The Week Ahead

RETAIL AND DIGITAL RELEASES

This is it folks: the penultimate week of the big-name winter releases that'll be duking it for the Christmas chart as well as cruelly asking you to choose who your wallet's money will fall on.

Starting off tomorrow (or in fifteen hours if you've a mind to queue up at one of the hundreds of GAME or Gamestation stores around the country) is Activision's response to Battlefield 3 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Any other week, it'd be the obvious number one for charts the following Monday: however, it's launching the same week as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Bethesda's fantasy epic that's had a tsunami of positive buzz, and is rolling out across three formats.

Modern Warfare 3 has a four day march ahead of Skyrim, as well as a greater mainstream penetration with branding: Infinity Ward's shooter is now on the FIFA-level of mass market appeal. Will it hit the bullseye or can Skyrim roll the dice to secure the top slot?

ON THE SITE

Leading off the two big releases this week, we'll have our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 review going live come tomorrow morning, to give you time enough to decide whether to drop in on your local game retailer during the lunch hour or after your day's activities. On the eve of the game's release we'll be talking to Infinity Ward to ask the developer about its return to the franchise in an GRTV interview you'll see on the site before the end of today.

For the Skyrim verdict you'll have to come back later in the week, but to celebrate the launch we'll be doing something a little bit special to mark the RPG's release, so tune in Thursday to get a glimpse at just how big Elder Scrolls truly is.

But there's more than just those two titles: we've got a hands-on report on PS Vita's Resistance game, Burning Skies, a interview with 343 about the Halo franchise and its future, Rayman Origins, our weekend double-team of Gaming Weekender and Defining Moment, plus all your daily news and previews and much more.