Wii U owners were pleased to find that the arcade classic Pac-Man found its way to the Wii U shop just about two weeks ago. Not bad to get some excitement about a game getting close to its 33rd birthday. But yesterday, something no one expected happened. A second Pac-Man piece of news in a month popped up with an all new Pac-Man title. Pac-Man would be returning in an all new game. Namco Bandai will be releasing Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures this fall to the XBox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.

The hungry little sphere that could is coming back to 3D (with a sidescroller for the 3DS, go figure) with some new powers not yet seen before… well that’s not entirely true. From the look of the trailer below, there will be a transformative power set to the game where upon eating various ghosts, Pac-Man acquires certain abilities. Sounds a little bit like Kirby, wouldn’t you say? Well even though we only see one of these in action, there is certainly a Kirby-esque feel to the way the game looks to play.

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It looks like Microsoft won’t be as dumb as, well, Microsoft seems to be sometimes. That’s right XBox fans, you won’t need to be connected to the Internet to enjoy any games on the next-gen XBox console, currently known as the XBox 720.

Word has come to us today from the fine folks are Ars Technica (who got hold of an internal Microsoft email) that the Redmond giant has decided against this requirement. In the email, from Microsoft to Xbox engineers, the company outlines “a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection” and instructing the engineers to make those functions “‘just work’ regardless of their current connection status.”

The email goes on to say that the new Xbox should be designed for “playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game” without an Internet connection. Well, that makes more sense, doesn’t it?

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Back in January we reported on the breaking news that LEGO Marvel Super Heroes was coming. Yes, we know it was kind of a no brainer but it was great to see it was actually happening! Now we are proud to bring the first official trailer to the Flickcast faithful.

In the trailer below, check out the first official look at LEGO Spider-Man, Thor, Wolverine, Hulk, Iron Man, Deadpool and Black Widow who will be amongst the “more than 100 memorable characters to choose from, each with their own unique powers and abilities, players are in for a brick-smashing adventure”. Those actual gameplay isn’t shown, one can assume it will probably be similar in style to that of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. The trailer also gives a pretty good indicator who one of the game’s big bads is going to be.

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If you’re close to my age, one of your favorite video game memories is most likely being in the arcade playing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game in all its side scrolling, beat-em-up glory. With the upcoming downloadable title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, we may get to relive our past glory while a whole new generation gets to experience it for the first time (without pumping the arcade machine full of $27 in quarters.

In the latest trailer, we get to take a look at Michelangelo in action. The first thing you’ll notice is that the combat doesn’t resemble that of a simple brawler as the moves done by Mikey more closely mimic that of the Batman: Arkham franchise. Combat looks to have a dynamic feel, and though there are bound to be some canned animations (like Mikey’s head spin) it appears as though there will be a plethora of different moves happening during a fight as opposed to a few basic swinging animations from the classic arcade series.

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Back in February we revealed that the leader of the Yellow Lanterns, a.k.a. the Sinestro Corps, would be taking one of the roster spots in Injustice: Gods Among Us to act as the opposition to Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern. It only made sense with NetherRealm Studios working on the game that you’d need a yellow Scorpion to counteract the emerald Sub-Zero.

So it ended up being a huge surprise when yesterday a new video emerged that shed some light into Hal Jordan’s story when he saw… himself.

In the latest trailer released this week, check out Hal Jordan vs. Hal Jordan as the man who has found himself at one point a member of pretty much every Corps wearing both the green and yellow as he takes on himself. As you’ll see from the trailer though, this isn’t just a reskin for a fantasty match. This looks to take place within Hal’s actual story during Injustice: Gods Among Us as both Hal and his Justice League compatriots react to what is happening.

This just adds to the already interesting mythos that is being associated with the game as it sees both Superman and Lex Luthor on the same side and a clone of Hal Jordan attacking himself.

Check out the full trailer after the jump.

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Oh Facebook, as if we didn’t already waste enough time on you, now you want to be an even larger part of our mobile lives? Oh boy. That’s right folks, Facebook today unveiled it’s new “Facebook Home” for Android smartphones designed to integrate with Android and become a larger part of your user experience.

The new software takes over several core functions of Android and replaces them with features that tie into various Facebook services. This, in effect, turns you smartphone into the much-touted “Facebook Phone.”

According to Facebook frontman Mark Zukerberg:

“You’re going to be able to transform your phone into a great social device.” Facebook Home makes it so that “phones are designed around people first,” rather than apps, as is the case with most modern smartphones. Instead of burying content that users want to see inside apps, Facebook Home makes it available at all times.

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Yesterday morning, the news broke the news that Disney would be shutting down LucasArts, which they got as a part of their acquisition of the Star Wars purchase last October for $4.05 Billion dollars. Back when the sale took place, LucasArts immediately put a freeze on all hiring and announcements.

There were also reports that both Star Wars: First Assault and Star Wars 1313 would be canceled with the closure of the studio. It is estimated that about 150 people would be affected by the layoffs.

Later in the day, gaming magazine Game Informer got the following statement from Disney regarding LucasArts:

“After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games.

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After NetherRealm’s success with their DLC packs for Mortal Kombat, its no surprise that they are already planning out the DLC for their upcoming Injustice: Gods Among Us. And what better way to distribute DLC than with a season pass. It was announced yesterday that the season pass for Injustice: Gods Among Us will include four new characters and a special exclusive costume pack.

