Electronic Arts is cooking up another new venture, and this time they've enlisted the help of TV company Endemol to develop Virtual Me, a new digital entertainment concept that "bridges the divide between traditional TV and videogames."

This online offering will let users create their own avatars - or "astonishingly lifelike cyber-clones," according to a press statement - which they can use to meet, compete, and socialize with other gamers. Users can also join virtual versions of Endemol's TV series such as Deal or No Deal and Fear Factor using their avatars.

"With Virtual Me we are at the forefront of a new, hybrid form of entertainment that takes gaming beyond the console," said EA International boss Gerhard Florin. "Endemol is a great partner to help us bring together the best of TV and video games for an offering that can appeal to mass market audiences and change the face of entertainment."

Virtual Me is slated to debut alongside the new Big Brother series which is coming to British TV screens this summer. A website is also in the works.

Been havin' fun with Robert Durbin's Deal or No Deal brew for the DS, haven't you? So have we! But we gotta admit, the experience has been a bit bland because the previous version lacked sounds that could've added that extra heart-pounding element to the gameplay.

So imagine our joy when news reached our ears that Durbin has updated his brew to include game sounds! And not only that, he's thrown in quite a few other changes for this release also like D-pad support, better graphics, etc. Here's the full list:

Changelog:

• added sounds
• added D-pad support
• fixed minor and major bugs
• cleaned up the code and redone briefcase graphics
• better animation for the briefcases
  

With these pretty major updates in the game, we're sure we can only expect better releases and versions from hereon. Included in his to-do list is to add an Internet highscore table with stats as well as a personal one, more sounds with the case number and amount being voiced out, and ability to change the case prizes (could be a car, etc.) or money values. Definitely interesting ideas which will hopefully be executed well. So while we wait for that, why don't you...

Download: [Deal or No Deal DS (with sounds)]

Robert Durbin just loves making DS homebrew games based on TV game shows. Remember Deal or No Deal DS? Yep, that one's based on the Endemol-produced show. This time, the guy presents us with his third game and it's based on yet another TV game show.

Just like the show with the same title, Card Sharks will have you betting on whether the next card will be higher or lower. As this is a betting game, your goal, of course, is to get as much money as possible. Bets can come in a minimum amount of US$ 50 for all other rounds, but the final round's minimum bet must be at least equal to half of your money.

Durbin says, "A perfect score would be 32,000 if you bet it all on each choice. This includes the $400 bonus. If you bet all your money and lose after the 1st line, you lose."

An Internet highscore table may be in the horizon, only if you guys show enough interest in it. So let Robert Durbin know if you do want to see that (and other features) in the next release.

The download link's below. You know the drill. Enjoy!

Download: [Card Sharks]

Deal or No Deal DS">Robert Durbin has released a bug-free version of his Deal or No Deal homebrew game for the DS. I'm sure you've already seen the TV show, and this game is exactly the same.

First you choose one of the 26 cases as "your" case, and then you start to eliminate other cases on the board. Periodically a banker offers to give you money in exchange for your case, and your mission if you choose to accept it is to get the best deal for yourself by either saying "deal" to the banker and accepting one of his offers or continue to the end where you can choose whether to keep your case or trade for the other one.

The game also keeps track of your previous deals, so you can see just how well you've been doing. It's a pretty basic game, but just like the TV show, it can be quite difficult to beat the banker and get a good deal for yourself. Robert ran into a few bugs in earlier releases, including crashes, the game allowing multiple cases to be selected and so forth, but all of them have been fixed now so it should run perfectly. Just one rather simple question remains...download or no download?

Download: [Deal or No Deal]