After Disney shut down Lucas Arts we wondered what was next for any Star Wars games and this week we were slightly concerned to see they sold them to EA, so we've picked apart the possibilities in the news, features and the podcast. Elsewhere in the news we've got the usual rumours and quotes about  the next-gen consoles and a few new games were announced from The Sims and one of the founders of the FPS, Wolfenstein.

Jon jumped across the channel to Paris when we weren't looking to bring us multiple reports and interviews from Ubisoft's Watch Dogs, but helpfully penned a survival guide for Soul Sacrifice before he went. Find out about Matt's obsession with NBA2K13 and don't forget to watch our team playthrough video of the new Fuse demo too.

Our reviews include my concluding part of the Soul Sacrifice review for the Vita, which turned out much better than I expected thanks to some very enjoyable multiplayer. Sadly, I also finally got round to reviewing Activision's The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts. Matt reviewed the enjoyable top down stealth game, Monaco and Jon took a hairy bear-pawed swing at the space RTS, Star Drive.

Call of Duty: Ghosts was unveiled this week. Well, we say unveiled, there was a pap trailer and no gameplay elements were disclosed. But hey, we know it exists. Moving on. We were shown three new trailers for Grand Theft Auto V and while they lacked any actual gameplay, details were released to the press about how the three characters will play. Elsewhere in the news, Sega and Gearbox are getting sued over pulling the wool over our eyes with the balls-fest that was Aliens: Colonial Marines. I urge you to check out the Illumiroom video too, which could be a much needed boost to Microsoft's next console if it's bundled with it. Do it Microsoft.

In our reviews this week we've played the new Star Trek game, which manages to be bad, even for a movie tie-in. Thankfully Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is much better. Soul Sacrifice? Not quite sure yet, check out part 1 of my review. Strike Suit Infinity and Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen also get a verdict from us.

Our features include a look at dwindling enthusiasm for GTA V and a hands-on report of Company of Heroes 2. Jon compares video games to sandwiches in his pre-owned gaming article and another feature looks at how gaming parodies rarely hit the mark. Mind you, when was the last time you watched a decent movie parody?

Finally, a word from Microsoft this week as they made an announcement about their upcoming announcement! Other highlights in the news this week include a video on the PS4's new pad, the rest of THQ's licenses were sold off and a Ratchet & Clank movie was announced. We finished off our series of reviews around Defiance and also had some great times with Injustice: Gods Among Us and some rather awful times with the likes of Lords of Football and Dead Island: Riptide.

We got our hands on Ubisoft's download-only shooter Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, which makes most digital offerings look like offal. Painfully difficult yet addictive platformer Cloudberry Kingdom made us take out pad insurance and Divinity: Original Sin brings turned-based RPGs back after what seems like forever and Matt's been to try it. For links to all of the above and so much more join us after the jump.

We may have actually had a week without any Microsoft next-gen rumours for a change which is probably a good thing for them. Nintendo and the 3DS have won this week with a seriously impressive set of displays from the likes of a sequel to Zelda: A Link to the Past, new Donkey Kong and Yoshi titles and a new adventure from Mario and Luigi. In other news, Criterion said they're moving away from racing games, Bethesda reaffirmed support for single-player titles and FIFA 14 started to tease us with next season's tactics.

In the reviews, we finally got to play Lego City Undercover on the Wii U and Fire: Emblem Awakening on the 3DS, both of which made us even more impressed with Team Nintendo this week. It's so going to be worth buying a Wii U in a few years if they can make a few more like this. In the other reviews, Matt tries his hands at surgery, Carl takes a few early steps into Defiance and I play the hidden-object game Voodoo Chronicles, sure it's not action-packed, but I didn't have to shoot any rocks in the name of progress (hello Defiance!).

In the features department Jon played the Brave New World DLC for Civilization V and talked to the devs too. Matt showed us his surgery skills in a video and also penned a feature about why voice-over continuity is important. We have the usual selection of podcasts too talking about all the week's hottest news and releases. Finally, I throw gaming brands together whether they like it or not in my Sunday Seven feature, Most Wanted Gaming Crossovers.

We've been waiting for the new Batman game to be finally announced since greedily gobbling up Arkham City, but somehow there's an air of apprehension since Warner announced Batman: Arkham Origins. The concept sounds solid, but the piss-awful lazy title and development being taken from Rocksteady has raised a few eyebrows. Naturally, we've had another week of Microsoft saying absolutely nothing next-gen related while more damaging rumours run wild. It'd be funny if it was so sad.

