Brink beats Lego Pirates in UK chart

Splash Damage's new first person shooter Brink has defied a mixed critical response to debut at number one in the UK multiformat charts, ahead of fellow new entry Lego Pirates of the Caribbean.

Fully 69 per cent of Brink purchases were on the Xbox 360, with 23 per cent on PlayStation 3 - an unsurprising breakdown given the heavy online focus of the game while PlayStation Network was still down.

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean also had a mixed response from critics, becoming one of the least well received in the franchise. It is also one of three Lego games in the top 20 this week, with Lego Star Wars III at number seven and Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 at number 20.

The breakdown of formats was relatively even, with the Xbox 360 on 37 per cent, PlayStation 3 on 24 per cent, Wii on 23 per cent, and Nintendo DS on 10 per cent.

Both Brink and Lego Pirates of the Caribbean are from UK developers, but the other new entry of the week hails from Phoenix, Arizona.

THQ Digital Studio Phoenix (née Rainbow Studios) was responsible for MX Vs. ATV Alive at number 10, THQ's first attempt to push a mid-priced retail product supported by higher than normal levels of downloadable content and less content on disc.

Again the heavy online focus led to the Xbox 360 version easily outselling the PlayStation 3 at 66 per cent to 34 per cent. The franchise is not normally a strong performer in the UK and the top 10 debut is likely to be seen as a promising start by publisher THQ.