The United Nations is no stranger to accusations of political impotence, but have things got so bad that the iconic Master Chief is being drafted in?

In a news report last week about Amnesty International’s call for intervention from the United Nations Security Council in Syria, the BBC used a logo for the United Nations Space Command – as featured in the Halo series.

Indeed, search for ‘united nations security council logo’ in Google and you get mostly correct results – apart from a solitary UNSC Halo image. Which was presumably snapped up by editors.

Unless, of course, that the BBC was deliberately calling for more radical intervention. Indeed, the Chief is certainly a man “who gets the job done”.

Once he’s sorted Syria let’s get him working on the global economic slump, shall we? And then appoint him as the new Liverpool manager.

On a serious note, Syria is currently engulfed in an ongoing conflict that politicians have warned may descend into civil war. An incident described as "an uprising" late last week in the town of Houla claimed at least 108 lives - almost half of which are believed to be children.

The United Nations is now coming under increasing pressure to make a meaningful intervention.

Retail listings posted today seem to name two of Ubisoft’s secretive upcoming game line-up.

As reported by CVG, a (now removed) listing on GAME.co.uk named Ghost Recon: Final Mission as being due out on some time in ‘2012’. It said the game had an 18 BBFC certificate and could be pre-ordered for £34.99.

In addition, Zavvi has posted a listing Assassin’s Creed III as coming to the handheld. We knew that an AC game was in the works for the machine, but this is the first time that it has been named as ACIII.

Ubisoft has told MCV that it does not comment on rumour or speculation.

Gamers are now able to check the trade-in credit offered to specific titles before heading to GAME by checking on the chain’s website.

The new Online Price Checker requires that you input the barcode from any given title – which is fine if you have a copy in front of you, but less convenient if you’re trying to search by title.

It allows you to enter multiple titles in one session, giving you a grand total for the lot.

In addition, GAME is currently offering an additional 25 per cent on all titles handed over for credit.

Games still have to be traded-in in-store and cannot yet be exchanged by post.

Capcom has confirmed a June 27^th release for Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection on PSN.

The download contains former Wii titles Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and The Darkside Chronicles and will cost £21.99.

Both have been spruced up with HD graphics, both PlayStation Move and joypad support as well as Trophy integration. There is also the addition of some new game content.

Those not wanting to fork out for both titles will be able to purchase each individually for £11.99.

Jagex is closing its MMO 8Realms after little more than a year since the game's closed beta was released.

Develop understands that as a result of the closure, a number of Jagex staff are to lose their jobs, while others will have their positions moved within the company.

"During the 8Realms beta it has become clear that the game doesn’t meet our high expectations for success and we are therefore channelling our focus on other exciting opportunities in the pipeline.”

A source has told Develop that 8Realms only managed to attract ten per cent of the user figures needed to turn a profit.

UK studio Jagex made a name for itself – and has met with ongoing success – with its popular RuneScape MMO.

Story originally published on Develop

David Scammell has joined VideoGamer.com as staff writer.

He leaves GamerZines where he was working as senior staff writer.

“Dave will be a great addition to the editorial team at VideoGamer.com, and we're really excited about what he'll bring to the site,” editor Tom Orry stated.

“During his time at GamerZines Dave proved to have a real eye for news editorial – this combined with his passion (and massive Gamerscore) makes him a great match for the site and our forthcoming plans”.

The news follows confirmation last week that UK journalist Lauren Wainwright is joining MCV in July as staff writer.

It may have been delayed until next year, but that doesn’t mean the hype train building behind the new Tomb Raider is going to die down.

On the contrary, Square Enix has released a short teaser trailer for the game ahead of the release of a more detailed look at the title later this week.

In the video we see a rather sorry looking Lara Croft facing a bitter fight against the elements. There’s also a “climb up an vehicle hanging precariously on a cliff” section that is more than a little reminiscent of a certain Nathan Drake’s adventures.

Here’s the video:

Grand Theft Auto V will sell more during its launch week than predecessor GTA IV sold in its first year, if analyst firm Sterne Agee is correct.

Arvind Bhatia predicts in a note to investors that at launch the game will sell a colossal 14m copies.

To do so it would have to fly in the face of current market trends, which are currently suffering a huge slump with most metrics heavily down year-on-year.

GTA IV, which let’s not forget is one of most successful games of all time, released in 2008 and sold 13m copies in its first year. In GTA V’s favour, of course, the user base of both Xbox 360 and PS3 is far higher now than it was in 2008.

If correct, these sales would represent around $700m in revenue for Rockstar, which recently predicted FY13 revenues of up to $1.85bn – more or less confirming a release for GTA V before the end of March 2013.

LucasArts will reveal a brand new game based in the Star Wars universe on May 31^st, it has confirmed.

The mystery title will be debuted on Spike TV’s pre-E3 episode, which airs on Thursday. Further details, including the first gameplay footage, will then be revealed at E3 itself.

The most recent releases in the Star Wars saga were Microsoft’s Kinect Star Wars and EA’s Star Wars: The Old Republic – neither of which were published by LucasArts itself.

Fan will likely be clamouring for something from the original film trilogy, though it’s more likely that LucasArts will choose to focus on The Clone Wars, which is currently popular with the children’s market.

Gem Logistics has secured a three-year contact with Ubisoft as its primary distribution partner.

The company has been working with Ubisoft for seven years already, and has supplied games such as Just Dance, Assassin's Creed and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier to retail.

A statement read: “The key factors in securing this contract were the levels of success for secure, on-time and accurate fulfilment of titles such as Assassin's Creed, as well as the added value services the firm can offer through its dedicated 3PL facility in Raunds.”

Gem Logistics operations director Alan Lynch said:“We are delighted to cement our partnership with a major publisher such as Ubisoft for a further three years. It is a true testament to the successful relationship in place between the two companies.”

Ubisoft's UK sales director Darren Bowen added: “Due to the fantastic support structure in place at Gem, along with its high level of commitment to our business and continued outstanding service, we are delighted to continue our partnership. 

“Signing this three-year contract gives us the confidence that we can continue to serve our customers with the utmost efficiency and professionalism.”

Gem Logistics is one division of Gem. The distributor and retail services provider's other arms include accessories manufacturer Exspect, digital distributor Ztorm and more.