Every week, the Edge Games Index, produced in association with Brandwatch, rates games according to the volume of positive and negative buzz they're inspiring on the web.

Each chart allows you to rank the list by the overall quantity of buzz about each title, by the quantity of positive or negative buzz, and by the percentage of positive or negative buzz. To explain the numbers you’ll see on the charts, the number alongside the volume of responses represents the absolute number of mentions the game in question has had, while the ‘last week’ column represents a game’s position in relation to the others on the chart seven days ago.

The data is compiled by brand intelligence specialist Brandwatch. To find out how its system works, see our explanation.

UK Chart November 23



Four of the biggest games of the season now on general release – Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. And no prizes for guessing which of them is inspiring the greatest number of web buzz in our chart of the top ten selling UK games.

Though the number of mentions Modern Warfare 2 has inspired over the past week has dropped from its first-week level of 38,752 to 28,023, it still towers over second-place Assassin's Creed II, which has commanded a hardly insignificant 17,041 in its first week on sale. A little way behind in third place is Left 4 Dead 2, also in its first week, with 15,360.

From those three leaders, it's a big drop to New Super Mario Bros. Wii's 3476 mentions. But it'd be unwise to underestimate the impact of Mario's latest outing: analysts are projecting that it will eventually outsell MW2 – whether that turns out to be true, it's at least destined to be a long, slow burner like most of Nintendo's recent firstparty releases. We'd be interested to learn whether you've seen much buzz about NSMBW around the web, and who's making it.

FIFA 10, meanwhile, is maintaining a steady 3000-odd mentions, consistent with its levels over the last few weeks. That it's so consistently holding both sales and attention is further evidence of the extent of EA's great achievement with the series.

In terms of the reception of the games in the chart, it's Lego Batman that's again inspiring the most positive mentions, at 55 per cent of its total of 428. Assassin's Creed II is only just behind, though, with positive mentions comprising 54 per cent. Modern Warfare 2, meanwhile, is inspiring more positive feedback than it did in its first week on sale, up from 48 per cent to 52 per cent – a reflection, perhaps, of its audience getting stuck into its superlative – and now stable on PS3 – multiplayer.

Left 4 Dead 2, though, is at the low end of the scale, with 48 per cent of its mentions positive. It's also at the top of the scale on the negative mentions, with them comprising 12 per cent of its total. We'll see next week how it settles out, but what complaints are you currently seeing about Left 4 Dead 2?

Modern Warfare 2 is demonstrating its inevitable dominion over gamer conscious, one that seems set to continue for a considerable period. How the other big games of the season fare will be interesting to watch, from the multiplayer-less Assassin's Creed II to the low burn of New Super Mario Bros. Wii.