Every week we will take a look at the some of the smartest prices around, and this week we have saved over £50 on our three selections.

Assassin’s Creed (£24.99 – Save £25)

First up this week is the legendary Assassin’s Creed.  One of the PS3′s star performers since the Winter this exquisite game is still £50 with many retailers, however you can pick it up via Play this week for just £24.99. Wow!

(We noticed that the website is still incorrectly showing £49.99 but when you click ‘buy’ your basket shows the correct figure of £24.99.  Get in there before they change their mind!

Colin McRae: DiRT (£29.99 – Save £20)

This is still without a shadow of a doubt the finest rally game on the PC, and some may say the most exhilirating and realistic racer this side of Motorstorm!  It’s a joy to behold.  The online gameplay works well.  In a rally situation, the ghosting effects work superbly and it is definitely one of the most polished PS3 games in terms of design.

This racing game keeps the right balance between serious racing and thrill a minute fun and it’s on special offer with Game online this week.

Grand Theft Auto 4 (£39.93 – Save £10.06!)

We will conclude this week with the game we will all simply HAVE to buy.  A little word of warning.  Don’t be expecting this to be sitting on many shelves in less than two weeks when it is released.  For a start the price tag will say £49.99 and secondly there won’t be any left.

If you’re smart you will be pre-ordering this game, and occasionally the advantage is that you sometimes receive your game the day before it is released.

Don’t miss out.  Pre-order and save yourself stress and money thanks to The Hut.

Later on, Ubisoft also announced that the game was coming to the PC and Xbox 360. The game is being developed by many of the same people who helped make Prince of Persia: The Sands of time, and began production as soon as the latter was completed.

The game takes place during the Third Crusade. The gamer plays as a member of the assassin sect Hashashin known as Altaïr (of Greek and Arabic origin, roughly translates to “The Flyer” or “The Bird”). The player will be able to travel through three cities, Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus. The cities are populated by many people and the way the player controls Altair affects how people around you react to his or her presence. For example, when going through a crowd, if you lightly move someone out of the way, it will not have a significant effect, however, if one throws someone to the ground and kills him, the crowd may unite against the player and he or she will then have to find a way out. Similarly, for example, if you shove a person aside, they may shove you back. If you climb walls, civilians will gather around, attracting unwanted attention from guards.

Features

One of the most talked about features of the game is the ability to get around the game world. Assassin’s Creed will allow new levels of freedom for the player. Influenced by the Parkour phenomenon and its freedom of movement, the player will be able to grab onto and climb “any object that sticks out more than 2 inches”, which means exploration of the cities, rooftops, et cetera will be possible on a greater scale than in any previous game. The game will also be completely free-roaming, which has led to comparisons with Grand Theft Auto, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion , Shadow of the Colossus , and other games

Assassin’s Creed was featured in E3 2006, where a new system of gameplay was revealed. Only two trailers have been released so far. The title’s in-game graphics, as exhibited at E3, more closely resemble the quality shown in the few screenshots that have been released, as opposed to what has been shown in trailers.

Another hyped feature is the intuitive control scheme. Assassin’s Creed will employ a new idea that can best be compared to playing marionette of puppeteers to Altair’s actions. Developer Jade Raymond states, “What I really like about this concept was that once you understand the controls, you know how to play the game. You don’t ever have to look at what the button combonations are. You can invent them as you go along.” On the PS3 controller, the left analog stick will control movement, and the right will control the camera. However the actual buttons are quite different from normal. X will correspond to the feet, Square will dictate arm movement with your weapons, Circle will use your arms without weapons, and Triangle uses your head. Also, one of the right triggers will act as a shift between violent and gentle intensities. Here are some examples of each:

If you just use the left analog stick by itself you will run, but if you hold the intensity button with it, you will walk. Also, if there is a person in front of you, you can press the arms without weapons button (Circle) and violently shove them out of the way. Holding the intensity button will gently move them out of the way. If you are navigating the rooftops and see a set of overhanging building struts, you can hold the X and jump from each one the other. Or you can press Circle and grab one and swing to each. When you approach a low wall you have many choices on what to do. If you run towards it and press the legs button (X), then you will hurdle it. Say you are in the same situation but you press the arms without weapons (Circle), you will throw you arms down and vault it. When walking around the crowded areas, you may hear groups speaking the native tongue of the city. Press Triangle to use your head and translate to English.

Ubisoft Monteral did confirm that a demo of the game will be released before the game hits stores. However, they did not state as to what form the demo will come in.

An article on IGNannounced that Assassin’s Creed will also be released on the Xbox 360and PC. Although it was never stated the game would go multiformat at E3, it was generally assumed it would do so.

Screenshots