Medal Of Honor has been given a release date.

It will launch on October 15 across Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, a month ahead of Activision's Call Of Duty: Black Ops on November 9.

The reboot, which follows Tier 1 operatives in modern-day Afghanistan, is the first time the franchise has been set outside of World War II.

"Medal of Honor is an authentic look into today's war. Inspired by real people and real events, the game puts players in the boots of today's warrior - from the infantry ground pounder to the Tier 1 Operator," said executive producer Greg Goodrich in a statement.

EA Los Angeles will helm the title's single player campaign, while Battlefield creators DICE will be working on the multiplayer.

Football Manager 2010 has once again held off the competition to remain top of the PC chart.

The Sims 3 continues to push it close in second, aboveNapoleon: Total War which climbs to third.

In a familiar looking chart, only Blue Byte's The Settlers 7: Paths To A Kingdom manages to shake things up, with a one place jump to re-enter at ten.

The top ten in full:

1. (1) Football Manager 2010 (Sega)
2. (2) The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
3. (4) Napoleon: Total War (Sega)
4. (3) Grand Theft Auto Episodes - Tales From Liberty City (Rockstar)
5. (5) Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Electronic Arts)
6. (7) The Sims 3: World Adventures (Electronic Arts)
7. (8) Command And Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight (Electronic Arts)
8. (9) Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II - Chaos (THQ)
9. (10) World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King (Blizzard)
10. (11) The Settlers 7: Paths To A Kingdom (Blue Byte)

Valve has launched a long-awaited update for its Steam digital distribution service to enable a more user-friendly experience.

The developer hopes that the upgrade, which recently completed beta testing, will usher in a "brand new Steam".

Among the update's new features are wish-lists for users to keep up with the forthcoming games that they want to purchase.

Another option allows users to check whether their friends own games before they complete a purchase.

Recent gaming achievements will also be displayed much more prominently, while search and menu facilities have been geared to show current special offers.

Activision has sparked rumours that it is planning aGoldenEye revival by registering a web domain bearing the title's name.

According to internet sleuthing site Superannuation, the firm has laid claim to the URLs goldeneyegame.com and bloodstonegame.com, which was recently confirmed as the title of its new James Bond game.

It is unknown whether the two games are connected, or if the GoldenEye in question is a remake or a sequel to Rare's 1997 first-person shooter.

Football Manager 2010 has continued to see off the competition to remain top of the PC weekly chart.

The Sims 3 remains its closest rival in second, above this week's only new entry Grand Theft Auto Episodes - Tales From Liberty City in third.

At the tail end of the chart, World Of Warcraft expansion packWrath Of The Lich King climbs one place to re-enter at ten, below fellow expansion pack Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War - Chaos at nine.

The top ten in full:

1. (1) Football Manager 2010 (Sega)
2. (2) The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
3. (-) Grand Theft Auto Episodes - Tales From Liberty City (Rockstar)
4. (3) Napoleon: Total War (Sega)
5. (5) Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Electronic Arts)
6. (7) Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts)
7. (4) The Sims 3: World Adventures (Electronic Arts)
8. (6) Command And Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight (Electronic Arts)
9. (10) Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II - Chaos (THQ)
10. (11) World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King (Blizzard)

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C) 2008 ELSPA Ltd.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has seen off all challengers to remain top of the PC weekly chart.

Newly-released expansion pack Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II - Chaos Rising narrowly misses out on the top spot after making its debut in second, above Football Manager 2010, which climbs one place to third.

The bottom of the chart sees the return of World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King at ten, below fellow expansion pack The Sims 3: World Adventures at nine.

The top ten in full:

1. (1) Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Electronic Arts)
2. (-) Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II - Chaos Rising (THQ)
3. (4) Football Manager 2010 (Sega)
4. (2) Napoleon: Total War (Sega)
5. (6) The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
6. (3) Supreme Commander 2 (Square Enix)
7. (5) Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft)
8. (7) Aliens Vs. Predator (Sega)
9. (9) The Sims 3: World Adventures (Electronic Arts)
10. (12) World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King (Blizzard)

It's now a cliché in video game circles that World War II has been well and truly mined by first-person shooter developers. The Call Of Duty and Medal of Honor franchises, which made their names with WWII titles, recently shifted focus to more modern conflicts in search of fresh inspiration. Possibly, though, they should have looked back instead of forward. World War I has been largely forgotten by FPS developers, but it could actually provide rich source material for future titles. As the last WWI veterans depart this world and knowledge of the conflict turns to second-hand source and myth, games could actually play a vital role in bringing the conflict to life so that the sacrifice of so many people is never, ever forgotten.

