad on the Atari Breakout-like Wizorb. And nodding my head knowingly to DLC Quest which, despite being a couple years old, might still be the funniest commentary on modern gaming since.

Mike Mahardy | staff writer | Twitter @mmahardy
I'll be playing FUSE with Jeremy. Now that Metro: Last Light is out, I might replay a few of my favorite levels throughout the game between rounds of Injustice: Gods Among Us and Mass Effect 3 multiplayer.

GameStop stops taking your PlayStation 2 as a trade-in next month, EVE Online shared its tenth birthday with Orson Welles, and EA just announced The Sims 4 for 2014. By the way, if you were to buy The Sims 3 plus all of its expansions right now, it would cost you $539.78.

What are you playing this weekend?

Russell Archey | staff writer | Twitter @neoscyther
I'll be spending more time with Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move. So far I'm kind of liking it as it doesn't control like the past games. In fact, it's kind of like Pipe Dream, of all things. It's a different way to play the series and requires a different strategy than the past games.

Sean Cahill | staff writer | Twitter @seancahill2
Now that my semester is over and I have a lot more free time outside of work, I'll be kicking Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen into high gear. I've been going back to Tomb Raider to try and knock that off the list (47 percent complete) so it can go on the completed stack. Outside of that, I might indulge in some World of Tanks while testing out a couple new mice and a headset.

Nathan Carter | staff writer | Twitter @natedoggcata
I’ll be putting in some more practice with Injustice: Gods Among Us. I started playing Hawkgirl who is now my anti-Solomon Grundy, Deathstroke and Aquaman spam weapon, and I have Green Arrow and Harley Quinn as my backups. I’ll probably be playing some more Zombie Tycoon 2, which is a really fun real-time strategy for consoles. I have never been a fan of RTS because, for me, it’s usually clicking a bunch of boxes that fill your screen and I have no idea what is going on. Zombie Tycoon 2 simplifies all that, and what you have is a very fun and addicting game. Finally, I am about two years late to the party but I actually picked up and started playing Dragon Age 2 which I really enjoy. Now, I never played the first game. Why does everyone hate Dragon Age 2 again? Doesn't seem like anything is wrong with it to me. 

Nathaniel Cohen | staff writer | Twitter @seven_hells
I'll be spending some relaxing time on Far Cry 3’s Rook Island, stabbing dudes, getting inked, and popping hallucinogenic substances. Other items on my to-do list include more Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, and spending some quality time with System Shock 2.

Sean Colleli | staff writer
I'm in full-on review mode for Zeno Clash II, so I'll be exploring the world of Zenozoik for the most part. I'm also wrapping up my reviews for all the cool tech Nyko released for the Wii U, so I'll be revisiting my modest Wii U library for some final testing.

Jeremy Duff | senior staff writer | Twitter @duff3c
Along with Mike, you can make that two for Metro: Last Light. I love this franchise so much. And Mike, the second one is just as lovely. I have a preview build on the debug Xbox 360 with the first couple of hours of the game on it. You're in for a treat.

Travis Huinker | staff writer | Twitter @travishuinker
I plan to spend some quality time with Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and hopefully set some time aside for playing the recently-released Neverwinter with John.

Charles Husemann | editor-in-chief | Twitter @chusemann
Another week a bunch more MechWarrior Online to play. I've gone whole hog with a long-range missile boat build and I'm working on tweaking it so that I can safely deliver the "rain of pain" from a distance without taking any direct fire.

Randy Kalista | staff writer | Twitter @randykalista
One of two things is about to happen. Either 1) I square away my EVE Online account and start turning Gaming Nexus into gameEVE nexONLINEus as far as coverage is concerned--John loves this idea--or 2) I flip through my recent shopping spree of Xbox Indie Games and start bashing them into my face one at a time: Snops Attack! Zombie Defense, qrth-phyl, Kodu Game Lab, radiangames Fluid, Arcadecraft, and Quiet, Please! I somehow managed to avoid the top 20 most downloaded, all of which have the word "miner" in the title.

