The Force Overpowers Grand Theft

The PSP's great hope didn't get the job done, but then it didn't miss by much either. Full details.

The PSP sold like gangbusters in the UK at launch in early September but things have quietened down since for the handheld. Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories was supposed to be the game that got it back on track - it didn't. Well, not completely.

Instead, the violence-filled action game fell victim to the Force, as Star Wars: Battlefront II rode the excitement surrounding the launch of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on DVD to a first place finish, leaving the latest Grand Theft Auto game to pick up the pieces at No. 2.

That's not to say that Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories did badly, mind you. The game is now the fastest selling PSP game ever in the UK and it managed to outpace even the opening performance of Grand Theft Auto III.

There were plenty of new releases last week with one of the biggest - as far as critical response is concerned - being Resident Evil 4. Somewhat surprisingly, the game failed to crack even the top 5, despite some of the best reviews of the year and a long advertising preamble in stores before the game's release.

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland got a good bump upwards this week too, something that the omnipresent TV ad campaign probably had a hand in.

Below are the top 10 games in the UK for the week ending 5 November, as determined by Chart Track:

1. Star Wars: Battlefront II (Activision)
2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar)
3. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (Konami)
4. FIFA 06 (EA)
5. The Warriors (Rockstar)
6. Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision)
7. Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
8. Football Manager 2006 (Sega)
9. Call Of Duty 2 (Activision)
10. The Sims 2 (EA)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games