A small selection of reviews were available this week, but with nothing scoring more than a 6. Evoland has the most interesting concept though as it goes through various retro styles as the game progresses. It could have been much better, but the idea is a solid one, make sure to check out Matt's review.

Ubisoft made our week though by finally unveiling Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Jon even got his hands on it for a preview. We also have a hands-on report and interview for the newly announced Flashback remake and we sat down for a chat with the developers of Payday 2. In the wake of all our old gaming haunts going through the administration grinder I took a look at what lies ahead for high street retail in the build up to the next generation of consoles and ask if they can survive in Games at Retail: Adapt or Die. Be sure to take a look at our fond look-back Day of the Tentacle feature, which has inspired me to raid the cupboard and dust off the original - then surely get furious as the PC refuses to play it.

Another bad week for Microsoft after their main studio's Creative Director tweeted that gamers should 'deal with it' regarding the controversial always-on rumours floating about. Disney shut down Lucas Arts, killing off the chances of Star Wars 1313 ever seeing the light of day, but in more encouraging news, HMV has been saved along with 2500 jobs.

In our reviews, we took care of Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2, a fun rental, but nothing more, whereas the latest Army of Two title should just be avoided full stop. The 3DS had a good week with solid performances from the downloadable rhythm game, Harmoknight and Code of Princess, the latter of which you should take a look at if you enjoyed Guardian Heroes.

Carl travelled to The Gadget Show Live expo this week to get his hands on Remember Me and Jon looked at Crytek's ambitious free-to-play FPS, Warface, which gets my vote for best-named game of the month. After Lucas Arts' demise, we had a fond look at our favourite games from the studio, none of them particularly recent it has to be said. Matt also tries to fathom why the hell the industry is developing a passion for communicating so poorly in the wake of Microsoft's shambles around the next Xbox.

Lots of coverage from the GDC (Game Developers Conference) event this week, with some gorgeous tech demos on display. We've got videos of the best the show had to offer and I emplore you to watch Activision's facial tech one, it's just stunning. Battlefield 4 was formerly announced, making the first move ahead of the next COD title. Metal Gear Solid V was also finally revealed and merged with The Phantom Pain in typically confusing-Kojima fashion.

Our review section is slim this week but with a defining release in the beautiful form of Bioshock Infinite it doesn't matter. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon impressed too. We're getting excited for the upcoming release of Defiance here at Dealspwn and Carl's been busy putting together playthrough videos so you can see the game in action. Jon got his hands on Sacred Citadel too before penning a feature on how EA and DICE can improve the Battlefield series, I just wish they'd go back to Bad Company. Anyway, I've got to get back to Elizabeth before Songbird swoops in again, the crafty winged git.

There have been more rumours about Microsoft's next-gen console this week, sadly none of them favourable. Elsewhere, EA's CEO stepped down, Bastion creators announced Transistor and some idiot developer stepped out of his hole just long enough to offend everyone in his industry. Well done, sir!

Our reviews section is pretty epic this week, with Naruto 3, SimCity, Gears of War: Judgment, Persona 4: The Golden, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Good thing Activision didn't send us The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts (we hear it's utter gash), it would have been way down our to do lists. We've been busy in features too with reports on the insanely hot Saints Row IV, the atmospheric Metro: Last Light, and features and podcasts looking at our favourite multiplayer maps of all time. I'll see you all next week, unless a certain game with a floating city brings on a mysterious illness that is. I can feel a cold coming *cough* -[we're not buying it Brendan - Ed].

It's been another busy news week for EA which means another week of SimCity not working properly, although it is getting better. Don't worry, for all of us not wanting to spend our free time working for a non-existent local council we can relish the craziness that Saints Row IV promises as it randomly turned up this week with a deranged look in its eye, a bulge in its pants and ramblings about the President taking on aliens. Hmmm, this or sorting traffic and arranging rubbish pick ups? Tough call.

Jon will be able to tell us more about the Saints' return next week. This week he's had a hands-on session with Dead Island: Riptide, Matt's played Divinity: Dragon Commander where lazy dragons get pimped out with jetpacks. There's also a preview and interview for Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons which is fast becoming one of the most interesting-looking titles to come to consoles on the digital marketplace. As it slowly becomes something approaching playable, Carl gives us his early impressions of SimCity and Chris winds back the clock 25 years to remember Chaos: Battle of the Wizards.

