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.

The year's next batch of releases are here, and from the looks of it, games are picking up. Unlike last time, a good chunk of new titles for Nintendo's platforms compose this week's list. PC gamers fret not, because a few including a next-gen train simulator is heading to their gaming machine. Oh, and there's something for PSP owners too. You'll have to head over to the full article to find out what will be in stores.

So Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is appearing on all the major consoles - even the DS - but a PSP version is conspicuously absent. What happened you ask? Nothing major: TT Games just doesn't have the resources for it.

Head over to the full article for more details on the game's DS version straight from Jonathan Smith himself, head of TT Games. He talks about the games features and other things you can look forward to.

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!

The last time we heard from Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, we were promised that we'll actually be able to play through the entire space opera in cute Lego form - from Anakin's beginnings as a Padawan to the destruction of the Empire (and Ewok-related festivities). We've seen the screenshots, we've busted our sides laughing at the trailer, and now, from E3, is a gameplay video of the multiplatform title Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga that shows clips from all the chapters in Star Wars.

One thing's for sure - despite the cuteness of Lego, the scale of the game is amazing. The lightsaber action is fast and furious, the animations smooth and crisp - and the environments convincing and spectacular. There's some very fun-looking ship-piloting action on the side, too. Greatest point of the video: playing as Darth Vader and force-choking that accursed Jar Jar Binks into submission. OH YEAH!

Enough spoilers from us, enjoy the video!

Lucas Arts gives us a breath of fresh air - as well as some much-needed hilarity in an industry saturated with mature, story-driven titles - with the latest trailer of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, slated for a Fall release. Offering players the chance to rebuild the adventure of the timeless space opera, the latest entry in the surprisingly-popular series encompasses all six chapters of Star Wars, from the Phantom Menace to the Return of the Jedi. It's also to note that no one will be left out in the experience, with the game being published on all next-gen consoles, along with the Nintendo DS.

Check out the video, as it's just too funny to pass up on. Oh, and watch for the game's rendition of the infamous 'Who's your Daddy' scene - comedy gold!

LucasArts and Telltale Games announced today that they are collaborating once more to come up with a new installment to the LEGO Star Wars video game franchise. The new game will be called LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and will be released Fall 2007 on platforms PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and DS.

Well, the game is not new in the traditional sense. The movie series' Episode 1 to 6 used to be divided into LEGO Star Wars I and II. LucasArts mentioned that this is not a simple re-compilation as it also includes new characters and features as well as revamped levels. TT Games Director Tom Stone commented,

LucasArts was an amazing partner on LEGO Star Wars II, and working with them on The Complete Saga continues to be a great experience. We're also thrilled to be focusing on next-generation consoles and creating content that plays to the strength of each system.

Speaking of which, the 360 and PS3 versions will both have online capabilities that will allow cooperative two-player, drop-in and drop-out gameplay. The DS and Wii versions, on the other hand, will be focused on the platforms' unique control schemes. All versions will feature 36 Story Mode levels.

Lastly, Telltale mentioned that the Prequel Trilogy characters can now be mixed and matched with those from the Original Trilogy. That means we will finally be seeing the ultimate chick from the mother-daughter tandem of Princess Leia and Amidala, albeit in Lego form.

Straight from the guys who brought you Season 1 of Sam & Max's adventures, senior designer Dave Grossman and CEO Dan Connors revealed in an interview with 4 Color Rebellion that the Season 1 finale episode will most definitely end the entire season. The final word is "no cliffhanger." Period.

 

So no worries about the first season should crop up over to the next, because for sure TellTale Games are probably at work on the next season's first episodes.  But Connors left us speculators a little note, full of hugs and kisses, saying, "We have a few things in the works, but nothing we’re ready to talk about just yet. Sometimes it’s fun to go online and see what the internet says we’re working on." Note to self: do not speculate TellTale games in the works...

