After Scribblenauts Unlimited came to the Wii U with a fairly soft launch, a lot of people wondered what might be next, if at all, for the series. Aside from new puzzles, what was there really left you could do for Scribblenauts that hadn’t already been done with the customizability of Scribblenauts Unlimited? I mean, it has “unlimited” in the title. The answer of course is rather fitting, a comic book crossover.

Whenever publishers in comics are in a sales dip, they crossover a more popular character into another series to give it a sales boost. But why stop at just a Batman Scribblenauts or a Scribblenauts Metropolis? WB Games and 5th Cell took the whole DC Universe and brought it over to the Scribblenauts world in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure. In addition to giving the powers of various DC heroes and villains to Maxell, the trailer below indicates that players will be able to actually play as various DC characters in the game as well in the puzzle solving adventure.

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It’s been about four years since we last saw William “B.J.” Blazkowicz take the fight to the filthy Nazi forces in Wolfenstein. Finally yesterday though, it was announced that B.J. would be making his return in the next installment of Wolfenstein entitled Wolfenstein: The New Order.

From what we’ve been able to find out so far, Wolfenstein: The New Order takes place years after the events of the last Wolfenstein. Although B.J. accomplished his mission, something happened as he was hidden away and he has a new regime to deal with. While some Wolfenstein games have at least started more reality based, Wolfenstein: The New Order is taking the Go Big or Go Home approach right at the start. Gigantic robots with lots of weaponry look to block B.J.’s way.

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Plants vs. Zombies came out way back in 2009 for the PC and Mac from PopCap games. It would go on to be ported to iOS, XBLA, Nintendo DS, the PSN, DSiWare, Android, Windows Phone, the PlayStation Vita and then finally to the Blackberry in January of this year (also proving that BlackBerry really has no idea what they are doing). Originally titled Lawn of the Dead, Plants vs. Zombies is one of the most widely popular tower defense style games ever with a MetaCritic score of 88 to boot. So what is taking so long to get a sequel? That’s what YouTube stars like Francis and XBox community manager Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb want to know too.

With the teaser trailer below, we finally get official confirmation that Plants vs. Zombies 2 isn’t only real but that it is coming out in July of this year. Hopefully it won’t come out during Comic Con or there are going to be a lot of very confused people trying to figure out the best use of their time. Though no actual footage is shown, it is an awesome teaser that showcases how all of us feel about the wait on this title. The one the Flickcast staff seems to relate to the most is Francis.

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Nostalgia for retro lifestyle can go two ways. There are those things we fondly remember that when we revisit them they don’t seem to hold up. See the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES as a prime example of something you sunk probably years of your life into only to realize years later that it is a pretty terrible game. But there are others that withstand the test of time and whether it’s 1985 or 2085 are still going to be great games. Games like Castlevania, Super Metroid, Gradius, Super Mario Brothers and others stand that test of time. So it’s no wonder why someone would take the chance at going back if given the chance.

A.N.N.E. is that chance. A.N.N.E. is the brainchild of Moise Breton, the founder of GamesbyMo. With 10 years in developing, A.N.N.E. is Moise’s first time focusing on his own project that combines concepts behind some of the above mentioned titles with bright and vibrant Fez-styled graphics. As you’ll see in the trailer below, the game has a unique feel as it transitions from ship based combat to puzzle solving to exploration and ground skirmishes. And it doesn’t just feel like retro graphics but full on gorgeous pixel art style animation on top of the mashup gameplay.

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In two weeks, EVE Online takes the next step into cross-platform play when it will officially be launching DUST 514 on to the PlayStation Network. On May 14th, CCP Games will be releasing DUST 514 for free to the PSN as a part of EVE Online’s extended universe. After ten years of building the world of EVE Online in the half spreadsheet economic simulator / half space combat genre, the PC based game world is going to expand to the PlayStation 3 console with FPS combat.

To help explain how the connection of the two titles, CCP Games has put together an amazing trailer explaining the back-story of the Immortals. Make sure to check it out after the jump. In addition, CCP announced a Collector’s Edition entitled EVE: The Second Decade which boasts in game and physical items to help contribute to the full EVE Online and DUST 514 experience.

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The little tower defense game that could keeps on trucking with the official announcement of the sequel to Defense Grid set for 2014. Way back in 2009 during Comic-Con, I got the chance to get hands on with the original Defense Grid before it went to XBox Live Arcade.

Though not being a tower defense guy, I couldn’t stop playing (until the game beat me into submission). Then with the “You Monster” DLC pack that put even more levels, but this time with a Portal theme, at my disposal, I was hooked again.