Also announced as a member of the Injustice roster, who you can check out in the trailer below, is Raven. Most well known for her role in founding the New Teen Titans. Adding another female to the roster, Raven’s mythical powers give her distinct advantages against even powerhouses like Superman. She will also have the opportunity to face off against former teammates like Nightwing and Cyborg.

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Mention the word zombies in a room of gamers and two franchises instantly come to mind. Resident Evil and Left 4 Dead. While other zombie franchises have tried to claw their way to the top, these two from Capcom and Valve respectively sit atop the zombie food chain. With Capcom’s recent affinity for crossing over franchises with other publishers, it is great to see that they have come together with Valve to enable the Resident Evil 6 x Left 4 Dead 2 project.

In a completely free download, Resident Evil 6 PC players will be able to experience a new mode, “The Mercenaries No Mercy” featuring Left 4 Dead 2′s signature cast – Coach, Nick, Ellis and Rochelle – as playable characters. Each will have a custom weapon load-out for the mode. Also making their debut to the Resident Evil world alongside the foursome of survivors are going to be the Witch and the Minitank. This mode will be going live on April 5th.

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As expected, Samsung revealed a new flagship smartphone in its quest to beat Apple and dominate the world during a press event today. That device: the Galaxy S IV.

Based on earlier leaks and reports, the device’s specs are pretty much known. However, that doesn’t make them any less impressive. In fact, they’re quite impressive indeed.

The Galaxy S IV sports a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with 1080p HD resolution, an Exynos 5 Octa eight-core processor in the international version and a quad-core Snapdragon chipset in the U.S. version, a 13-megapixel rear camera, up to 64GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, microSDXC support and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

It’s not all specs, though, as the new device also features some cool stuff to try and further separate it from the pack. From facial recognition for touch-free controls and adaptive sound and display functions, to new social features and a completely overhauled camera, Samsung has really gone above and beyond to make this device stand out.

Samsung’s full press release follows after the break. This really looks like a great device. Maybe it’s time to consider and Android phone and give up the iPhone? Maybe.

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With Samsung’s press event a short time away (tonight at 7PM Eastern, to be exact), more photos and videos have come out showing the new hotness that is the Galaxy S IV. These new leaks leave little doubt as to what the new device will look like and to most of its cooler features.

The high-quality photos, curtesy of IT168, show the handset’s sleek design in sharp detail and pretty much confirm what everyone already thought it would look like. The videos also do pretty much the same and highlight several of the features of the Galaxy S IV including floating touch, a new lock screen and the devices speed at browsing the Internets.

The Samsung Galaxy S IV is expected to feature a 5-inch Super AMOLED HD display, an eight-core Exynos processor or a quad-core Snapdragon chipset depending on region, up to 64GB of storage, 2GB or RAM and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Check out the photos and the videos after the break.

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Back at Comic-Con 2011, I had the pleasure of interviewing some of the development team for Payday: The Heist while Matt Raub was playing along in the background. (He still has the promotional clown mask hanging on his wall) Now, it will be getting a sequel this summer, dubbed simply Payday 2, with the XBox Live Arcade being added to the two original platforms with the PC and PlayStation network.

Despite the positive response Payday: The Heist received, developer Overkill Software most likely saw the potential for an increased audience for the downloadable title in making it available on the XBox Live platform which has had a better reputation for its online service than Sony’s PSN.

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There’s really something to be said for the ingenuity and personality behind Lex Luthor. When a man of nearly undefeatable power made his presence known, Luthor’s xenophobia made him stand up and throw everything he could to topple the Man of Steel. But the second he finds out that Superman’s safety switch has been turned off, he swaps to the other side.

In the latest trailer for Injustice: Gods Among Us, we see where Lex Luthor stands in the battle between heroes as Batman and Superman stand at opposing fronts for the freedoms of the DC Universe. The trailer also gives us some insight as to where other characters such as Hawkgirl fall as well.

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With Skylanders Swap Force already on the horizon for this upcoming holiday season, the final Giant figure is being released for Skylanders Giants with Ninjini. Ninjini is the 8th Giant, representing the Magic element and is the only female of the Giants. Our bank accounts are happy that Ninjini has finally seen the light of day as this is the last of the $15 Giants to complete our collections (totaling a cool $105 on just Giants if not counting Tree Rex who comes with the Skylanders Giants game.)

Make sure to check out Ninjini’s trailer and screen shots after the break and stick to The Flickcast for more on Skylanders Swap Force and the 32 new Skylanders coming out for it as it becomes available.

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If you were born after 1980, the names Leonardo, Donatello, Rafael and Michelangelo aren’t just a bunch of names you ignored in fine arts class. For almost three decades, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been a part of the lives of so many different generations with some of their iterations being better than others and their history in video games is no exception.

While the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game is renowned as being one of the most difficult games on the NES (even though its key audience was kids), the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles four player arcade cabinet is one that hordes of us pushed quarter after quarter into and did so happily.

With the most recent version of TMNT hitting big on Nickelodeon and a Michael Bay (shudders…) feature film in the works, it’s no surprise that a new game would be making its way to consoles. Thankfully it isn’t based off the Michael Bay film but instead off the Nickelodeon franchise in TMNT: Out of the Shadows.

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