US PC game charts: July 23-29

At least all of the praise from THQ and analysts for the publisher's game based on Pixar's Cars hasn't been in vain. Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures is selling so well that during the week of July 23 to 29, it toppled Blizzard's weekly stalwart World of Warcraft and 2K Games' newcomer Warlord, an expansion pack to Civilization IV, according to NPD's latest PC sales statistics.

The megapopular massively multiplayer online role-playing game slipped from the top slot to number three during the week, as it, Cars, and Electronic Arts' Sims 2 have played musical chairs with the PC charts' hierarchy for weeks. Another high-profile role-player, however, made a sudden exit: The critically lavished Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion took a bow, dropping out of the top 10 after appearing at number six the week prior.

Nancy Drew: Danger by Design made a substantial leap in the charts--eighth to fifth--and interjected itself between EA's Sims 2 juggernaut. The Sims 2 dropped to number four, while two of its expansions--Family Fun Stuff and Open for Business--appeared in sixth and seventh place, respectively.

Civilization IV: Warlords made its debut at number two, while the game it supplements apparently benefited from the expansion pack's July 24 release. Although the original Civilization IV was released in October 2005, it resurfaced at number eight.