Mike Mahardy | staff writer | Twitter @mmahardy
I'll be playing Metro: Last Light. Metro 2033 is one of my favorite shooters of this generation, so I can't wait to dig into 4A's sequel, especially since they have creative license to deviate from the book's story now. Other than that, I'll be putting more time into Injustice: Gods Among Us and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Beyond: Two Souls has a 2,000-page script but will only have 10 hours of gameplay. Activision's CEO is one of the highest-paid in America, while EA lopped off limbs left and right. But it's wasn’t all bad this week--Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’s pulpy VHS shtick won hearts and minds, and critical darling Fez finally spun its way onto PC.

What are you playing this weekend?

Russell Archey | staff writer | Twitter @neoscyther
More than likely I'll be working on my next review piece, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move. It's been awhile since I've played a Mario vs. DK game, so I'm really looking forward to spending time with this one.

Sean Cahill | staff writer | Twitter @seancahill2
I'll be sitting down for some Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen on the 360 for the latest review piece. Outside of that, after beating BioShock Infinite in the past couple of days, I'll probably return to Tomb Raider to finally beat that and, perhaps, Far Cry 3.

Sean Colleli | staff writer
It's time to hit the indie Steam backlog, probably with some They Bleed Pixels. I might also pick up DLC Quest; my girlfriend tells me it's pretty funny. Then again, I might also get Mars: War Logs, Zeno Clash II, or of course Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Decisions, decisions.

Jeremy Duff | senior staff writer | Twitter @duff3c
This weekend I need to sink a bit of time into The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, which is shaping up to be way better than I expected. I might also have to dip my toes back into Soul Sacrifice because, well, those monsters aren't going to slay themselves.

Charles Husemann | editor-in-chief | Twitter @chusemann
This weekend will be spent working on Farm Simulator: Suburban Edition as I finally get around to cleaning up the garden areas in my backyard and start working on taming the yard. On a digital game front, I'm going to be spending time with MechWarrior Online as I continue level grinding on my next sets of mechs to elite status.  Time permitting, I'm going to try and progress a bit on BioShock Infinite and possibly even start a playthrough of Half-Life 2 as a recent HL2DM session has reignited my love of the game.

Randy Kalista | staff writer | Twitter @randykalista
My 14-day trial of EVE Online expired, so my character's early explorer/archaeology career is on ice indefinitely. They've done extensive work with the tutorials. It unlocked entire branches of gameplay too complicated to figure out on my own before. So now I need a pick-me-up. I would revisit The Walking Dead or Planescape: Torment but, ugh. Downers. Some Sacred Citadel beat 'em up action might do the trick. Jeremy and I co-op'd a bit, but it crashed as soon as we reached the first boss, some ancient, 'roided-up Treant.

Mike Mahardy | staff writer | Twitter @mmahardy
I've been getting back into nightly loot fests in Diablo III, so those will be punctuated by attempts to finally become a fighting game fan. I have a tendency to try out most new fighting games, but after trying Injustice: Gods Among Us at GDC, I think my love for the license will pull me through.

Nintendo has announced they are forgoing the E3 press conference this year, instead holding smaller events at the show. Nintendo's press conference typically runs right before the start of the first day of E3 at the Nokia Theater, but this will be the first year in a while (maybe ever?) that they won't be doing something before the convention.

It's funny that they mentioned this today as I was talking to a few of my colleagues and mentioning that I'm skipping out on this year's Nintendo press conference as I would like to take care of other things and I never did get much out it. They've announced products that never show (Vitality Sensor anyone?) and some of their games were shown using competitor's consoles (Wii U graphics in third party games). They've been using the Nintendo Direct events to announce their new products, which is nice in some aspects. 

Now, it will just be Sony's press conference that will be held before the show as Microsoft's usually a day before. I don't know what kind of presence they'll have in on the convention floor itself, but it will be weird to not have one of the big three produce some kind of press conference for the event. 

"Be Prepared" is the Girl Scouts' motto. I wasn't using "ironic" or "scare" quotes in the headline.

Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA) and Women in Games International (WIGI) are combining forces to create a merit badge in video game design. 

