Last time, we reported on how Aaron Ruby, book author and writer for Next Generation, was disappointed with the ESRB System. He now gives his personal suggestions on how the system could be more effective to the buying public and less controlled by the people in the U.S. Gov.

1. Make the rating systems transparent, clear, and more in tune with the kind of media it is assigned to rate. In the article, he suggests that there should be a simpler rating system instead of having 5 categories of violence. He's suggesting one with increasingly restrictive ratings.

2. Gameplay oriented rating methods. Last time, playing games before reviewing was presented as a viable suggestion, but some naysayers mentioned that going though WOW and EQII was impossible. Aaron recommends that the raters be allowed to access any part of the game under any kind of level. Cheat codes, level skipping, etc. would be useful under these circumstances.

3. Add technology to new-gen consoles/PCs that can restrict certain rated games from playing. The writer also complains that the three major next-gen consoles have not installed this parental control technology on their platform. He advices that the three giants focus more on cultural wars.

4. Institute a system of online privacy seals. Rather than just rate particular websites, the board should find a way to indicate games with online components to be privacy safe. This means that with all the hackers these days, most people can obtain personal info or can monitor online activity without your knowledge.

He ends his article by saying this: "To some a project like this may seem like rocket science, but in an industry chock full of rocket scientists, this is should hardly be an obstacle." Well, do you think all of his suggestions are feasible or is he just aiming for something unreachable? Do you have other recommendations? You can discuss it here by commenting below.

We mentioned a few hours ago that Clubhouse Games for the Nintendo DS will be coming out October 9th. Well, looks like someone got a head start and did a video preview of the game. Although, according to Jonah, they call this 42 All-time Classics (we think this is the European version of the same game).

We just can't say how much we'd like to play through all 42 games! Although, from what we gathered from the footage, some games (the cool ones) need to be unlocked by accomplishing other games in the Stamp level. If you want a complete list of the available games you can check out one of our previous articles. As was mentioned before, it has chatting features so you can trash-talk after the game or bluff while playing Poker. In the meantime, grab and put on your headphones and click on the Play button below.

The holidays are fast approaching. And since Christmas is geared primarily to the young 'uns (and kids at heart), game developers are lining up all the kiddie-related titles as early as October. At least parents and their kids will have a healthy choice of wholesome games to play during the holiday vacations.

Here are the games coming out October 9 (hey that's tomorrow!):

Avatar: The Last Airbender - from Nickelodeon's cartoon with the same name. Play as Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, and save the world from the evil Fire Nation. For those children who are so into the whole martial arts scene... Ki-ya!

Crash Boom Bang! - orangey-furred Crash and the weird gang are back! It's not just a screen scroller, it's also got tons of mini-games to choose from. Expect endless hours of fun. This is also for the peculiar kids who like kicking crates.

Monster Bomber - for the first time, kids don't have to flick boogers at each other for fun! In this game, the players are expected to fling colored balls to the upper screen. Once the right colored ball hits a particular monster, boom! It disappears. It looks like a high paced-game. Recommended for kids who ate too much candy last night.

Scooby-Doo! Who's Watching Who? - We are! The big brown dog and the gang of misfits enter the DS with another adventure. The bad guys won't win because of those pesky kids.

Clubhouse Games - The only game targeting the adult audience. Forty-two games in one. Need we say more? Yeah...a chat feature. A game to play while the kids are sleeping or playing one of the games above.

For those about to read this article, please note that we are translating this via babelfish. If there is any misunderstanding or misquoting, we offer our apologies. If there's none, this has got to be one of the weirder DS games yet.

We like brainy games. We've covered quite a lot of gems like Big Brain Academy, Brain Age, and Mind Quiz. They're all great because it tests people on Intelligence Quotient (IQ), but what about a program that tests common sense?

When we first covered Common Sense Training, we found it weird. Now, we think they've gone overboard and landed in the world of the really-way-out-there type of queerness. You want proof? There's a part of the game where you "diagnose the sensible power of prayer." We even see a screenshot with two people about to get married and some options in the seating arrangement. With all these bizarre questions, there is a silver lining among the clouds.

A rough diamond? Although it's main selling point is testing common sense, there seems to be some part of the game where it deals with proper manners and appreciation, for example dining etiquette and the arts. Another nice thing about it is that you can play with 4 DS owners using just one game cartridge. Spread the freaky game!

This game will be out in Japan by October. We're hoping for a proper English version if it ever arrives on foreign soil. Sometimes, we just need odd things to make us appreciate the normal ones more. Screenshots here!

More screens after the jump!

The Rubik's Cube was a big hit in the 1980s. We figured then that it was just a toy to confuse kids like us into submission. By the end of playing the darned thing, we'd be zombies and open to any suggestion like cleaning up the bedroom or eating our veggies.

A couple of decades later, even with the advent of multiple game consoles, handhelds, online games, and arcade joints, it has survived to this day. Proof? There's a global association where the members are known for beating the cube in less than a minute, a robot tried it out, and someone even did a pimped up version. There were also some games in various platforms in the past. Now, it's coming to the Nintendo DS.

Nothing has changed, it's still confusing many of us. As you can see in the screenshot, you'll be timed (great, just what we need: time pressure). The percentage on top shows how you're doing so far. To break the monotony, there will also be some mini-games included.

Now that we're a bit older and wiser, we're still a bit wary about playing this game. We remember the frustration, confusion, and trauma this brought. Although, we do have to admit, it has a charm all on its own. Time to pick it up and try to solve it again.

The game will be available for download for the DS around the holidays. No price stated yet. Looks like it's only available in Japan as the article states that the game was "supervised" by the Japanese Rubik Cube Association. Let's hope they open up to other countries as well.