It's sure now, however, that TellTale Games is targeting the consoles for their games, as their episodic, online digital distribution scheme seems to fit right into the Xbox Live and Virtual Console mechanics. Yep, you heard it right: not only could the games come on the Xbox 360, but also on the Wii. Could it be safe to say that the PlayStation 3 could get a port, too? Yes, but not just yet.

Connors revealed that they are still at work for getting their games onto the console platforms, explicitly stating, "Each of the consoles brings something a little different to the table. Since our tools are for the PC, the first step is porting our tools over to the consoles, which is something we’re working on."

And boy, you can't even begin to imagine the ideas they have in the works. For the Wii especially, TellTale Games are trying to bring out the best control scheme they can from the Wiimote. Banking on the Wiimote's versatility as a controller, Connors had this to say:

I had this great idea where you strap the controllers to your legs and walk around. Which we’re not doing, unfortunately, but we are doing more than just using the pointer like a mouse. That would be a waste of an opportunity. Designing for the Wii is pretty interesting, by the way – it forces you to think in a different way than you’re used to.

A DS version may not come out anytime soon, since TellTale Games isn't at work on a tool for porting their PC title to the DS. But they are eyeing Deck13's own DS port of their PC title Ankh, and they're interested how it all turns out. Sam & Max on the DS? That's a keeper.

Just a little reminder to all you PAX-goers out there who happened to "have a life" and forgot all about the registration: early-birds must sign up for a three-day pass on or before Saturday, March 31, 2007 before they hike the registration fee back to US$ 45, while those who register at the event itself will have to pay US$ 30 per ticket per day. So it's better to have saved some bucks to ensure you've got a great deal for a wicked time at the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo.

The three day affair will begin at August 24, and should be situated down at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle, Washington. That's over 200,000 square feet of leg room! Just about enough space for gaming related tournaments, concerts, contests, booth demonstrations of coming games and a swimming pool. To qualify for the Omegathon tourneys, you've got to be a pre-registrant.

Straight from a press release, Penny Arcade claims that tickets are selling twice as fast than last year (which had over 20,000 gamers attend), so you'd better use four hands for typing and two for mousing around at the Penny Arcade Expo site. And nerds can bob their heads to the music from The OneUps, MC Frontalot, Jonathan Coulton, Freezepop, The Neskimos and Optimus Rhyme.

Remember, every type of gamer is invited, even if you just rap on tables and play musical beat games. So even if you can't relate to the more than 50 companies slated to appear on the floor at PAX 2007, you're still welcome, unless you've come to balk at Penny Arcade like one soul we-could-probably-name-but-we-aren't-going-to.

Expect Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts/Mythic, Sabertooth Games, Telltale Games, the Behemoth, Namco-Bandai, Upper Deck, Wizkids, ArenaNet, Harmonix, and Rockstar Games to show up. And if you miss out on the March 31 deadline, make sure you do pre-register from April 1 to August 1, or else Tyco and Gabe will draw silly caricatures of you and make weird faces...and deny you access to the three-day long Omegathon tournament!

We've got a hot heads-up for the guys with an inkling (and a pass) to go to next year's Game Developers Conference. We've just gotten an event update that Llamasoft's Jeff 'Yak' Minter will be delivering the keynote address at the Independent Games Summit. Xbox 360 dudes will remember Xbox 360's Neon light synthesizer

Aside from Jeff, it's also been reported that guys from several other bigwig studios will be making their statements at the Summit. Curious about the current list? Read 'em and weep: Valve, Telltale Games, Introversion, NinjaBee and Gamelab are in the current roster, with other studios expected to make their presence known in this two-day event.

"For the past eight years, the Independent Games Festival has been, like the indie film movement, a source of true daring and a jumping board for reinvigorating large-scale commercial development." said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the GDC.

The Independent Games Summit is just one of several other segments within the GDC, which is expected to kick off March 5 to 6 next year, at  San Francisco's Moscone Convention Centre.