The Office game announced. Sigh.

MumboJumbo has just announced that it will soon be starting work on a game based on the smash hit UK comedy (and its US clone), The Office.

The Office, written by Steve Merchant and Ricky Gervais, will be made and published exclusively by MumboJumbo on the PC, PSP and DS and will be available for online download later this year.

MumboJumbo, a maker of 'premium casual games', was in the headlines a few months ago after it bought up the remains of Ritual and essentially spelled the end to any further episodes of SiN. Since then, the Ritual team has been refocused on making casual games.

The press release tells you all you need to know:

"MumboJumbo is an innovator in the casual games space, and developing a game with them that combines the quirky characters and humour of the show with a proven, addictive game mechanic we think will be welcomed by fans and casual game players alike."

So, without meaning to form pre-emptive opinions, it frankly doesn't sound like it's going to be any good then, does it?

There's no mention thus far of what involvement Gervais and Merchant have with the game, so we'll assume that they have none and, going by the press release, we'll be looking at a series of mini-games based very loosely on scenes from the show.

Still, there's always the chance that the game will successfully recapture the show's themes and style, without merely repeating catchphrases and a scenes word-for-word, but such game tie-ins are very rare.

Think we're getting ahead of ourselves, or do you share our opinions? Love casual games, or think they spell the death of quality releases? Let us know your answers in the forums.