Firstly, a disclaimer - this article is merely meant to stimulate debate about a possible WWI FPS game and is certainly not intended to trivialise the heavy cost borne by those who fought in the war, quite the opposite in fact. That aside, let us discuss a bit of history. The blue touch paper of WWI ignited when Austria-Hungary's Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on June 28, 1914. Rightly suspecting Serbian involvement, Austria Hungary threatened retribution for the Slavic nation, backed by 'blank cheque' support from Germany and its leader Kaiser Wilhelm II, who cannily saw an opportunity to forward his imperialist aims.

 

Seeing a clear threat to Europe's balance of power, the entente nations of France, Britain and Russia declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary, leading to four years of conflict which tore a bloody stain through the world and introduced the concept of Total War. At a terrible cost of over 16 million lives, the conflict also laid down a lasting blueprint for modern warfare techniques. However, the most identifiable facet of WWI's military operations was trench warfare, in which enemies dug in defensive positions to fight stagnant, destructive contests over small yet strategically important patches of land. Fighting in WWI's trenches at first appears unsuited for video games development, but there are many more dimensions to the Great War.

 

Creating a WWI FPS game raises questions about respecting the war's history, but immersion is a powerful tool which could play a vital role in ensuring that particularly young people better understand the Great War's significance. After all, some gamers know more about the Allied sacrifice in WWII from playing Medal of Honour or Call Of Duty than from any text book or school history lesson. Indeed, as games become more sophisticated and mature as an artistic medium, why shouldn't they play an important role in interpreting historical events?

 

Interestingly, there has been a glut of WWI flight simulation games, possibly due to the perceived greater level of individual skill involved. However, we could only find one FPS title based on the war, with 505 Games' Necrovisionopting to introduce horror and supernatural elements to the conflict. So the question remains: Why have FPS developers avoided the Great War? Justin Champion, history professor at Royal Holloway University and an expert in historical sociology, said that the biggest challenge facing a WWI FPS would be convincing the audience as to "why it was such an important conflict".

 

Among issues potentially working against WWI is the lack of a clear enemy on the scale of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. As discussed in our historic FPS gaming retrospective, the Nazis in WWII were an enemy so tangibly evil as to become almost caricatures. In the absence of such a defined threat, it's possible that WWI has been viewed as too problematic a conflict to easily portray in games. However, Champion said that British perception of the Germans at the time told a very different story.

 

"We talk about the Nazis, but one thing we have lost is the Boche, the Fritz," he said. "You look at British propaganda in the First World War and it is brutal. In fact, it goes back to the 1880s and '90s. It's the round glasses and pointy hats, they really demonised the Germans."

 

In a global gaming market still dominated by the US, a further issue facing WWI has been the less-than-clear involvement of American troops in the conflict. Queen Mary University's Dr Dan Todman, who has written various books on WWI, including The Great War: Myth and Memory, explained that US troops entered the war in 1917 but did not really see combat until the final allied push to victory in 1918. However, he said that American soldiers still took part in "some pretty big battles" during the final 100 Days Offensive of the war, starting with the pivotal Battle of Amiens on August 8, 1918 and running to the armistice on November 11 of the same year.

 

American troops were involved in various operations in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive which could have FPS potential, such as the taking of Montbrehain village or the Battle of St Quentin Canal. Todman also pointed to the story of American hero Sergeant Alvin York, immortalised in a 1941 Gary Cooper film, which could "make a good episode in a computer game". York was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading a raid on a German stronghold in which his squad seized 32 machine guns nests, killing 28 Germans and capturing a further 132 in the process. Certainly, there are enough examples of US troop involvement in WWI to provide worthy material for a Call Of Duty or Medal of Honor title.

