The moral of this week’s story is everything old being new again, or various systems getting caught up with the times. There are a lot of re-releases and updated ports hitting the market this week including the return of Donkey Kong Country, and HD version of the 3DS Resident Evil, and the Wii U getting a couple of titles a few months late. Not everything is familiar though so take your pick from the long list of games launching this week.

My picks for the week include:

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D: Rave reviews have been pouring in for this 3DS port of the now-classic Wii title Donkey Kong Country Returns. This is an updated port of the Wii game from 2010 which was an original adventure, not an update to the SNES classic. Once again, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are out to stop the theft of bananas on their island. The game has been credited with being an incredibly challenging platformer that pays great homage to the genre and sets the standard for future ones. If you own a 3DS, you will definitely want to pick this one up.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Action RPG fans have a treat coming to the PC this week with NeocoreGames’ The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. The game is perhaps best compared to Torchlight, as I mentioned in my recent preview, but has plenty to love in its own right. This is an exciting adventure that you can experience alone or with up to four friends cooperatively. Between loot gathering, experimenting with the game’s alchemy system, and an engaging world that is a combination of steampunk and goth-noir, this one should keep you busy for a long, long time

Resident Evil Revelations: Wow, this is a new concept: an HD port of a portable game! That is exactly what Capcom has done with the former 3DS-exclusive entry in the Resident Evil series. Revelations has gotten the full HD-makeover for its outing on the home consoles including updated visuals, Achievement / Trophy support, and at least on the Wii U, a plethora of new features that make use of the Wii U’s unique control pad. The reviews have been positive thus far, including our own (Wii U, PC), and the reception of the original was much higher than that of Resident Evil 6.

The full lineup for this week includes:

• Call of Juarez: Gunslinger for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and P
• Donkey Kong County Returns 3D for Nintendo 3DS
• Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes for PC
• Fast & Furious: Showdown for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS
• The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing for PC
• LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes for Nintendo Wii U
• Men’s Room Mayhem for PlayStation Vita (via PSN)
• Mugen Souls for PlayStation Network
• Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault for PlayStation Vita
• Resident Evil Revelations for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii U
• Sniper Elite V2 for Nintendo Wii U
• Worms Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

The OUYA's retail release is getting a little bit delayed, but they're trying to get the word out to other gamers. E3's one of the biggest gaming shows around and they want to make a presence there. But, it's pretty expensive to get a booth inside the show so what is a small company to do?

Well, they will be setting up a booth outside of the convention center so even the public can check out the console. The company's also calling on all developers to see about doing some demonstrations of their game there.

Now, some folks are going to look at this and say they're just cheap or it's a sign of how second rate they are. There have been some companies in the past that have done this so they're not the first. But, I look at it as at least they are giving folks a try with the console whether you can go to the show or not.

I recently received my OUYA and it's an OK device. I'm more interested in the hacking aspects of the console then what it has to offer with mobile gaming on the big screen. I've done that plenty of times with an HDMI out from my tablet or phone in the past. And I've gotten it to stream some media pretty well already. Now if it only had an IR receiver so I an control it with a universal remote, then it would be a pretty killer $99 streaming device.

So, it won't be too long before the OUYA's in everyone's hands. Is it going to be a huge hit? Who knows, but they are making a go at it and we at least got a nice Kickstarter success story out of it if nothing big comes out of this console. [READ MORE]

In two days, you'll see the full preview of Call of Duty: Ghosts along with the reveal of the next Xbox. For now, you can check out five seconds of the game as a work in progress. A lot of what you'll see are wireframe models and a quick shot of the dev tools that are used to create a character. While not too much, it's there to whet your appetite for more but thankfully it's just a few days away. You can check out the Vine video here.

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. 
 

Rising Star Games has recently released a new batch of screens for their upcoming game BEYBLADE: Evolution for the Nintendo 3DS.  The game is being developed to take advantage of the 3DS's capabilities by letting players launch their in-game Beyblades by using the gyro and manipulating the viewing angle with the AR camera for precise control and adjustment.  The game will also have real-time multiplayer battles as well as a Story Mode where you can unlock new parts for your Beyblade and can fine tune them in the Bey Factory.

BEYBLADE: Evolution is expected to hit retailers this fall in two versions: a standalone version as well as a collector's edition in collaboration with Hasbro which will include an exclusive Wing Pegasus 90WF Beyblade toy previously unavailable outside of Japan.

ShootMania Storm has been out for a little over month and features a ton of ways for players to create their own content, but players will be getting even more ways to create their own content with the latest update. 

The game was updated this week and includes the following new features.

