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

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.

In addition to having a built-in fanny pack and stylin' orange fur, Crash Bandicoot">Crash Bandicoot has quite a lot going for him. For one, the latest Crash game, Crash Boom Bang, just got released in Japan last month, and those lucky Crash fans who already have the game are enjoying themselves silly.

For those who have yet to wait for the game to appear in their favorites stores, fret not, for we have right here a gameplay video of Crash Boom Bang just for your enjoyment. It's not the game itself, but hey, it might take your minds off the wait.

Enjoy folks!

Crash Bandicoot, orange-skinned mutant marsupial and proud owner of a built-in fanny pack, may be landing on the shores of the Nintendo Wii soon. Publisher Vivendi confirmed plans that they will be bringing the Crash Bandicoot franchise to the Wii in 2007, although details are still scarce at this time.

In other Crash news, Japan-based Dimps is currently developing the latest Crash Bandicoot game for the Nintendo DS. This is interesting, considering that Vivendi had earlier proclaimed Radical Entertainment as the franchise's "new home" with last year's release of Crash Tag Team Racing. Vivendi did confirm, however, that Radical is still an integral part of the equation for Crash's future in terms of home console releases, but that Dimps had been preferred for Crash Boom Bang! because of their expertise on handheld formats. This reasoning seems pretty sound, as Dimps has worked on most portable Sonic games for the Nintendo portables.

Crash Boom Bang! is the newest Crash Bandicoot game from Sierra Entertainment coming to the DS. It looks to be a Mario Party type party game as Crash and the gang compete in a collection of over 40 mini-games, as well as multiplayer communication over the wireless play that uses the touch screen and the microphone. The new Crash game is supposed to hit retail this October. Looks like the game will pretty fun, but hopefully it will have download play so people without the game can enjoy it with their friends. Go ahead and check out the thumbnails below to get a better idea of what is in store for you this October.

Crash Boom Bang! You can tell from its title alone this Nintendo DS game is no Brain Age. But it does sound like a load of rollicking fun. Due this October 13th, the game features Crash, Coco, Crunch, Neo Cortex and other characters competing in various minigames. Other attractions include 3D graphics and wireless communication, touchscreen and microphone usage.
  

Just a day after dropping "Universal" from its name, Vivendi Games is back in the headlines as it reveals its E3 games lineup. Vivendi is prepping up the debut of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon at next month's big trade show. While Crash Bandicoot will be exclusive to Nintendo DS, Spyro will breath fire on the Xbox, PS2, Gamecube, DS, and Game Boy Advance. Sorry folks, no PS3 and Revolution for now.

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning is a recap of the purple dragon's origin story. It will include flying levels as well as stronger focus on combat. Krome Studios will develop the game for the console and GBA versions, while the DS edition will be handled by Amaze Entertainment.

Bandicoot will debut on the DS with Crash Boom Bang! It features 40 mini games, wireless multiplayer, and a communication system that allows players conspire against each other midgame. This is Bandicoot's entry to the party-game genre. Players will also be able to bet on the outcome of the matches, earning points that can be traded in for 80 different  game-altering items.

But wait, the Vivendi lineup doesn't stop there.  Other games that will be feted at the Vivendi booth are as follows:

• PSP version of 50 Cent: Bulletproof
• Scarface
• Eragon
• PSP game based on the upcoming Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx film Miami Vice
• PC: World in Conflict, Caeser IV, Joint Task Force, Freestyle Street Basketball.
  

Rounding out the lineup is Vivendi's newest acquisition for the PC and Xbox 360, Timeshift, a First-Person Shooter game that gives players the gift of time manipulation.

Crash Bandicoot, ex-Nintendo Basher (remember those commercials?), is going to be coming through with a game that looks like a complete Mario Party knock-off. It will feature over 40 mini games that can be played with friends over the local wireless adhoc mode. You can communicate with friends to distract them, form alliances, or just plain taunt.

Crash: Boom Bang will feature a "Motion Panel Communicator" which you can use to send speech, sounds, or characters to do the aforementioned functions. The game will feature 3D graphics and wireless communication, touchscreen usage, and microphone usage have all been confirmed. You will also be able to bet on who will win the minigames, which adds a gambling element to the game. There will be up to 80 items in the game to collect and trade. Eight characters will be in the final game, four of which are Crash, Coco, Crunch, and Neo Cortex.

More info on this game as we get it.