 

Even WWI's trench warfare could provide aspects for recreation in an FPS, including the infamous Battle of the Somme in 1916. There is plenty of evidence supporting the use of trench raiding and night patrol operations in No Man's Land during the Somme and other trench conflicts which could provide some powerful gaming moments. Sometimes involving squads of up to 100 people, these missions meant retrieving a fallen comrade or sniping a German officer in an opposing trench, where skill and nerve were essential for survival.

 

"Considering the experience of front-line soldiers, if you were going to make a game from parts of World War II, then you could certainly do it for World War I," said Todman. "Even in 1916 and the first day of the Somme, the perception is people standing up to be shot but there were actually things like trench raiding or operations outside of the Western Front that could be adapted to a gaming format."

 

There are also examples of early Special Forces-style operations, where small groups of soldiers completed a covert mission. On April 23, 1918, around 200 Royal Marines joined a Naval force to raid a German base in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. The mission ultimately fell short of achieving its aims, but was still a precursor to modern Commando operations which could widen understanding of WWI. Likewise, in the war's Middle Eastern Theatre there were the actions of Captain T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, in the Allied-backed Arab resistance against the Ottoman Empire. Despite his involvement somewhat falling into myth, there are many examples of Lawrence's covert operations which could be translated into a game, such as the Battle of Aqaba.

 

"You have famously got what we would now call Special Forces and guerrillas in the Middle East, which was what Lawrence of Arabia was doing," said Todman. "There were examples in the war against Turkey of submarines being used to insert soldiers behind enemy lines to attack bridges and things like that. Certainly sabotage wasn't something foreign to the armed forces."

 

Todman and Champion both acknowledged that it is strange so many FPS games have taken inspiration from WWII while the Great War remains untouched. EEDR vice president - analyst services Jesse Divnich claimed that WWI has been largely avoided because it lacks the type of weaponry and technology that gamers would consider "fun". At the start of the war, soldiers used standard Lee-Enfield rifles, but they rapidly got access to Lewis guns, light machine guns, tank mortars and adaptors to turn the Lee-Enfield into a rudimentary grenade launcher. Todman said that the mix of arms in a 20-man company in WWI was actually reflective of a modern Army unit.

"At the start of the war, the platoon commander only really had rifles, but by the end of the war he had a whole range of weapons his men could use," said Todman. "And in terms of how they used them, that is pretty much how soldier units use them today. They would use the indirect fire weapons or heavy machine guns to fix the enemy and then outflank them. They call it fix and strike."

 

However, one thing less advanced about the war was the tanks, which were unsophisticated and noisy by today's standards. However, a British tank called the Whippet could be transferred to gaming as it worked effectively with the infantry towards the end of the war. Mostly, though, soldiers got around the battlefield on horseback as it was the easiest way to traverse broken ground quickly.

 

Considering the rich military history in WWI, there seems to be an incredible and powerful story to be told by utilising intelligent game design and writing. Imagine taking a British soldier from the giddy naivety of signing up to the horrors of going over the top at the Somme in a hail of gunfire and artillery flak. As the war became more tactically sophisticated, the player could take on the role of US, French, Australian or Canadian troops in commando-style raids, operational attacks, trench raiding, sniping and tunnel mining. Despite Total War bringing massive deaths, there are still many examples of individual heroism. After all, it's no coincidence that 628 Victoria Crosses for bravery were awarded in the Great War, the most ever for a single conflict.

"I think that if these games serve a purpose then it's getting people thinking about the Great War in ways that they didn't before," said Todman. "It certainly surprises me that a lot of my undergraduates have played Call Of Duty and that is their reference point when we start talking about operations in the Second World War."

 

Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV has been named the most expensive video game ever created.

According to a list compiled by Digital Battle, the open-world crime epic had a budget of $100 million (£65.5m) and took a development team of around 1,000 people three and a half years to finish.

Sony's Gran Turismo 5 came in second place, with a budget expected to reach $80m (£52m) by the time it is released later in the year.

Shenmue registered third at a cost of $70m (£45.8m), followed by Too Human at over $60m and Metal Gear Solid 4 at exactly $60m.

Rockstar featured again on the list in eight place with its mysterious L.A. Noire project, which is costing $50m (£32.7m) to develop.