They're placing the Video Game Design badge in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) category of badges. Amy Allison, vice president at WIGI, said in an official statement that she hopes the badge will "get young girls excited in technology and science and let them know that they, too, can have a career in the video game industry." 

Lise Luttgens, chief executive officer at GSGLA, followed WIGI's statement with "Girl Scouts has a long history of developing pioneers in the fields of science and technology, so we are excited about collaborating with Women in Games International to ignite girls' interests in STEM-related subjects."

A brilliantly selected 16-bit heart will be the badge's graphic, a tribute to Nintendo's timeless indicator of health and extra lives. I'd rock that badge and I'm a man!

Note that they're not interested in just getting girls to play games. The emphasis is on the "design" part of Video Game Design. There doesn't appear to be a guide for attaining this badge yet, but it wouldn't be unreasonable for them to mimick the Boy Scouts' requirement for their Game Design badge (though the Boy Scouts' version is not video game-specific.) I checked out that Boy Scout badge: it wouldn't be a bad idea to put video game reviewers and critics through that manual's requirements.

The goal is to get the GSGLA badge recognized and adopted by the overarching Girl Scouts of America, so as to not limit this opportunity to the 40,000 (!) girls in the GSGLA alone.

Perhaps by the time my three-year-old joins the Girl Scouts--should she express such an interest--they could be selling annual copies of Madden and Assassin's Creed next to Samoas and Thin Mints. Though who am I kidding? Unless EA and Ubisoft start coating game boxes with caramel and toasted coconut, I'm going with the cookies. [READ MORE]

Two weeks ago I posted that the original Shin Megami Tensei RPG series was returning after a decade-long hiatus with Shin Megami Tensei IV on the 3DS.  Well Atlus has decided that the game's first printing will be a limited edition box set.  This box set will contain a strategy and design book, a music CD that contains music from the Shin Megami Tensei series, and a collectible slipcase packaging.  Shin Megami Tensei IV will be released this summer for an MRSP of $49.99.  That might be a little much for a 3DS game, but as much as they're hyping it up it sounds like it might be worth it.  Just remember that the book and CD are limited to only the first run of the game. [READ MORE]

This is a week that I have been waiting for since last year’s E3: Injustice is finally here! As a huge fighting game fan, I have been anxiously awaiting NetherRealm’s DC fighter and if the demo is any indication of the final product, I am going to be very happy. That isn’t the only game worth mentioning though as there are plenty others worth getting worked up about.

Our picks of the week include:

Pandora’s Tower: Although it has taken a couple of years, the action RPG Pandora’s Tower is finally making its way to the U.S. The game was originally released back in 2011 in Japan and is the finally piece of the fan-led Operation Rainfall puzzle. The game is now here certainly pushes Nintendo’s Wii to its technical limits, particularly in the visual department.

Sacred Citadel: The classic action RPG series Sacred is heading in a new direction thanks to Deep Silver as Sacred Citadel makes the universe more colorful and approachable than ever. The series is making the transition to a side-scrolling beat’em up akin to titles like Turtles in Time and Streets of Rage. Keeping in tune with the original Sacred series, the game features a variety of character classes who can all be upgraded and enhanced as you progress through the adventure. Up to four players can play together both online and off, making this an adventure meant to be played with friends.

Injustice- God’s Among Us: The marquee title amongst this week’s releases is NetherRealm Studio’s Injustice: Gods Among Us. This is a new breed of fighting game that aims to deliver the comic book experience from the world of DC comics. We’re not just talking about character variety, but large scale battles that come across more as epic set pieces rather than simple, one-on-one skirmishes. The game is full of both familiar and obscure faces from DC’s lengthy archives including Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Raven, and even Killer Frost and Ares. Featuring amazing visuals, interactive environments, and a ton of content for both gamers and comic book fans alike!

