FIFA 13 was – and, probably still is – the top selling game in the UK. For the third week in a row the footie sportsball game, despite a 63 percent decline in sales last week, retained its premier position.

Bethesda's Dishonored actually debuted in second place. According to Chart-Track, it's the biggest new intellectual property launch of the year, besting Square Enix's Sleeping Dogs. Even combining sales of Pokemon Black (#3) and White (#5) Version 2, Dishonored would still hold its second place position.

The other major launch last week, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, premiered in seventh place behind the insidious Just Dance 4. The aliens are winning. Check out the UK top ten after the break.

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Microsoft's jolly, festive (and other holiday words) price cut on Xbox 360 bundles in North America won't apply in the UK. When asked about upcoming price cuts by MCV, Microsoft denied any plans by way of just sending over a list of holiday Xbox bundles, none of which featured new discounts.

The bundles are similar to those being offered in North America in terms of content, including a £199 250GB "Holiday Value" bundle with Skyrim and Forza 4, a £299 250GB "Kinect Holiday" bundle with Kinect Adventures, Dance Central 2 and Kinect Sports, a £249 4GB "Kinect Holiday Value" bundle with Kinect Adventures and Kinect Disneyland , a £269 4GB Xbox with Kinect and Nike+ Kinect Training, a £269 320GB Halo 4 Limited Edition set, and a 4GB "White Gloss" console for £149.

Pressure, developed by Chasing Carrots and published by TopWare Interactive, is definitely the first action racing game we can think of that reminds us of the Kellogg family's Battle Creek Sanitarium.

The steampunk racing/shooting game has players, driving a steam-powered buggy, attempting to defeat the "Earl of Wellness," who has drained the local lake to provide water for his "Wellness Spa Temple."

Once again, this is a racing game. See for yourself above. It's coming to PC, PS3 download, and XBLA.

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Greenlight has curated its second batch of indie games worthy of launching on Steam, and instead of the 10 we expected, this round sees 21 new titles. Greenlit games include AirBuccaneers, Forge, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, Octodad: Dadliest Catch and The Stanley Parable: HD Remix.

"This second wave of titles was originally targeted to include at least 10 titles," Valve writes. "Given the number and quality of games submitted, and the ship date of many of the top-ranking titles, the decision was made to increase the size of this group."

These 21 games join the 10 previously greenlit titles; of those, only McPixel has launched on Steam so far. In September, Steam had more than 2,000 games to sort through on Greenlight, with 800 live for public voting. The Greenlight system is far from perfect for some indie developers, but Steam may still be refining its system, if the increased number of greenlit games is any indication.

Check out the complete list of freshly minted games on Steam Greenlight below:

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In a move that should surprise no one at all, Microsoft is issuing permanent Xbox Live bans to pirates of Halo 4. Pirates are now receiving emails explaining the situation, reports MCV. The emails note that the user in question has been "permanently suspended for illegitimate prerelease title play." Lest the word "permanent" be unclear, the email goes on to note that "Xbox Live privileges will not be reinstated." Microsoft pursued a similar course of action prior to the 2010 release of Halo: Reach.

It's worth noting that the email refers to Xbox Live "account privileges," which may indicate that Microsoft is banning user accounts but not the actual console on which they reside. In such cases, users can regain access to Xbox Live by starting a new account (which means paying for a new account in the case of Xbox Live Gold). We've reached out to Microsoft to find out if consoles are being banned as well.

Microsoft acknowledged reports last week that Halo 4 had been leaked onto the internet, and that it is "working closely with its security teams and law enforcement to address the situation."

Update: Microsoft has responded to Joystiq, reiterating its stance. While it wouldn't confirm if all Halo 4 pirates will receive full console bans, it did confirm that both account and console bans may occur.

Taiwan team Taipei Assassins won the League of Legends World Championship on Saturday, walking away with the $1 million grand prize. TPA includes members Chen Hui Chung (MiSTakE), Kurtis Lau (Toyz), Alex Sung (Lilballz), Cheng Bo Wei (Bebeisadog) and Wang June Tsan (Stanley). But you can just call them "The Champions."

TPA defeated South Korean team Azubu Frost in the final round. The League of Legends World Championship tournament saw a snowball of delays, beginning with "connectivity issues" and concluding with reports of cheating. Riot Games issued multiple "unsportsmanlike conduct" warnings and slapped one player, Azubu Frost's Woong, with a $30,000 fine (20 percent of the $150,000 prize for advancing to the semifinals).

Still, the tournament ended on time and with a clear winner. Congratulations, TPA, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

As this new trailer from the New York Comic Con shows, not everything's changed in the alternate reality of Ninja Theory's Devil May Cry. The music remains familiar, very much the Joystiq-turn-that-racket-down-right-now-or-so-help-me-Lord brand of heavy metal.

Capcom also revealed at NYCC that it's bringing a DmC demo out before the game launches. The demo is definitely coming to consoles, but there's no word yet on it coming to PC. The game launches on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on January 15 2013.

Green Arrow's core powers appear to be modeled after Mortal Kombat mainstay Sub-Zero. Players can fire an arrow to freeze their opponent or generate an electric shock, stopping adversaries dead in their tracks. Arrow's special ability is as brutal as any meter special you've come to expect in a fighting game from the team behind Mortal Kombat. Attaching opponents to a wire, Green Arrow grabs his opponent and brings them crashing back to the ground for a devastating attack.

NetherRealm producer Hector Sanchez says to bring Injustice: Gods Among Us to the same competitive level of the company's previous release, the team will build upon the strong foundation of Mortal Kombat's online system and add features along the way.

"Imagine the online availability that we had in Mortal Kombat just on steroids," he says.

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Video games are good at a lot of things. Typically, they appeal to our baser instincts – usually the desire for power, in whatever form that may take, be it blasting aliens, slaying dragons or scoring touchdowns. What they do particularly well that isn't explored often enough, is rekindle our childhood capacity for amazement.

I think this is something that most invested players realize, whether they've ever articulated it or not. More than books or movies, games engage us, and the good ones pull us in. They can remind us what it was like to lift a rock in a garden, discovering the creatures that live underneath, or how it felt to dribble paint on a sheet of paper, fold it in half and reveal a butterfly.

The Unfinished Swan is the story of a child, Monroe. Its ability to plant players firmly in his shoes, to help us see the world as he does, is what makes it special.

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Xbox Music, Microsoft's Spotify-like replacement for Zune, debuts on Xbox 360 tomorrow. Engadget reports the service is available via an Xbox Music Pass (formerly Zune Pass) subscription, $9.99 per month/$99 per year for Xbox Live Gold users.

Microsoft also confirmed Xbox Music is coming to Windows 8 PCs and tablets at launch on October 26, on which the service offers unlimited free streaming for the first six months. Xbox Music Pass subscribers don't suffer ads, and can store tracks for offline listening. After six months, streaming becomes time-limited without Xbox Music Pass. Another difference between the Windows 8 and Xbox Live versions is that the latter cannot be run in the background.

The above video showcases some of Xbox Music's features, including unlimited skipping and Smart DJ, the latter creating radio stations based on a particular album, artist, or song you select. It launches tomorrow on Xbox 360 with 30 million global songs (18 million for the US), and users can try it out for zip, nada, and niente via a 30 day free trial. Xbox Music is also coming to Windows 8 phones (with the same model as on Xbox 360) "shortly after" Windows 8 launches and other unannounced platforms "at a later date."

All Call of Duty Elite services for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will be free, Activision has announced. Previously, a premium Elite subscription offered an extra tier of services and guaranteed early access to downloadable map packs. This time around, it appears that early access to DLC is no longer available, though Xbox 360 players will be able to purchase a season pass for $50. The season pass will include access to four map packs throughout 2013. With each map pack normally priced at $15, season pass holders will save a total of $10.

No season pass has been announced for PS3, Wii U or PC and, in fact, the press release notes that "season pass and DLC map packs may not be available on all gaming platforms." It seems unlikely that Activision would neglect to offer such lucrative DLC on every possible platform, though the language is worth noting.

The decision to make Elite free is an interesting one, especially given how (very) successful the program has been. After debuting to 6.5 million units sold, Modern Warfare 3 moved over 600,000 Elite subscriptions in a single week. Then again, given that the season pass will sell for the same $50 price, the difference may be negligible. Also, apart from a few extra perks, the premium version of Elite was essentially a season pass to begin with, so not much has changed.

Update: We asked Activision to clarify the statement regarding the DLC on other platforms. The publisher noted that it is "working with Nintendo" to bring both the DLC and the season pass to the Wii U version of Black Ops 2. It made no mention of the PS3 and PC versions though, again, we doubt Activision would ignored two major platforms.

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Dance Central 3 will be the first Xbox 360 game to support SmartGlass functionality, using Microsoft's tablet and smartphone connectivity to allow people to queue up new tracks for themselves or their friends. The "Party Time DJ" app allows someone using an iOS, Android, or Windows Phone 8 device to create playlists or simply select the next song in "Party Time" mode, Harmonix revealed to Engadget.

Other functionality includes queuing up DLC to buy on the Xbox, changing difficulty, or tracking calories burned and progress toward weekly goals. Despite being tied to the new SmartGlass tech, the functions here, of facilitating DLC purchasing and tracking in-game progress, seem similar to those in the Facebook Rock Band World app.

The app will not be available in time for tomorrow's launch; Harmonix did not provide a specific time, though Engadget speculates it will be close to Windows 8's October 26 launch. What Harmonix has provided, however, is Dance Central 3's full track list, which can be found after the break.

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Sidekicks, with their one-dimensional character traits to help round out leading characters, are always fun to have around. In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Mario's lanky brother steps out of his sibling's shadow and into the haunted locales of his latest starring role, fleshing the character out as even more of a scaredy cat than we've come to know.

Luigi's second romp through a haunted mansion offers something different for 3DS fans, following much of the same from Mario's previous adventure.

Focusing less on combating the franchise's famously shy ghosts, the demo for Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon found its niche in quirky humor and puzzles.

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If you like Eastern European first-person shooters, paranormal nuclear fallout, and desperately gasping for air, then you, friend, are in luck. That's if you don't already have Metro 2033, because THQ is cutting the 2010 cult hit down to half-price on Xbox Live, starting tomorrow. The publisher tells us the novel adaptation will be available on Games on Demand for $9.99 until Monday, October 22.

If you missed the recent Steam sale (or if you'd prefer the game on Xbox) then this isn't a bad consolation offer for a tense shooter we handed four out of five stars to. But for the love of Бог don't forget your gas mask.

It's October, which means it's once again time to hook up your Kinect, take off your pants and play some Dance Central. Not that it's always wise to play games half-naked, especially ones that depend on jumping around in front of a camera, but pants will only slow you down and make you sweat even more than you already will. Wear gym shorts, if you must.

Like leaf-peeping, apple-picking and umpire second-judging, Dance Central has become an autumn tradition. You can argue that it's grown a bit repetitive by this third installment, but repetition is the key to pop music. A steady beat, a memorable bass line and a chorus that'll itch in your brain until you hear it one more time are the rudiments of a hit. Can you attack a game for reflecting pop music when that's the very bedrock upon which it is built?

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Straight Right, the Australian developer porting Mass Effect 3 to Wii U, may also be working on a "triple-A Square Enix" port for Nintendo's new console. The info is based on the LinkedIn page (now altered) of Chris Slater, Straight Right's technical project manager, as spotted by an eagle-eyed NeoGAF user.

Slater has since updated his LinkedIn profile, but a Google Cache of the page as it was on September 25 shows the project manager is "working for Straight Right on a short term contract, porting a triple-A Square Enix game to the yet-to-be-released Wii U platform." We have a screen-grab of the Google Cache page here.

It's already known Straight Right is working on two Wii U games in addition to Mass Effect 3, with one an original IP and the other stemming from a well-known franchise. Since the Square Enix game is a port, it means this'd be the one from a well known franchise. Hitman Absolution, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and the new Tomb Raider are primary candidates. Crystal Dynamics previously denied Tomb Raider is coming to Wii U any time soon, saying the studio would have to design it "very differently" and with "unique functionality" for the Nintendo console.

We reached out to Square Enix, but a spokesperson told us the publisher "cannot comment on rumors or speculation."

Nintendo cut the Wii's suggested retail price to $129.99 this morning, down from $149.99. The new $129.99 bundle, which Ninteno expects to be "broadly available" in stores by October 28, includes Wii Sports Resort in addition to Wii Sports.

The bundle also includes a black Wii console, a black WiiMote Plus, and a black Nunchuk. It replaces the $149.99 bundle, which included the above along with New Super Mario Bros Wii and the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack.

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Final Fantasy VIII isn't exactly an obscure game. As my personal favorite of the franchise, Squaresoft's (now Square Enix's) 1999 PlayStation entry in the series maintains the sci-fi stylings of the arguably more popular Final Fantasy VII while improving CG techniques to make it prettier. The game is also four discs long, which still kind of amazes me.

A few interesting facts about the game can be found on its still-operating official site. Namely, a Nazi-styled uniform was removed when the game was localized to European territories, and it cost 3 billion yen to develop. The site still has "coming soon" labels for its strategy guide and hints sections, but we wouldn't hold our breath on that ever coming to life.

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Youkai Watch, also known as Ghost Watch in North America, is coming to 3DS, according to the latest CoroCoro magazine, translated by Siliconera. The game was first announced by developer Level-5 one year ago at its Vision event.

Of course, until Level-5 confirms that the game even exists anymore, we're putting it in our box of rumors. We do know that Level-5's Liberation Maiden will be heading to the North American 3DS eShop October 25, however. We've embedded the original announcement trailer for Ghost Watch for your amusement above.

"Nightmare in Northpoint," the first story-driven bit of DLC for Sleeping Dogs, is set to fight for dominance on October 30.

It will be "horror-themed," similar to Red Dead Redemption's "Undead Nightmare" DLC (it even shares a common word), United Front tells Kotaku. United Front unveiled the DLC during a panel at New York Comic Con, saying the pack will "explore other aspects of Hong Kong cinema."

Sleeping Dogs is getting heaps of DLC in the six months following its launch in August, with the "Street Racer" pack next in line on October 16.