The list in full runs as follows:

1. Grand Theft Auto IV - $100 million
2. Gran Turismo 5 - $80 million
3. Shenmue - $70 million
4. Too Human - $60 million+
5. Metal Gear Solid 4 - $60 million
6. Halo 3 - $55 million
7. APB - $50 million
8. L.A. Noire - $50 million
9. Final Fantasy XII - $48 million
10. Killzone 2 - $45 million

Aliens Vs. Predator has soared to the top of the PC weekly chart in its first week on sale.

The Sega FPS is followed by The Sims 3, which moves up to second, and Football Manager 2010, which drops to third.

At the tail end of the chart, World Of Warcraft expansion pack Wrath Of The Lich King makes a healthy three place gain to seven, below Modern Warfare 2 and last week's number one BioShock 2.

The top ten in full:

1. (-) Aliens Vs. Predator (Sega)
2. (3) The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
3. (2) Football Manager 2010 (Sega)
4. (4) The Sims 3: World Adventures (Electronic Arts)
5. (1) BioShock 2 (2K Games)
6. (8) Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision)
7. (10) World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King (Activision)
8. (6) Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts)
9. (5) Star Trek Online (Atari)
10. (9) Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts)

EA DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will include a gameplay sequence from the Pacific theatre of World War II, it has emerged.

According to a report filed by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, the multi-platform title will feature the retrospective WWII sequence in its single-player campaign.

"In single-player mode, players conduct missions on an unnamed Japanese island during World War II and then move into the modern day through jungles, deserts, and snowy terrain," said the ESRB.

"The firefights contain realistic gunfire, loud explosions, cries of pain; large sprays of blood come out of injured characters during the fast-paced combat. There are also close-up depictions of knife-stabbing (flesh-impact sounds) and melee attacks with a power drill."

Star Trek Online has made its debut at the top of the PC weekly chart.

Last week's number one Mass Effect 2 falls to third, below another former number one Football Manager 2010, which remains second.

Just outside of the top three rests this week's second-highest new entry, with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call Of Pripyat going straight in at four, above The Sims 3 and Modern Warfare 2.

The top ten in full:

1. (-) Star Trek Online (Atari)
2. (2) Football Manager 2010 (Sega)
3. (1) Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts)
4. (-) S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call Of Pripyat (Bitcomposer)
5. (3) The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
6. (5) The Sims 3: World Adventures (Electronic Arts)
7. (4) Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision)
8. (7) World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King (Activision)
9. (8) Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts)
10. (6) Empire: Total War (Sega)

BioWare's hotly-anticipated Mass Effect 2 has performed well in its first week of release.

According to IGN, the title has so far sold around 2 million units worldwide.

"Mass Effect 2 is poised to be one of the biggest games of 2010. We could not be more proud of the game's universal acclaim and early commercial success," said Dr Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare.

The developers recently confirmed plans to continue support for the title post-launch by announcing a clutch of additional downloadable content.

2K Marin has confirmed that the PC version of BioShock 2will not support dedicated servers or LAN play on its multiplayer component.

In a Q&A on the Cult of Rapture blog, the studio said that the challenge of introducing multiplayer to BioShock 2 has required the team to set clear priorities.

"Bringing multiplayer to BioShock was a daunting task between the tech - there was no multiplayer support in the codebase from the first game - and the expectations of the community," 2K Marin explained.

"Either you try to do everything and so nothing feels finished or you focus your efforts to do a smaller number of things really well like an accessible online experience. We chose to spend the time we had creating a solid game foundation and unfortunately that did not include LAN play or dedicated servers."

On both console and PC versions of the game, rather than separating online matches into ranked and unranked, BioShock 2's multiplayer will utilise a lobby area for players to invite friends into four-person teams.

A matchmaking system will then pitch individual squads against each other based on leaderboard standings and connection speeds.

However, players will also be able to partake in private matches for up to ten people which are not ranked on the leaderboards and so can be used for practice.

"We felt like having just one giant place to meet players would be easier for getting better matches, and it is very important to us that we never split your parties," 2K Marin said.

"We want you to make friends, play with your friends, and compete with your friends. If you want to get practice in before going online, you can make a private match where you can play with people on direct invitation."

Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has claimed that gaming is destroying the innocence of children in the UK.