Just the two reviews for this week in the nod to Napoleon that is March of the Eagles and the ode to anger that is God of War: Ascension. It's all happening next week though with Sly 4, Gears of War: Judgment and some indie title called Bioshock: Infinite.

Here's your weekly dose of roundup links to all the big news, features and reviews  this week. Despite the obvious fact that demand was going to be huge, EA's servers collapsed instantly upon SimCity's release, meaning the week has been dominated by bad headlines for EA. So much so we've been talking about that more than a brand new Assassin's Creed game! Both feature in our podcasts though, along with a look at all the details in our written features. Reviews include the final DLC chapter for Mass Effect 3, Urban Trial Freestyle, Crysis 3 and a plucky young newcomer featuring some lass called, Lauren. Laura? Lara? Only kidding, check out Matt's review and survival guide for the highlight of 2013 so far, the fantastic Tomb Raider. A game so awesome, it inspired us to pen a love letter to all things Single Player for our 'Why We Love...' feature.

After last week's PS4 blowout, we've had a quiet week for the news. Cliffy B annoyed the internet by defending EA, Kingdom Hearts HD was finally confirmed for Europe and numerous trailers for Injustice: Gods Among Us rocketed the game up our 'must haves' list. We've got hands-on previews for the like of The Last of Us and Star Trek and there's also WildStar and Dreamfall Chapters interviews along with a Top 10 wishlist for the ever so quiet PS Vita. In the reviews you can get the lowdown on the colourful Bit.Trip. Runner 2, the not so colourful, The Bridge and the somewhere in the middle, Driftmoon.

Sony took the first real step in the next-gen console wars this week by announcing the PlayStation 4. We have links to all the important PS4 news stories below along with a supply of jaw-dropping video. Killzone: Shadow Fall and Watch Dogs should be top of your watch lists. We've been busy with our reviews too. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was everything we hoped it would be, while Aliens: Colonial Marines was a complete fucking disaster. In between these two we had some good times with the likes of Richard & Alice, Serious Sam: Double D XXXL, Ragnarok Odyssey (a Vita game!) and more. In our features Matt finally got his lucky mitts on Bioshock Infinite. We've also got more previews for Wildstar and Might & Magic Heroes Online. In the Pwncast we chat about Aliens and Carl interviews Red Thread Studios' lead designer, Martin Bruusgaard, about Dreamfall Chapters. Be sure to try out our drinking game while watching the replay of the PS4 meeting too, it's much easier when you don't start at midnight.

In the news we've seen Usisoft devs protest the delay of Rayman on the Wii U, potential first looks at the PS4 controller and the week ended with Bungie finally dropping some details about Destiny. Dead Space 3 heads up the reviews with a respectable score, while everything else got a royal shivving from our review team and those review don't even include the terrible Aliens: Colonial Marines (we've had to request new shivs). Features included Valentine's inspired pieces, podcasts, previews of Mars: War Logs and Silent Hunter Online and more. Click below for a handy selection of links for your viewing pleasure.

Well, there was a week Nintendo would like to forget. Ninja Gaiden and Rayman go multiplatform. Plus, Scribblenauts and even f**king Rayman get delayed. Beyond: Two Souls however, will at least see a release this year on PS3. Skyrim PS3 DLC finally gets dated, but it doesn't matter because everyone now wants The Witcher 3 instead.

Our reviews include Skulls of the Shogun on XBLA and a few games for the Vita in the shape of Orgarhythm and Dokuro. Features include Top Ten Hack n' Slashers, podcasts, an Anno Online hands-on preview, a video of the first 20 minutes of Dead Space 3 and my Sunday Seven article focuses on a few extra reveals we may see at Sony's upcoming presser in addition to the PlayStation 4.

This week's been a bit glum for Nintendo as they slashed their projections and Tomb Raider said it didn't want to play with them. In more uplifting news, a large number of Vigil employees were picked up by Crytek and I finally pre-ordered Bioshock Infinite - everyone's a winner. GTAV got delayed, but nobody thought it was going to make that original release date anyway. Ni No Kuni, The Cave and Strike Suit Zero dominated our reviews section, while our features have a heavy focus on JRPGs and I look back over a few franchises I'd like to see make a comeback.