During our Kickstarter Watch, we put a spotlight on Defense Grid in hopes of helping Hidden Path reach their goal that would eventually lead to the release of Defense Grid 2. Though the million dollar goal wasn’t hit, this bit of news was released yesterday:

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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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If you’re a fan of Let’s Plays or Rage Quit videos on YouTube, you’ll probably already be well versed in this game. But if not, boy do we have something in store for you. Developed back in January at the 2013 Golden Game Jam in just 48 hours, Surgeon Simulator 2013 is far from a realistic simulation as its name might suggest.

In it, players are tasked with performing a heart transplant on a patient. There is a slow loss of blood to put players under a time constraint but as they make mistakes, the patient loses blood more rapidly. The original version is currently a free to play browser based game.

What is interesting about Surgeon Simulator 2013 is that the original version isn’t what one would traditionally call a “good game”. In essence, it is actually pretty broken. Not to knock the development on it because it is a pretty epic creation in mechanics and graphics in just two days time, but the controls leave a little something to be desired. But somehow that has become the appeal of the game.

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Well one thing you have always got to give DC credit for is they are willing to give everything a shot with their gaming properties. From action titles like Superman 64 and Aquaman (which let’s be honest meant that they could only go up from there) to DC Universe Online and the upcoming Injustice: Gods Among Us, they seem to have no problem trying to figure out which genre their games fit into best. Now, less than a month before the release of Injustice: Gods Among Us, they have announced that they are stepping into the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena with Infinite Crisis for the PC.

As you’ll see in the trailer below, Infinite Crisis isn’t your ordinary DC game. With alternate worlds and the ability to control both heroes and villains, Infinite Crisis is going to lend itself to some creative matchups and hopefully and even more creative art style. Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Zatanna and alternate versions of themselves will face off against the likes of the Joker, Doomsday, Poison Ivy and their dopplegangers in a five on five MOBA style game. I mean, it was a good fit for Lord of the Rings so why not have DC make a go at it as well?

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In the early days of the series, it was a challenge to talk about Saints Row without it being compared to Grand Theft Auto. They were both open sandbox worlds with a criminal undertone. But, the most recent iterations have separated the two with Grand Theft Auto being more realistic with its gritty drama while Saints Row took the over the top and ridiculous path that has become the signature appeal of the series. While in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas you were able to attack someone using a sex toy, Saints Row The Third blew that toy up to the massive proportions of a floppy baseball bat to bludgeon foes to death with.

This past weekend, it was announced by Volition and Deep Silver (who purchased the studio from the THQ auction) that Saints Row IV is indeed coming and it will actually be out before Grand Theft Auto V. With Grand Theft Auto V being delayed until September (being the last major game release before the next generation of consoles presumably), Volition and Deep Silver have slid in a few weeks early and announced their game would be coming out on August 23rd.

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Welcome back boys and girls. Today we have a new freebie title for you which is actually the sequel to a game I played years and years ago. After seeing ads for Deuce Bigaglo: Male Gigolo 2 appear as billboards in the futuristic MMO space shooter Planetside, I respectfully backed out. Especially since back then I was paying a monthly subscription fee to play it. Now, a decade later I am giving the sequel a chance because I figure I liked the original and since it is a Free-To-Play model, if I don’t like it at least I am not stuck paying for it.

For those that don’t know, before Call of Duty implemented the RPG elements of levels and unlockables into their multiplayer, Planetside did the same years earlier. The format was a tad different though. Players were given the option to deploy over a map that three controlling factions were constantly battling over. In addition to XP from kills, players could level up by taking over opposing facilities. And there were vehicles too.

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Been wondering exactly what happened to the Dixon brothers before meeting up with Rick Grimes in Atlanta? Well with The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct being tied into the AMC series, you’ll get some of those answers and you can get those answers today. Out today for XBox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and the Wii U is The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct. If you take a look below, you get a better idea of what to expect from this stealth FPS experience.

It is fair to say that The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct has its work cut out for it. And not even because of anything that has been seen from the game before today. It is because it will inevitably be compared to Telltale’s The Walking Dead adventure game. Despite being different in almost every way from the art style to gameplay style and the continuity it chooses to follow, parallels will undoubtedly be drawn.

The hardest part will be people giving the game a fair shake and taking it for what it is doing which is trying to give a new experience by trying to combine stealth and FPS gameplay together while putting people in the world of the TV series they have become so invested in. (Hopefully Andrea doesn’t show up until the absolute end.)

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I know. Just the word Monday deeply depresses most people when they see it. But that’s why I bring you guys the Monday Freeview. To give you something to look forward to on the longest possible point before the weekend begins. And this week, we’ve got a big one for you: League of Legends.

With the Mac client finally going live, I decided to give one of the most famous Free-To-Play games on the internet a try. For those who don’t know what League of Legends is, it is technically considered a MOBA (or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) which is an offshoot of the RTS genre after the success of a Warcraft 3 mod that would go on to become DotA (Defense of the Ancients). Instead of worrying about the minutia of base building and resource management, players got to focus on what they all really carried about, playing as a hyper strong character and taking the fight to their enemy.

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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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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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