In an interview with The Times, Smith condemned violent games and said that more needs to be done to ensure age ratings are enforced.

"We are driving children to lose their childhood, and some video games are incredibly violent, like Grand Theft Auto," he said. "They are meant to be 18 [rated] but nobody cares what it says on the label."

Last year, games industry body PEGI introduced a new classification system that includes placing larger age rating symbols on boxes. The government began enforcing this system during the Christmas period.

Crytek's forthcoming first-person shooter Crysis 2 is set in a version of New York City under attack from aliens, it has emerged.

Official PlayStation Magazine editor Gary Steinman revealed the news on his Twitter feed, while also showcasing the magazine's Crysis 2 cover feature.

Released in 2007 exclusively on PC, Crysis gained almost universal acclaim and is still constantly cited as setting the standard for FPS titles.

Publisher Electronic Arts confirmed last year that the sequel will be released on PS3 and Xbox 360, as well as the PC.

The firm also indicated that Crysis 2 will be made available during its 2010-11 fiscal year, which ends on March 11, 2011.

Eidos' Batman: Arkham Asylum is to be reissued under the Game of the Year Edition banner.

According to a listing on the BBFC website, the special edition game has been given a 15 rating. Further details are yet to surface, but it has been speculated that the re-release will contain all previous downloadable content and other extras.

Two Arkham Asylum DLC packs have been issued to date - the 'Insane Night' map pack and 'Prey In The Darkness'. Customers who preordered their copy from US retailer GameStop received the additional 'Dem Bones' map, and those who purchased the Collector's Edition were granted access to the 'Crime Alley' challenge map.

News of the special edition follows reports that a sequel to Arkham Asylum is currently in the works. A trailer for the game revealed that Mark Hamill will reprise his role as the Joker.

Ubisoft has confirmed that it is working on a new Ghost Recon title.

The video game company, which also publishes Beyond Good And Evil, claimed that its new Ghost Recon game will reinvent the shooter genre.

"The evolution of Ghost Recon will bring a completely new and fresh approach to the shooter genre," it said.

"The title is so impressive, it has the potential to rivalAssassin's Creed as our biggest game of fiscal year '11."

Modern Warfare 2 has made $1bn (£614m) since release last November.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said that the figure "exceeded expectations" and highlighted the power of the franchise.

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has exceeded our expectations and shattered theatrical box office and video game records," he said.

"There are only a handful of entertainment properties that have ever reached the $1bn mark, which illustrates the power of the Call of Duty franchise and mass appeal of this game."

The total was predicted by analysts Lazard Capital Markets prior to the game's release.

EA has claimed that combat in the upcoming Medal Of Honor reboot will set the title apart from its rivals, including the Call Of Duty series.

The game, being jointly developed by EA Los Angeles and EA DICE, transports the series to the modern day setting of Afghanistan, with events covering the allied invasion in 2001 and the resulting occupation up to 2004.

According to an early preview in the new edition ofGamesMaster magazine, the shooter features "slick and smooth" combat between US Special Forces and rebel fighters.

Alongside various elite operations, the game will also deliver large-scale "sledgehammer" campaigns which bear more similarity to EA's own Battlefield series than Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare.

In the preview, Medal Of Honor executive producer Greg Goodrich claimed that tactics, weapons and challenging enemies in the game will "set it apart" from rival shooters.

"I can't go into details, but let's just say you'll be surprised by how some of the enemies respond to you, both in terms of tactics and the weapons they use," he said.

Last week, Official Xbox Magazine revealed ahead of its Medal Of Honor preview that there will be multiple playable characters in the main campaign story.

Actor Lance Henriksen has confirmed that he will appear in Rebellion's upcoming Alien Vs. Predator video game.

Henriksen, who appeared as Bishop in Aliens and Alien 3, will lend his voice and likeness to the character of Karl Bishop Weyland, a descendent of Weyland-Yutani corporation founder Charles Bishop Weyland.

Rebellion has also confirmed that a demo for the FPS will appear before the game launches in February.

Sources have claimed that Modern Warfare 3 will not be developed by Infinity Ward.

A US insider has told VG247 that either a Canadian studio or Sledgehammer Games will be taking the helm.

Sledgehammer Games, formed last year from ex-Visceral Games staff, has not announced a project and has been recruiting a multiplayer designer with five years experience.