The full lineup consists of the following:

• Dragon Fantasy Book 1 for PlayStation 3 and Vita (Cross-Buy enabled)
• God Mode for PC and Xbox Live Arcade
• Injustice: Gods Among Us for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii U
• Papo & Yo for PC
• Painkiller: Hell and Damnation for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
• Pandora’s Tower for Nintendo Wii
• Sacred Citadel for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC (Steam)
• Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Summoner- Soul Hackers for Nintendo 3DS

Disney's Planes video game, based on the upcoming Disney's Planes movie, lands exclusively on Nintendo platforms August 6. The Dane Cook-led cast of aeronautical high-flyers will barrel roll onto the Wii U, Wii, 3DS, and DS. All Nintendo everything.

The violence level will likely top out during the "Balloon Pop" event, but there are several other game modes to circle around: singleplayer narrative, drop-in drop-out multiplayer, some free-form exploration, and the plot-centric races.

Disney's Planes won't ape the movie's storyline, but the premise of a lowly cropduster (voiced by Dane Cook) aspiring to compete in the race circuit will likely remain central. I personally wouldn't mind hearing Ripslinger (voiced by Roger Craig Smith, aka the voice of Assassin's Creed's Ezio Auditore da Firenze) give Dane Not-Actually-Funny Cook a rivalry-fueled run for his money. I'd also love to see Val Kilmer reprise his role as Iceman from Top Gun as he voices the FA-18 Super Hornet named Bravo. I'm making up that last part about a Top Gun tie-in. But come on, it's Val Kilmer as a fighter jet. I don't think I'm asking for too much here. [READ MORE]

There are few things as charming as a universe re-imagined in LEGO form. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, the vast expanses of the Star Wars galaxy, Gotham City; and now, Marvel’s New York City.
 
Phil Ring, producer at TT Games, unveiled the first level of LEGO Marvel Superheroes at GDC. The section only showed a small part of the entire game, but acted as a microcosm of things to come when the game releases this fall.
 
There are memorable locations from both real life and the Marvel realm, Ring said. “You’ll see the Statue of Liberty, but with a LEGO twist.
 
“We want to push things, do it bigger and better.”
 
One such example of “bigger” presents itself as the level opens on Grand Central Station, New York’s long-standing subway hub. Surrounded by indoor sand dunes, the villain Sandman shouts through a microphone, something about “cosmic bricks,” which Ring promises will play an important part in LEGO Marvel’s story.
 
Along with Sandman is Abomination, the towering mass of muscle and grit created from the same gamma ray exposure as the Hulk. Although Sandman’s normal form fits well within the constraints of the LEGO mini-fig size, Abomination and Hulk’s forms do not.
 
Cue BIG-figs: LEGO figures triple the size of mini-figs. Aside from their imposing size, characters such as the Hulk and Abomination come with their own powers. Appropriately, these two can lift huge objects, smash through barriers, and generally cause damage on a larger scale than most of the roster.
 
These abilities are a small taste of the powers relegated to LEGO Marvel’s entire cast. TT Games is stressing that, like LEGO Lord of the Rings and LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Marvel won’t just feel like a game for LEGO fans, but fans of the license as well.
 
“If you’re a Spider Man fan, it has to feel like Spider Man,” Ring said. “If you’re a Captain America fan, it has to feel like Captain America.”
 
LEGO Marvel has a “fantastic story written by Mark Hoffmeier,” who has written for Marvel on several occasions, including Marvel Super Hero Squad. TT Games promises the story remains true to every aspect of Marvel, from character relationships to their abilities.
 
This is illustrated shortly after Abomination is introduced. The Hulk and Iron Man proceed into “Sand Central Station” to end a hostage situation orchestrated by Sandman. Using cooperation between separate characters and their respective abilities ends Sandman’s efforts, and brings the level to its end.
 
Ring promised classic match ups in iconic locations throughout the remainder of the game, and like TT Games other titles, ensure that the experience is loyal to the license.

One staff writer played the first BioShock ad nauseum. Literally. We've also come to a split decision as to whether BioShock 2 is worth your time. And BioShock Infinite has got our collective head in the collective cloud.

What are you playing this weekend?

RUSSELL ARCHEY | Staff Writer | Twitter @neoscyther
I'm out of town this weekend, so no major PC or 360 gaming for me. However, I recently picked up Kirby Mass Attack on the cheap so I'll finally be giving that a shot. I have yet to play a Kirby game I dislike (though I have yet to play Air Ride beyond a quick demo race).