Character Skin Importer - Players can now create and play with their own customizable avatars which means that players can now create their own team uniforms. This also allows players to be able to place clan insignias on the uniforms or simply develop an original avatar. Players are only limited by their own imaginations.  

Object Importer - Players can create and import items and dynamic objects.

Additional Features 

• New features for scripts
• Additional controls for bots 
• New items and objects API and features
• The ability to use Mouse wheel to change actions or weapons
• New Storm blocks for map creation and decoration 

Additional information about the update can be found on the official forums.

Also be sure to check out their official Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.

Finally be sure to check out my review of the game.  [READ MORE]

Warner Bros. announced Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, a new title that fuses the charming world of Scribblenauts with the universe of iconic heroes such as Batman or Superman.

A new trailer presents some of the puzzles protagonist Maxwell will have to overcome during his travels through locations such as Gotham City, Metropolis and the Fortress of Solitude, as well as a character creation tool that combines villains with heroes alike. 

Check out the announcement trailer below, along with the first batch of screenshots.
 

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.

• Razer announces their Xbox 360 fighting stick called the Atrox 
• Tons of DLC coming to Injustice: Gods Among Us next week 
• Ride to Hell: Route 666 "Rockthrough" trailer 
• PS3 and PC gamers getting Black Ops 2 Uprising DLC today 
• New GRID 2 "World Series Racing 3: Asian - New Frontiers" trailer 
• Batman's awkward period is showcased in this Arkham Origins teaser 
• Pre-order The Night of the Rabbit on GOG.com and get the first Deponia game free 
• Now Loading: Audio Edition for 5/16/2013 
• Innex Inc and Retro-Bit is going wireless with your favorite classic consoles 
• Super Metroid now on Virtual Console for a mere 30 cents 
• DARK shows off more vampiric skills 
• New TMNT Out of the Shadows trailer featuring Raphael 

The amazing DLC for the amazing Injustice: Gods Among Us continues next week and you have the opportunity to download a plethora of content.

So for next week you can expect...

Batgirl - $4.99 or free if you have the seasons pass.

Luchador Bane - Free with the Batgirl compatibility pack.

Killing Joke Pack - $2.99. Three skins for The Joker based on the graphic novel "The Killing Joke." You get Tourist Joker, Final Confrontation Joker and Red Hood Joker.

Red Sons Pack - This was a free DLC add-on if you pre-ordered the game at Gamestop. If you didn't it will be available next week and includes skins for Superman, Solomon Grundy and Wonder Woman. No price has been announced yet. 

I will admit i'm not really a fan of DC Comics. Not that I dislike them, but its hard for me to find a starting point to start reading considering there are decades of content to have to go through. With that being said, I absolutely LOVE Injustice: Gods Among Us. I recently added Solomon Grundy and his brutal chain combos to my arsenal along with Green Arrow, Harley Quinn and Hawkgirl. I'll probably pick up Batgirl and see what she can do. 

 

PS3 and PC gamers unfortunately have to wait about a month before they get new Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 DLC, but today, they wait no longer as they get the "Uprising" DLC pack. 

The Uprising DLC pack includes four brand new maps for multiplayer and a new map for Zombies mode.

The maps include...

Magma – Set within a modern Japanese village, volcanic eruptions carve multiple paths throughout the town.
Encore – Taking place in the aftermath of a deserted London music festival, Encore leaves numerous opportunities for run-and-gun, close quarters combat.
Vertigo – A futuristic high-rise mega-structure located in India featuring dizzying vistas and multi-tiered pathways.
Studio – A contemporary re-imagining of “Firing Range,” the fan-favorite multiplayer map from the original Call of Duty: Black Ops.  “Studio” is a Hollywood movie back lot with a variety of cinematic themes that range from Sci-Fi to the Old West.

The map pack also includes "Mob Of The Dead" where four Prohibition-era mobsters (Ray Liotta, Michael Madsen, Chazz Palminteri and Joe Patoliano) attempt to escape the infamous Alcatraz. Needless to say it's probably easier said than done. 

The map pack will be free if you have the seasons pass. Otherwise it will be $14.99. 

Okay, well he doesn't look that awkward as he fends off a multitude of attacks while looking as boss as ever, but Batman: Arkham Origins is set during an earlier phase of his masked vigilante career so I'd imagine at some point we'll see him do something very un-Batman like or even something flat out stupid.  

Maybe he'll accidentally batarang himself in his "bat" area, or not save an old lady because he was playing Xbox or something.

That kind of stuff is not in this teaser trailer, however.  This teaser trailer shows him facing off against Deathstroke and looking like a proper Batman.  Keep an eye out for the full trailer on May 20.