Out This Week

Last week, one game was released in shops. This week, none are. It's Christmas!

So, our attention turns to the digital download space. Out today is Oddboxx, the Steam package which contains four games: Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus, Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath.

On Tuesday online expansion Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam hits the PSN and XBLA interpipes (it's out on PC now). It promises flame-grilled FPS action, but is it for a better taste?

On the same day Bethesda releases the first DLC add-on for post-apocalyptic role-player Fallout: New Vegas. But will the Xbox 360 timed exclusive breathe new life into the open world RPG or stop it dead?

On Wednesday the PlayStation Network unleashes echochrome ii, a unique puzzle game that uses the PlayStation Move controller to shine a light on a series of blocks and objects to create realistic shadows on the wall.

Xbox Live Arcade enthusiasts will, on Wednesday, be treated to A World of Keflings, the sequel to Kingdom for Keflings. And Wednesday will see the release of the first of five planned chapters in Telltale's episodic Back to the Future series. Acceptable in the eighties or 1.21 gigawatts?

This Week In Shops!

• Nothing! Nowt! Zilch! Zero!

What Else?

• Back to the Future (PC, Mac)
• Oddboxx (PC)
• echochrome ii (PSN)
• A World of Keflings (XBLA)
• Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money (XBLA)
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam (PC, PSN, XBLA)

Chart Predictions!

Each week one of the team will step up to predict the UK all-formats chart. But this week, we're doing things a little differently. We're going to gaze even deeper into our crystal ball and predict the Christmas 2011 top five UK all-formats chart. Read on, be impressed, and a little depressed.

Wesley Yin-Poole, News Editor

"The sequelitis that affects the game industry knows no bounds. Next year I'm sure entries in the series' that make up this year's Christmas top five will be there or thereabouts. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, from a resurgent Infinity Ward, will be top. FIFA 12, from EA Sports, will be second. The next Need for Speed arcade racing game, probably from Need for Speed World creator Black Box (if EA keeps to its promise of giving studios more than a year to create its games), in third. The inevitable Just Dance 3 in fourth and Assassin's Creed 3 from Ubisoft Montreal in fifth. Sigh."

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
2. FIFA 12
3. Need for Speed
4. Just Dance 3
5. Assassin's Creed 3

Eurogamer editor Tom Bramwell gazed into his crystal ball last week. He said FIFA 11 would be top, Call of Duty: Black Ops second, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood third, Just Dance 2 fourth and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit fifth. How did he do?

UK All-Formats Top 5 (reported this morning)

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops
2. FIFA 11
3. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
4. Just Dance 2
5. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood