Telltale Games' Mark Darin and Greg Land recently talked about the pros of porting games to the Wii and DS platform in an interview by Cubed3. With games like CSI: Hard Evidence (PC, Xbox 360, Wii, DS) and the Sam & Max series under their belt, they also talked about how the Wii and DS can rekindle interest in the old-school point-and-click adventure genre. You can read the interview with the Telltale Games designers in the full article.

Have you been good for this holiday season? Well, whether you were naughty or nice, Ubisoft has the game for you. Whether you're into assassins, solving murder cases or maybe even taking good care of your pets, Ubisoft is coming to town.

One of their most highly anticipated games for the season, Assassin's Creed, will be coming in this November for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, with the PC version coming in early next year. It won't be in time for Christmas, but maybe it'll make a deadly romantic Valentine's gift.

Beowulf (360, PS3, PSP, PC), the video game based on Robert Zemecki's new movie of the same name, will also be arriving this November, just in time for the movie. Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (PS3, 360, PC) has been delayed from its holiday release date and will instead be arriving next year. The Wii's Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 will be arriving this December though. Naruto: Rise of a Ninja for the Xbox 360 will be arriving this October.

So you'd better watch out, and you'd better not cry. You'd better not pout, and we'll tell you why. Gamers from all over get a game to play over the holidays from Ubisoft:

• Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII (PS3)
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Hard Evidence (360, Wii)
• Haze (PS3)
• Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East (PC)
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii, Nintendo DS)
• Petz (PS2, PC, Wii)
• Imagine (PC, DS)
• My Coach (DS, Wii)
• Cranium Kabookii (Wii)
• Chessmaster (Wii, PC)

So while Ubisoft may not know whether you're sleeping or whether you're awake, it has a great line up for everybody (young and old, naughty and nice) this holiday season.

Some sparks flew at the Royal Television Society's Cambridge Convention when Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said that TV is just as bad as the video game industry when it comes to violence. Michael Grade, Chairman of the British media company ITV, responded by saying that video games exist in a "moral vacuum."

Riccitiello was expressing his views during a presentation, citing violence in TV shows and films to prove that the violent content is just as bad as in video games. As examples he showed clips from shows like 24 and CSI and films like Kill Bill and 300 and compared them to Grand Theft Auto. He expressed how video games are "unfairly demonized" in the press.

He added that the two industries attract the same demographics but in distinctly different ways, saying: "With video games, I can be on the edge of my seat immersed in them, but TV is storytelling - I'm lying back and it comes to me." Grade of ITV countered Riccitiello, saying that video games are created in a "moral vacuum" compared to TV, which worked within the "framework of a dramatic narrative."

Ubisoft announces today that Xbox 360 and Wii owners, as well as those with a Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2, will be able to enjoy a new CSI video game this coming Fall 2007. The new game will be known as CSI: Hard Evidence and is being developed by Telltale Games. The PC version ships with the console versions.

Staying true to the CSI franchise, Hard Evidence continues on the crime-solving brand of experience the public has first come to love on TV. The game itself follows the story of Gil Grissom, Catherine Willows, and the rest of the Las Vegas crew in solving crimes with the help of sophisticated lab equipments and realistic techniques. Other features are:

• More Crime-Solving Action: Break down the evidence and bring suspects to justice in five all-new, bizarre crimes. Unravel longer cases, search bigger crime scenes, and uncover hidden evidence in unique locations like never before.
• Go Deeper into the Evidence: Master new forensic tools and find more evidence than ever. Use the new Garage Lab to examine large pieces of evidence like cars and trucks. Recreate gunfights with ballistic lasers, uncover shocking secrets with video analysis, and much more.
• The Ultimate CSI Experience: Experience your very own CSI episodes as you piece together clues with the real CSI actors. Take part in dramatic interrogations, create grisly crime reenactments, and explore atmospheric crime scenes inspired by the show.

There is still no mention how Wii players will be able to use the motion-sensing controllers but Ubisoft has mentioned that CSI: Hard Evidence has been made compatible to the Wiimote and Nunchuk. What we have below are screenshots from the Xbox 360 build and the trailer video for all versions.

See the game's video after the jump!