Infinity Ward has yet to commit to working on another Call Of Duty title, only announcing that it will work on downloadable content for Modern Warfare 2 this spring.

EA Canada senior producer Jason DeLong has predicted that game prices will fall in the "near future" as studios focus more on money-spinning additional content.

Last year, Activision caused controversy by setting a £54.99 recommended retail price for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, although retailers subsequently drove down prices as demand for the game soared.

However, DeLong believes that the days of high RRPs will soon come to an end as downloadable and episodic content becomes more profitable.

Speaking to Game Informer, he said: "I think that we're going to start to see, maybe not in the next year, but in the near future, games go down the route of smaller up-front experiences and lower prices at the beginning and then the ability to extend the game through episodic material or future feature material. I think that's a direction we're probably heading in."

DeLong explained that a reduction in prices would not only benefit the consumer, but also make sound business sense by keeping people playing games for longer.

"Games are getting more expensive, and times are tough, and it's getting harder to purchase every game you want," he said.

EA's forthcoming modern-day revival of the Medal Of Honorfranchise will reportedly feature multiple playable characters.

According to Official Xbox Magazine, the first-person shooter will allow players to knock out lights with gunfire and then use night-vision goggles. It will also feature sprinting and knife melee attacks which are "similar to Call Of Duty".

The development team has consulted with Tier 1 US special forces to achieve authenticity in technical aspects of the game, such as camouflage and military language.

First unveiled last month, the new Medal Of Honor will take place in modern-day Afghanistan and focus on a team of highly-trained US soldiers.

Football Manager 2010 has held off the competition to celebrate the new year as the PC's number one game.

The Sims 3 and expansion World Adventures dwell in second and third, while Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 slips to fourth.

Only 2K's cartoonish shooter Borderlands manages to penetrate this week's chart, after climbing three to re-enter at ten, below World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich Kingat nine.

The top ten in full:

1. (1) Football Manager 2010 (Sega)
2. (2) The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
3. (4) The Sims 3: World Adventures (Electronic Arts)
4. (3) Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision)
5. (5) Left 4 Dead 2 (Electronic Arts)
6. (6) Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts)
7. (7) Championship Manager 2010 (Eidos)
8. (8) Empire: Total War (Sega)
9. (9) World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King (Activision)
10. (13) Borderlands (2K Games)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been announced as the most pirated game of 2009.

According to TorrentFreak, the PC format of the FPS has been illegally downloaded nearly 4.1 milion times this year, topping the list despite having only been released two months ago.

If accurate, the figures suggest that developers Activision have potentially lost around $245 million (£153.8m) in sales.

The Sims 3, Prototype, Need for Speed Shift and Street Fighter IV rounded out the top five, all of which were titles for the PC platform.

Meanwhile, New Super Mario Bros Wii was the most pirated Wii title, with 1.1 million downloads.

Valve has begun testing new artificial intelligence bots able to replicate real-life player reactions on its multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2.

Writing on the Team Fortress 2 blog, Valve developer Mike Booth revealed that the computer-controlled enemies will be unleashed on the game's King Of The Hill maps.

To try out the new "digital killing machines", Booth outlined a specific console command that PC players must input in order to add the bots to their game.

"With the success of the AI systems on Left 4 Dead, we've been continuing to develop these technologies to create new kinds of game experiences," said Booth.

"Team Fortress 2 is an excellent 'sandbox' for explorations of this sort, and we've been quietly doing so for much of this last year. Some of the results of these explorations are TF 'bots' - AI-driven player proxies with simulated humanlike senses, reaction times and tactics. Although the TF bots are not yet complete, they play a pretty decent game of King Of The Hill.

"We thought you might enjoy testing your skill against these work-in-progress digital killing machines. The bots have simulated humanlike senses, and only know what they see, hear and touch. They also have realistic reaction times and aiming limitations. They don't 'cheat' or use omniscient knowledge of the server state to make their decisions."

Games For Windows Live has issued a holiday sale.

The PC digital distribution service will be selling six games for half price until January 4.

Shadowrun, Viva Pinata and World Of Goo are £7.49 ($9.99).