The sad end of THQ became very real this week as their assets were sold off at auction. Many of our favourite titles will live to see another day, but it's sad all the same. In brighter news, we've seen Nintendo finally give themselves a boot up the arse and announce some decent games and even HMV looks like it will continue to survive.

Reviews include the latest EDF game for the PS Vita and Croixleur on the PC. Features include Matt's hands-on with the latest build of Tomb Raider, a wishlist for Halo 4 in 2013, various retro Mario Kart lookbacks, podcasts, a video of the first 20 minutes of The Cave, a look at where THQ's assets have gone and a fond look at some of the best THQ games on this generation of consoles.

A double blow for the games industry this week as both HMV and Blockbuster fell into administration. Things don't look good for either company, with potentially thousands of jobs on the line. With only Game left standing on the high street this could have particularly negative impacts on future console launches and pricing, as less competition means less competitive pricing. Unless Game finally start to compete with online prices, and given their overheads, they might fall once again. Other news has seen Deep Silver make utter tits of themselves with a dismembered torso collector's edition, Disney launch their counter-offensive against Skylanders and more rumours about the next-gen consoles.

Our reviews include a written and video review for DMC: Devil May Cry, PC oddity 10000000, the not at all creepy Seduce Me and Lumines: Electronic Symphony. Our features include a tips guide for DMC, a video of the first 30 minutes of Ni No Kuni, a look at seven steps to rebuild the PlayStation 4 controller and more.

Despite the world telling us that dedicated gaming handhelds are on the edge of extinction, the PC world seems to have gone a bit mental this week, drunkenly gatecrashing the market with two new handheld(ish) devices from Nvidea and Razor. One of them looks a bit cheap and the other one costs so much mulah it will only be sold in Harrods and tech stores where if you have to ask how much you clearly can't afford it. In other news, Dyson dude says young engineers just want stripper-time via games development (slight reinterpretation), 343 say sorry for nothing, Play.com says balls to your face to the UK tax office and Nintendo have a delayed eureka-moment and finally decide to bring the Pokemon universe to the 3DS.

As such, our features went a bit Pokemon crazy with a Blast From The Past dedicated to the Red & Blue games and a look of what we want from the new X & Y games. One podcast looks ahead to this year's releases while another and our Comment article look at all the new hardware news that emerged this week.

Our reviews cover Arkham City and the ridiculously pretty Trine 2: Director's Cut on the Wii U. There's also Drox Operative, which as a console gamer gives me a nosebleed every time I try and understand what the fuck it is. There's also Anarchy Reigns' long-awaited European release, which Jon rather enjoyed. All over its face.

We've still got plenty of news for you despite all the devs and publishers being on their Xmas holidays. Elite just about managed to reach its kickstarter target, Japan made its last PS2 and rumours persist that the PS4 will block pre-owned titles.

Our features have the remainder of the Game of the Year categories and you can still vote for your own choices, so check out those links. Our other features look back on 2012 and ahead to this year's games. Jon gives us the lowdown on the upcoming Ron Gilbert game, The Cave. There's also a feature about Miiverse, the Wii U's hidden weapon, another looks at 2012's hidden gems, while the final feature gives your our Top Seven Gaming New Year Resolutions.

We found a few extra reviews to bring you too. Apologies to anyone that's already bought the turdtacular Black Ops: Declassified on the Vita. Even Skylanders: Giants fares better. However, if you bought the excellent Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, give yourself a mighty pat on the back, you have the best kart-racer of 2012.

A Bioshock Infinite trailer dropped by this week trying to spoil the first few minutes of the game for us. We don't dare watch it, but we've posted a link if you do - apologies if it's just a video of keyboard cat. In more sombre news, THQ went into administration and looks like they will have to sell the rights to their existing and upcoming titles, although we're told this shouldn't affect development or staff jobs. All the same, it can't be easy there at the moment and we wish them all the best.

Elsewhere on the site, we've been reviewing Nintendoland on the Wii U, classic AM2 fighters that don't seem to have aged so well and PlayStation All-Stars, which won't be getting called Classic in ten years time at all and will have probably aged worse than the panel of Loose Women. Our features have been dominated with Game of the Year categories, including individual staff picks. Have a cracking Christmas everyone, and fingers crossed you get some belting games. Xmas hint: If you don't open the seals on your Wii U box you'll be able to take it back with a receipt.