NATHAN CARTER | Staff Writer | Twitter @natedoggcata
I’m still suffering from a post-PAX hangover, so I think I will be taking it easy this weekend and playing some games that I can play while relaxing. I still have Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward to finish. I am about 30 hours into the game now and I have only unlocked about nine or ten of the 24 different endings in the game. I also picked up Dead or Alive 5 Plus for the Vita, a far superior version of the game compared to its console counterpart. Finally, I’ll probably hop into some more Left 4 Dead 2 when I get some spare time. Left 4 Dead 2 is always fun to hop in, play for a bit, then do something else.

NATHANIEL COHEN | Staff Writer | Twitter @seven_hells
Funny BioShock-related story. Way back when the first one came out, I went and picked up my pre-order, then was promptly struck down by some sort of food poisoning. It was the grossest two weeks of my life, but I wasn't going to let something as insignificant as not being able to sit up keep me from BioShock. That had been a really bad summer for games and I needed to play it. So I did. I finished in between bouts of praying to the flush gods. When I was was over it,I tried to play through it again, only to find the experience inexorably tied to how I felt while I was sick. I found I couldn't look at it, let alone play it, without suffering from some kind of really unpleasant PTSD nauseousness. It was so bad I had to trade it in, and it was two years before I could think about BioShock again.

I was not a fan of BioShock 2. I thought that except for the slightly upgraded shooting, everything else was just a pale imitation with worse graphics. I don't expect the same disappointment from BioShock Infinite.  You don't remake the same game for the third time and stick the word "Infinite" in the title unless you know exactly what you're doing.

I'll be playing BioShock Infinite and probably some FIFA Soccer 13. These international breaks are hard on fans of European club soccer. I gotta get my fix somehow. Watching the USMNT just isn't enough even when they have a particularly good couple of games.

SEAN COLLELI | Staff Writer
I'm actually revisiting BioShock 2 to get ready for SkyoShock. I kind of forgot just how good BioShock 2 was compared to the original. Most of the things that annoyed me in the first game--clunky combat, technical issues, a preachy story about a sociopolitical philosophy that hadn't been relevant for decades--was vastly improved in BioShock 2. Dual-wielding guns and plasmids really opened up the combat, and the plasmids and tonics were just overall cooler. Playing as a Big Daddy and escorting the Little Sisters as they harvested ADAM was also a lot of fun. Best of all, the story was just more compelling and didn't fall apart in the third act--it actually got better. Having Sofia Lamb as a foil for Andrew Ryan really helped, because it demonstrated that a philosophy on the other end of the spectrum--in this case super collectivism instead of Ryan's objectivism--could be just as bad if taken to the same extreme. Definitely check out BioShock 2 if you missed it the first time around.

CHARLES HUSEMANN | Editor-in-Chief | Twitter @chusemann
BioShock Infinite is sitting on my dining room table and I think that's going to be my main endeavor this weekend. There is a double XP weekend going for MechWarrior Online, so that will probably find it's way on to my playlist as well.

RANDY KALISTA | Staff Writer | Twitter @randykalista
SimCity is a problem. Losing sleep. Work suffering. Other hobbies collecting dust. Child doesn't even know me anymore. So, I'm grounding myself from SimCity (way to go, me) and heading back into Mass Effect 3 to finish the fight. If for no other reason than to get to bed on time. While I can't not read every single entry that pops up, the Codex should be renamed "naptime."

JOHN YAN | Senior Hardware Editor | Twitter @thejohnyan
So after finishing StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, I'm heading off to the city of Columbia to review BioShock Infinite. I'm really excited about this one as the previews at the past couple E3’s blew me away. I might jump into a quickie session of SimCity, but I'm at a point where I'm out of room. It was pretty quick to run out of room and I don't want to mess with it too much since I'm getting money and everyone's mostly happy. If someone wants to, I'll try out Dead Space 3 co-op, since I got that for free with my SimCity game.