  

Here's a couple of interesting photos for you: We came across these lists supposedly procured by Advance Media Networks' Ray Almeda who allegedly got his hands on lists of DS and Wii releases headed to GameStop and EBGames. Check them out and see if you find anything interesting:

Headlining the Wii is the Resident Evil Wii Edition, The Simpsons: The Game and CSI 4: Hard Evidence. Also in the mix are The Bigs, Harvest Moon Wii and Golden Compass.

The DS also has some tingly titles headed its way here. There seems to be two Mega Man Star Force games coming, Assassin’s Creed (Confirmed), Simpsons: The Game, Golden Compass and a Wi-Fi Dynasty Warriors. Right now it's a little early to tell whether the list holds truth in it but we'll inform you as soon as we dig up more facts.

Remember that lovely high school girl who helped you through your last case in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney? Well, she's now back in Phoenix Wright 4 as your chemical specialist.

Ema Skye makes a comeback in this other Phoenix Wright title for the DS. She finally fulfills her dream to become a scientific investigator and now helps the new hero of the game solve his case.

According to Famitsu, Ema uses pinpoint accuracy, latest technologies, and appropriate scientific methods in trying to nail down the criminal. Not only is she an important part of the investigation, she also makes a crucial witness in the courtroom. She's your handy CSI girl.

This sassy character will even give you a chance to learn the tricks of the trade. She'll teach you how to conduct her style of investigation, which you might find useful in future cases.

The Famitsu update also gives us a little more about Phoenix Wright 4, the timeline of which happens seven years after Phoenix Wright 3. For your first case, you will be defending Phoenix Wright himself.

  

Check NDS by bong is one of those helpful homebrews that comes in really handy when your DS is acting up and you don't know whether to take it to the shop or just give it a kiss. Or pound it to smithereens with a hammer, then pour gasoline over every piece and torch the crushed handheld so that even CSI agents won't recognize it.

Anyway, put  that hammer and your arsonist kit aside for now, and use Check NDS instead to give it a quick medical exam. This homebrew app checks its screen, touchscreen, buttons, speaker and microphone via the following:

• A/B/X/Y: Test both speakers, change color
• Up / Down / Select: Switch screens
• Left / Right: Change color
• Touch screen: Shows stylus position, change color
• L: Test left speaker，change color
• R: Test right speaker，change color
  
• Start: Toggle microphone check
• Blow into microphone: Change color continuously

Hopefully, all your DS requires is a little bit more loving and maybe give it some rest.

Download: [Check NDS]

Fans of the PlayStation 2 game Simple Series vol. 70: The Kanshiki Kan can now get the ported Nintendo DS version called Simple DS Series Vol. 8 The Kanshiki Kan over at Liksang.

In the game, you are tasked to solve a number of mysteries by heading on to the crime scene to collect evidence and fingerprints, which are then handed off to an expert for further analysis. Your mission is to manage the body evidence and put together a correct picture of the crime. You go off on the wrong path and you're off the case. Think of it as Japan's version of CSI.

The game is in Japanese format and is available for $29.99.

 

First off, I am not a big fan of courtroom drama. And I do admit, I feel as if sitting through courtroom scenes in movies is just about as engrossing as watching a fresh coat of paint dry up on the wall. I've always found it boring. So what happens when a copy of Capcom's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney finds itself lodged in the court record of QJ blogger Gino's DS slot-1? Addiction, that's what. (Oh, and new video game character crushes, too)

Prior to actually getting to play the game, I always thought Phoenix Wright was a total joke. Lawyer-sim; who'd've thunk? Japan is known to come up with the silliest games anyway - with a certain few of those titles actually sending waves of interest in the market. This game is one of them, leaving throngs of gamers clamoring for more in its wake.

The object[ION!] of the game is simple: use your head. You play as the ace attorney himself, Phoenix Wright ("Nick" as some would fondly call him) and go through cases to prove your client "Not Guilty." Every case in the game (with exception to the first one, where you're shown the ropes of lawyer legalese and courtroom jargon), will start with investigation and will lead up to the the actual court scenes of witness testimonies and cross-examinations.

So, what is the verdict? We talk more about proverbial boxes, addictions and obsessions, pwnage by an oldbag, pop culture, frying pans, l33t sp3ak, and a certain Dick. Check out more of the evidence right behind the "Full Article" link!