PS3/X360, £49.99, Cert 16+, Ubisoft, 4/5

Assassin’s Creed launches following two years of hype and secrecy, unveiling a truly next-gen title involving human lab rats and 10th century assassins. Delving deep into the mind of Desmond Miles, you control his ancestor Altair. An assassin from the era of the Third Crusade, he alone holds the secret to Desmond’s freedom from the scientists holding him hostage for his memories.

Controls are simple to grasp, swapping from ‘stealth’ to ‘action’ settings. Occasionally the pace can slow, due to the slightly repetitive nature of scanning cities, eavesdropping conversations and interrogating suspects to reach pre-scripted assassination scenes. Even so, the dimension of townsfolk working with or against you, the ability to scale any building with ledges two inches deep or more and the option of flee or fight, gives you the freedom to approach tasks as you choose.

With breath-holding moments of action, delicious slow motion counter-attacks and stylish assassination moves, your blood thirst will be sated. Add a stunningly detailed Holy Land to explore, and you have an enticingly immersive game worthy of the hype, and more importantly, your time.