Elsewhere, Where's Waldo has been priced at £4.99 ($7.49) while Osmos and Mahjong Wisdom are £2.49 ($4.99).

Modern Warfare 2 has been patched to version 1.3.606.0.

Infinity Ward has solved a glitch that allowed players to cheat their way to higher Prestige levels, usually earned through extensive play time.

A glitch that has allowed those playing on private matches with custom rules to enter public playlists has also been fixed.

The patch will also rebalance the strength of the Akimbo 1887 rifles in multiplayer, which has been heavily requested by players.

The PC version will also see issues with hacked textures solved.

Steam has issued a holiday sale.

The PC digital distribution service has heavily discounted individual games and publisher packs.

Until Christmas Day, Grand Theft Auto IV can be purchased for £4.99, Mirror's Edge for £3.24 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl for £1.39.

Until January 3, all Ubisoft titles are half price, all Unreal and Atari games have been discounted by 66% and the Rockstar collection is a third off.

In the indie section, Braid and AudioSurf are £1.74 each, while Machinarium has been priced at £4.24.

Modern Warfare 2 has been hit by an ammunition glitch.

Xbox 360 owners who have been playing the online multiplayer mode have been experiencing an issue that grants them infinite ammo.

Although the cause of the glitch is uncertain, it can be passed around virally between systems after playing together.

Disconnecting from Xbox Live and rebooting the system will clear the issue from the system's cache.

Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling told Twitter followers that the issue will be "eliminated soon enough" and that "lots of updates" are in the works.

2K Games has unveiled a new story-driven, modern military shooter for release on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Titled Spec Ops: The Line, the third-person action game is being developed by German studio Yager. The story will focus on an elite Delta Force team as they enter a sandstorm-ravaged version of Dubai to hunt down rogue American officer John Konrad.

In the game, players will have to deal with The Line, which is the "razor's edge known only to men who deal with war" when death and duty become merged. The title promises a "unique" single-player campaign, along with multiplayer modes.

"Spec Ops: The Line is the epitome of a 2K Games title and incorporates all of our gameplay values: immersive experiences that draw you in, unique and innovative features that make you rethink the way you play them, and an amazingly high quality bar that is synonymous with the 2K name," said 2K president Christoph Hartmann.

"By meeting these core values, I'm confident that Spec Ops: The Line will be a great experience that people will enjoy playing for years to come."

Yager managing director Timo Ullman added: "Our close collaboration with 2K Games over the course of this production has allowed us to achieve our goal of giving players a unique and exciting gaming experience in Spec Ops: The Line. Yager's goal is to always push the boundaries of what is possible and exceed players' expectations in every production."

Sega has confirmed that Aliens vs Predator will be released on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in Europe on February 19, 2010.

According to MCV, the game will be made available as a standard boxed edition, along with two special editions -Survivor and Hunter.

Packaged in a steel case, the Survivor Edition will include a code for downloading multiplayer maps after the launch date.

The Hunter Edition will also includes the maps, along with a facehugger model, a 3D lenticular postcard and a Weyland Yutani sleeve badge.

"Aliens vs Predator is the first title to be released in our partnership with Fox for the Aliens franchise and it reinforces our commitment to provide high-quality gaming for the core market," said Sega Europe marketing director Gary Knight.

"The team at Rebellion has been true to the Aliens and Predator universes and created a title that allows gamers to experience all the tension and excitement of the Aliens and Predator movies."

Rebellion Games has pledged not to "sanitise" the content of Aliens Vs. Predator following a deci sion to ban the upcoming game in Australia.

Last week, it emerged that the national classification board of Australia has moved to block the tit le's release due to its portrayal of extreme violence.

In response, Rebellion chief executive Jason Kingsley said that the studio will not pander to any territories "where adults are not able to make their own entertainment choices".

He explained: "Rebellion is disappointed that its upcoming title Aliens Vs. Predator has been banned in Australia. However, as we understand the law in that country, the authorities had no choice as we agree strongly that our game is not suitable for game players who are not adults.

"The content of Aliens Vs. Predator is based on some of the most innovative and iconic horror movies, and as such we wanted to create a title that was true to the source material. It is for adults, and it is bloody and frightening, that was our intent.

"We will not be releasing a sanitised or cut-down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices."