Best-selling PC download games of the week: 'Bad Company 2' leads the way

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The best-selling games of February 21-28 according to Steam, the online retail arm of video game company Valve, see Battlefield: Bad Company 2 topping the charts ahead of its release during the week beginning March 1.

No doubt aided by its generously fully featured multiplayer demo, Bad Company 2 has been selling like hot cakes in the lead-up to the lift of its retail embargo.

Though reviews have likewise been subject to publication restrictions, a few early leaks bode well for the game's reception. IGN, one of the largest video game websites, remarked upon Bad Company 2's team-based exploits as one of the features that set it apart from its competition: "The very layout of the game is designed to encourage players to work together, straight down to awarding extra points for working with your teammates."

The 2006 role-playing game Spellforce 2 appears by virtue of a time-limited price reduction which ran from Thursday, February 25 through to Monday, March 1. The special offer covered all entries to the Spellforce series, but canny buyers did a little research before plumping for the much improved second game, whose Gold Edition also includes an additional game expansion pack.

Phenomic Game Development were the studio behind Spellforce 2 and impressed more than their customers, as they were bought out by industry giant Electronic Arts within a few months of its release.

Napoleon: Total War appears twice by virtue of its differing retail packages. The game was given a good bill of health by Quintin Smith who, in writing for Eurogamer, judged that "the visual improvements, more pleasant interface, neater structure and smooth learning curve easily justify the low asking price." The Imperial Edition comes with ten extra infantry types and five more elite units.

01) Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition
02) Supreme Commander 2
03) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
04) Napoleon: Total War Imperial Edition
05) Aliens vs Predator
06) Napoleon: Total War
07) Assassin's Creed 2
08) Spellforce 2: Gold Edition
09) Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising
10) BioShock 2

Chart positions reflect total revenue gained by the Steam Network.