The Charts: Has Mario Kicked Spidey And Pirates?

Activision's Spider-Man 3 is still sticking at Number 1 in the All Formats Games Charts this week, despite the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End sailing onto retail shelves.

That's four weeks at the top for the wall crawler now. Spidey's unfazed by Johnny Depp doing a Keith Richards-alike, it would seem. SPOnG has to confess that if Richards were to head our way with a large pointy thing in his hand we'd be straight off the plank.

That's not to say, however, that Disney Interactive's all-formats summer blockbuster doesn't fare well. It enters the Charts at Number 2, beating off competition from Nintendo's Mario Strikers Charged Football, which slides in, chainmail and all, at Number 3. To find out what SPOnG thought of it click here.

Nintendo is, notably, the only platform holder with exclusive titles in the Top 10 this week. Wii Play continues its roller coaster charts ride at Number 6, slipping two places from Number 4. Brain Training props it up after climbing two places from Number 9, while 505 Games' Cooking Mama for the Wii and DS slips like a Greco-Roman wrestling convention in an olive oil processing plant from Number 5 to Number 10.

Ubisoft's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and EA's The Sims 2: Pets perform well this week, with both jumping 10 places to Number 11 and Number 12 respectively.

Lovers of the equine will be pleased to learn that Eidos's DS-exclusive Pony Friends makes its first All Formats appearance this week, racing in at Number 18. After many an hour spent frustratedly bashing at the touch-screen, however, SPOnG can't see what all the fuss is about. Maybe we'll hand it over to our Girl Gamer to see if she 'bums it' as hard as Halo 3...

Activision's Guitar Hero II is back in stock for the 360, and that allows it to mosh its way back into the Top 40 at Number 24.

The only other new entry in the Top 40 is Konami's Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, which stealthily manoeuvres its way in to a disappointing ranking at Number 30.

One game we don't expect to under-perform next week is Tomb Raider: Anniversary. SPOnG observe it even more closely after seeing five (yes, count 'em, five!) Lara Crofts in a room together yesterday. And that's in spite of the fact that we're halfway through playing it and will have a review later in the week...

For the full Chart listing follow us this way.