Download of the Week: Call of Duty 4, number of pounds 10

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Platform: Steam | Publisher: Activision | Developer: Infinity Ward | Price: £9.99/$9.99

Call of Duty, it's not unfair to surmise, gets a bit of a bad rap these days. Yes, it's understandable that many dislike the series' arguable Michael Bayifying of recent years, and of course, as we all know, increased popularity and commercial success is inherently inverse to the continuing quality of anything. But cut through the current popular opinion and you'll remember that the CoD series has thrown out some absolute stormers in the past. And none moreso storming than Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Which you can currently get for a tenner.

Tight, cleverly-paced, genuinely affecting action. A mature, hard-hitting story with characters who actually matter. Intelligence, sharp design, and brutality with purpose rather than gratuity. That's what CoD 4 is all about, and to tie in with Activision's Call of Duty XP fan expo, you can get it, and in fact most of the CoD series, for 50% off from Steam this weekend.

Want more DLC? Check these out:

3DS Ambassador Programme | 3DS eShop | Free

Ten NES games, no money. That's the first party of Nintendo's blow-softener for those of you who bought a 3DS before the massive price drop. As long as you're verified as an early adopter, lap up the 8-bit goodness as an appetiser for the 16-bit GBA splurge coming later in the year.

Cthulhu Saves the World/Breath of Death VII | Steam/XBLIG | £1.99/320 MSP

What's that? An Xbox Live Indie game that's good? Two of them!? What the hell? Yeah, believe it. Fantastically charming, very cleverly funny tributes to - and parodies of - the golden age of 16-bit JRPGs, these two will warm the heart of anyone, alive or dead. You can get them for 240 and 80 MSP respectively on Xbox Live, or as a ridiculously benevolent £1.99 double pack on Steam. Whichever way you go about acquiring them though, you certainly should acquire them.

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September 02, 2011

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