Today is the beginning of the week and as the QJ staff struggle to fit through the office door after a long weekend you, our faithful readers and gamers get to come home to a wealth of releases this week. This week we can see some big titles coming to the PSP, Nintendo DS and the original Xbox, but as a slight disappointment to owners of Microsoft's next generation console there will be no Xbox 360 releases this week.

If you find yourself very bored with no new X360 releases this week you may just have to brave it and buy a portable game to satisfy your needs and with plenty of PSP and DS titles hitting the shelves this week you'll be spoilt for choice. Or maybe an Xbox title takes your fancy? Don't worry next generation console fans, with the Wii and the PS3 well on their way it won't be that long until we'll see three next generation consoles on this list! We'll stop teasing you now, here's the cross-console release list for week beginning Monday October 9.

Nintendo DS:
10/09/06 - Clubhouse Games
10/09/06 - Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
10/10/06 - Avatar: The Last Airbender
10/10/06 - Crash Boom Bang!
10/10/06 - Monster Bomber
10/10/06 - Scooby Doo! Who's Watching Who?
10/12/06 - Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long, Attack of the Dark Dragon

Sony PSP:
10/09/06 - Family Feud
10/09/06 - Mortal Kombat Unchained
10/10/06 - Avatar: The Last Airbender
10/10/06 - Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning

Xbox:
10/09/06 Mortal Kombat Armageddon
10/10/06 Avatar: The Last Airbender
10/10/06 Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning

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.

G'day, mates! Ol' St. Nicky will be coming around in a few short months, and if you're reading us from Oz, then we here at QJ will be glad to help you with your Chrissie wish lists! It's no big, as we say back here; we do this courtesy of your fellows over at PAL Gaming Network Australia who've compiled this list. After all, the Pacific should never be a barrier to people who share the passion for gaming.

All dates are subject to change if their respective game publishers decide to change them, though (it's happened before, right?). Stay tuned to QJ for any new updates to this list as we find them.

September 2006:
21: Starfox Command, Joytech Accessories
28: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team
30: Disney's Little Mermaid Ariel's Undersea Adventure, Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long, Age of Empires 2: The Age Of Kings

October 2006:
  5: FIFA 2007
19: Break'em All
22: Crazy Frog Racer
23: Top Gear Downforce
25: Tony Hawk Downhill Jam
26: Clubhouse Games, Mario Hoops 3 on 3, Ys Strategy, Surge Hive, New Zealand Story, The Sims 2: Pets
31: Lunar Knights, Eragon, Justice League Heroes, Tomb Raider: Legend, Arthur and the Minimoys, Bionicle: Heroes, Tom and Jerry Tales

November and onwards at the full article (click on the Full Article link below)!

For those who've read (the book) or seen (the movie) Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "42" is a very memorable number. For Nintendo DS owners, they just might find out how "42" will change their lives as well. Because that's the number of games that are sardined into Clubhouse Games by AGENDA.

Here's a full list the games that are said to be in the whole package:

Old Maid, Spit, I Doubt It, Sevens, Memory, Pig, Blackjack, Hearts, Rummy, Last Card, Last Card Plus, President, Five-card draw, Texas Hold 'Em, Nap, Spades, Contract Bridge, Seven Bridge, Hasami Shogi, Turncoat, Chinese Checkers, Checkers, Dots and Boxes, Backgammon, Chess, Connect Five (Gomoku), Shogi, Grid Attack, Koi-Koi (Hanafuda), Soda Shake, Word Balloon, Dominoes, Bowling, Darts, Billiards, Balance, Take Over, Solitaire, Escape, Mahjong Solitaire, Field Tactics and Ludo.

The Nintendo WiFi Network can allow a peer-to-peer connection of up to eight players, which is just enough for your entire "clubhouse" of friends to network with. The game also supports a chatting feature, so all of the trash-talking you might want to speak out to spice the game can be had.

   

On to the screenshots (click on the Full Article link below to see screens of the other games)!

Pack your DS with oodles of card, board and party games with Nintendo's Clubhouse Games. Play Solitaire, Old Maid and Texas Hold 'Em without fussing around with stacks of cards. Play Darts, Snooker, Chess and Backgammon while you're in the middle of the road. With a roster of 42 games, Clubhouse Games will certainly keep you busy for hours.

Clubhouse Games also enables you to challenge other people via Wi-Fi, and psyche out your opponents with the "Picto chat" function. With the user-friendly interface, it's surely going to keep both kids and adults entertained, minus the hassle of bringing cards and boards and what-not.

Clubhouse Games will be available on September 29, for £20 (around $38). While waiting for its release, enjoy this bunch of new screenshots to give you an idea how the game looks like.

So you've already been made aware that the up and coming Clubhouse Games will be released sometime at the end of this year. But for those who have not been keeping up to date, this game is a collection of card games and other casual entertainment for DS. The collection includes an impressive array (42 in all) of those classic games that we, at one point, have come to know and love.

With card games such as Memory, Black Jack, Hearts, President and Rummy, and board games like Chinese Checkers, Checkers, Dots and Boxes, even parlour/variety games (ie. Soda Shake, Dominoes, Darts, Billiards), Clubhouse Games is sure to appeal to your appetite for challenging entertainment. What's even more exciting about this title is that you can play against up to seven opponents across Europe and in the US via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection! Of course, Single Player games such as Solitaire, Escape and Mahjong Solitaire are also included for those who would want to play alone.

Included in its features are rules that can be easily accessed at a push of a button. The various difficulty levels are there to provide experts added challenge. And all games are easy to play with touch screen and stylus control.

So, keep your eyes peeled for more updates about this highly-anticipated newbie from Nintendo. In the meantime, here are some of the more recent screenshots of Clubhouse Games (DS).

With Clubhouse Games you can play more than 20 classic board, card and party games alone or with friends on the Nintendo DS. With familiar favorites like checkers, darts and poker, Clubhouse Games will appeal to everyone from kids to adults. Video game newcomers will appreciate the easy-to-use interface, while card game novices will appreciate each game's rules section. Players can challenge up to seven friends with one game card via Multi-Card Play or DS Download Play. Can't play checkers without shouting "KING ME!" across the table? The in-game (PictoChat-like) feature takes table talk to a new level. The game should be coming out sometime before the end of the year, but until then go ahead and check out a few of the screenshots by clicking on the thumbnails below.