US PC game charts: September 10-16

If variety is the spice of life, the US PC Charts are one of the blandest dishes on the planet. For the past two years, the top slot in the chart has almost always been occupied by World of Warcraft, the Sims 2, or one of the various Sims 2 expansions. During the week of September 3-9, the add-on The Sims 2: Glamour Life Stuff enjoyed its second stay at number one after dethroning WOW, which had spent much of the prior month in the pole position.

However, the monotony changed during the week of September 10-16, according to the most recent sales rankings released by the NPD Group. That seven-day stretch saw both Electronic Arts' Paris Hilton-worthy-accessory expansion pack and Blizzard Entertainment's social-life-gutting massively multiplayer online role-playing game bested by a newcomer. LucasArts' block-toy/sci-fi-film crossover Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy proved to be quite the retail force in the days after its September 12 release, becoming the first game to debut at number one since Madden NFL 07's brief stint at the top in August.

The week also saw another game do well during its first week on the market. The regular edition of THQ and Relic's Company of Heroes premiered in a solid third place, wedged in between Glamour Life Stuff and WOW, while the special Collector's Edition of the game landed in sixth place, just below The Sims 2. Despite some problems with SLI graphics-card compatibility (which has since been patched), the World War II real-time strategy title has earned sparkling reviews from numerous outlets, including GameSpot.

Besides the omnipresent WOW, Blizzard had a second game in the top 10 during the week--the Warcraft III Battle Chest compilation, which landed in seventh place. That was ahead of THQ's film-inspired minigame compilation Cars Radiator Springs Adventures (eighth), EA's Sim City 4 Deluxe (ninth), and The Sims 2 Open for Business (10th).

Five titles dropped out of the top 10 during the week of September 10-16: Star Wars: Empire at War, Civilization IV: Warlords, Half-Life 2: Episode One, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and the RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Gold bundle.