The other day, Vicarious Vision sent out an email to the Sk8land community about their upcoming game, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. What's in it? News on something a lot of DS gamers have been clamoring more of. Read on, friends...

The Tony Hawk franchise is known for its fresh, gravity-defying games, but this time they'll be doing something of a first for the Nintendo DS: In-game voice chat. Imagine you can spend the whole afternoon either shouting props to your friends for getting the Backslide Lipslide or the Ollie Fakie or smack talk on how they missed the Frontside 180 Powerslide or the Nollie Frontside Pop-shove-it. No official news yet on how this will be implemented, although some rumors are saying that friend codes may be required for chatting. So what else will you be expecting come October 25?

Besides the feature mentioned, there's more to this game than you can shake a stick at. The game will have 50 graffiti and skate decks courtesy of Sk8land's best artists, an option to create custom clothing & skate decks, and global score rankings. Looks like the game may be starting something new on the DS. Let's see whether this will take the game downhill or uphill.

Pre-Order: [Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (DS)]

The Nintendo DS can almost be whatever you need it to be. It can be a handheld game device, a simple organizer, an image viewer, an MP3 player, and an internet navigator. As with games, there are a lot of them out there competing for your attention. Which one you choose depends on your taste. So are homebrew applications, they're all over the place if you know where to search for them. You just need the right info & tools and you're set to go.

One of the uses the NDS-user can benefit from is the internet browsing capability. As was mentioned before, Opera for the DS is now available in Japan, and slated for worldwide release in a couple of months. However, there are also people out there who want to give internet connection to those who can't or won't buy the Opera program.

Pedro J. Estébanez is in the process of developing a free NDS web browser, called Okiwi. He's got great plans for the program: pdf support, JavaScript, file uploading, and others. Currently he's trying to implement floating boxes and then he'll be off to doing the tables. Slowly as it goes.

Options make situations more flexible and creative. Whether you wait for the Okiwi to bloom into a flower or go for the DS Opera browser is up to you. In the end you, the consumer, win.

"Little things kill..." someone once sang. It means that we shouldn't take small details for granted because it's what makes big things better; sweating the small stuff does work. Most homebrew developers are a perfectionist lot--one small flaw can make or break a program. Such is the case with Mollusk's new PAlib BETA version; it may have a lot of minute changes but that's what makes this one exceptional.

For example, according to one program user, he noticed a significant change in his test background conversion, it was 20 times quicker from the last version! In short, homebrew game development gets faster and more efficient with this particular update. We'll be waiting for more versions, minuscule or not, from the great Mollusk.

For those new to PAlib, it's an extraordinary program that allows one to create a homebrew game or application like the Mario DS-Game & Watch, Breakout DS and Squash DS. After seeing these homebrews, doesn't it make you want to download this program?

Download: [PAlib ver as of 9.30.06]

The full changelog awaits after the jump!

With the advent of WiFi and Bluetooth technology, some people sometimes forget about the original wireless tech - infrared. Without it, we'd still be walking to and from the TV set everytime we needed to change the channels. Well, Mark Doggen did remember and he's making it useful within the Cellphone and Nintendo DS arena. It's called the InfrareDS.

It's an Infrared (IrDA) function to the NDS. You can exchange data between IrDA devices (like cellphones and PDAs) and the NDS and vice versa via an infrared diode. No need to go through the MMC to get your data (pictures among many other stuff) across. It used to be that the program can only run on the DS Phat, however with the arrival of the G6 Lite Card, the DS Lite can do it too. So far, we've only scratched the surface of its uses for the NDS-kind.

We've covered it before, but last time he was only 60% done. What's he up to now? Where is he in the project? Read on to find out.

From what we can see from his Progress Bar page, he's on his way to a full program. So far, he has completed the Infrared beam capability, but still lacking in the graphical interface and touchscreen compatibility area. Well, you know what they say about eating elephants - you consume them piece by piece.

Compatibility issues. Unfortunately, not all mobilephones will be able to be capable of connecting with the NDS. For those interested, Mark has confirmed the following mobilephones to be compatible with his program: Sony Ericsson T310, Panasonic X60, Sony Ericsson K750i, and Nokia 8850. Currently, he's checking if the Siemens C65 can work with the NDS.

Congratulations, Mark! And with all that aptly stated, we here at the QJ labs would like to thank Badam for the tip.

Touch Detective touched a nerve. First time we saw this girl, we have to say she gave us the creeps. With those round, large, black eyes unceasingly staring, she reminds us of those Japanese horror movies where the ghost would just stare at the audience for a long time. Well, she seems to grow on a lot of people, including most of the QJ staff, hopefully she'll have the same effect on the others. Besides a creeped-out feeling, we sense that we've played something like this before.

The game reminds us of old Commodore 64 RPGs where the hero has to go through different places, get some items from the background, and put it together to create something new or use it in a particular event. They were called Point and Click games - point your arrow on the item or person, do a right mouse button click, and the character picks it up, or interacts with whoever it was clicked. Games like those were nice in the beginning but tends to get stale in the end.

This one has good Cartoon Network-like graphics, average game audio, and a funny yet mysterious script. The only thing we noticed was that there were times that the top screen was showing some info while there was something else happening in the second screen (maybe we just need to get used to it?). How'd we get all this info? From some videos of course.

Last time we showed you the game's box art and a lot of screenshots. This time we're offering you not one, nor two, but four in-game videos. Yeah! This will definitely give us a much better preview of the game, eh? Will this be as successful in the US as it was in Japan? We'll see in October once it ships out to our shores.

Download: [Touch Detective In-game Video]
Download: [Touch Detective In-game Video 2]
Download: [Touch Detective In-game Video 3]
Download: [Touch Detective In-game Video 4]